Texas Football: 5 overreactions from the meltdown loss vs. OK State

Offensive line is what it is

If new offensive line coach/offensive coordinator Kyle Flood and the Longhorns proved anything in these last two losses to both of the Oklahoma schools in the Big 12, it’s that this group in the trenches is going to take time to come along. Texas truly has a tough time incorporating any new offensive linemen into the starting lineup so far this season.

In this game, Texas tried out a few different players to get some snaps in the trenches. That included the likes of true freshman Hayden Conner and senior Tope Imade. The one lineman we didn’t see in this game was the former four-star recruit and offensive tackle Isaiah Hookfin.

But we’ll get to the option not to play Hookfin in a bit.

Before we get into all of the bad things that happened for Texas in the trenches against Oklahoma State, it is worth focusing on one positive. And that is the fact that senior Derek Kerstetter had his best week of the season against the Pokes.

Texas really got a bad result out of the duo of Conner and Imade. Conner allowed one sack and gave up one run stuff in just over a dozen snaps in this game. That led him to post a season-low pass-blocking grade, and one of the five lowest blocking grades over the weekend. Conner still could have some potential over the long haul, but this was a rough start in the first major game exposure of his college career.

To really prove that Texas has a tough time incorporating new starting offensive linemen this fall is the fact that Imade also registered one of the lowest blocking grades of anyone in the Big 12 in the trenches in Week 7. Imade allowed one sack, two quarterback pressures, and two run stuffs as he got the call as the starting right guard in place of the injured Denzel Okafor.

But as Texas looked to move Kerstetter back to the right tackle position, he really settled in. Kerstetter was one of the best offensive linemen in the Big 12 in Week 7, as he didn’t allow a single quarterback pressure. He was also solid in run blocking.

Kersetetter and Junior Angilau are the anchors that this offensive line needs to stand out moving forward. If Texas can continue to see Andrej Karic step up as he continues to get starting reps this fall, Flood should be fine. Imade has to get better, though, if he is to continue to solidify a starting role with Okafor out for the season.

Now, I do believe that it is worth giving Hookfin more looks at this point since he has a higher ceiling and more eligibility left along the offensive line compared to Imade. This should be a move that Flood considers during the bye week.