3 Texas players that are clearly not a good fit with Steve Sarkisian

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Christian Jones, Texas Football Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports /

Christian Jones, OT

We didn’t really know at the time the true extent of the impact of the injury to senior offensive guard Denzel Okafor in an eventual win over the TCU Horned Frogs last month. It didn’t take long, though, for the news to come down that Okafor would miss the rest of the regular season for the Longhorns. That placed a larger responsibility on other Texas offensive linemen like senior offensive tackle Christian Jones and junior offensive guard Junior Angilau for the rest of the season.

Some of the Texas offensive linemen were able to step up in the wake of the absence of Okafor, but Jones was not one of them. Jones never really became a consistent force to be reckoned with in the trenches for the Longhorns during his college career.

While it looked like the 2021 campaign was really Jones’ opportunity to shine under a new coaching staff, specifically first-year offensive line coach/offensive coordinator Kyle Flood. In fact, Jones was one of the least productive and efficient upperclassmen starters on either side of the ball for Texas all season long.

Jones was the lowest-graded offensive tackle in the Big 12 this season. He was also one of the five-lowest graded offensive tackles in the entire Power Five.

In past years, Jones wasn’t really a starting-caliber offensive lineman for the Longhorns. But it was never this bad before. Giving up nearly two-dozen quarterback pressures in a span of roughly 10 games is a ton. Jones was clearly overwhelmed this year and wasn’t picking up on the protection packages throughout the season.

Technically, Jones does have one more year of eligibility remaining in college if he picks up the COVID-19 redshirt. But it’s likely that the Longhorns are going to want to move on from him come next offseason and find a new starter at the left tackle position.

I am not saying that the Longhorns are going to kick him out of the door, but it’s just hard to see him coming back with any sort of chance at starting in 2022.

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