3 freshmen that could start Week 1 for Texas football

The regular season opener for head coach Steve Sarkisian and the Texas football team is now a little more than one month away. Texas opens up the 2022 regular season at home at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on Sep. 3 against the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks.

This meeting with Louisiana-Monroe on Sep. 3 will be the first time that Sark and the Longhorns have taken to the field at DKR for game action since the regular season finale last fall against the Kansas State Wildcats. The last game that Texas played (besides the spring game a few months ago) resulted in a win in that aforementioned regular season finale over Kansas State on Black Friday 2021.

There will be more on the line for the Longhorns, though, at the outset of the 2022 regular season. Sark and his staff need to show progress during the non-conference slate to prove that this program is headed in the right direction before the outset of Big 12 play.

Top freshmen to watch that could start for Texas football in Week 1 vs. ULM

Texas will likely rely on a number of the new additions to the program from this offseason to help improve the results on the field this fall and get the culture instilled that Sark and his staff want in the locker room. With that in mind, here’s a look at three freshmen that could start for the Longhorns in Week 1 of the regular season against ULM.

Kelvin Banks, OT

A position group that Texas needs to improve at this fall compared to last season is along the offensive line. Texas’ offensive line play last year ranked among the worst in the Big 12. There were also times when the Texas offensive line looked like one of the worst in the Power Five last season.

That’s why offensive line coach/offensive coordinator Kyle Flood and the Longhorns are likely going to rely on at least of the few talented incoming freshmen that signed with the 2022 class. One to watch in this regard is definitely the former five-star Summer Creek offensive tackle recruit and incoming freshman Kelvin Banks.

From the sound of it so far this summer, Banks has really impressed Flood and the Longhorns staff with how he’s transitioned to college life. Banks has also apparently made some positive impressions with his showing in summer workouts and his fundamentals in the limited on-field work in the last couple of months.

If Banks continues to show out this summer, and he impresses this fall, then it’s really difficult seeing a world where Flood and the Longhorns staff don’t start him in Week 1 at one of the offensive tackle positions. Texas isn’t very deep at this spot in the trenches, and Banks could be an upgrade right away.