3 Texas football upperclassmen with most to prove in fall camp
Christian Jones, OT
The upperclassmen for the Longhorns on this list that is definitely facing the most danger of losing his starting spot this fall is the super senior offensive tackle Christian Jones. Texas is going to see some pretty significant changes take place along the offensive line this fall. And Jones could be one of the first starters that moves down the depth chart in fall camp as this staff looks to improve in the trenches after a bad showing at times last season.
It didn’t go particularly well last season for offensive line coach/offensive coordinator Kyle Flood and the Longhorns having Jones as the starting left tackle. Jones led the Longhorns in quarterback pressures allowed, and it wasn’t very close, with two-dozen last season. He also posted the lowest run-blocking grade among the regular starters along the offensive line last season.
Moreover, there’s just too much talent arriving on the Forty Acres this offseason at the offensive tackle position to believe that Flood and the Longhorns are just willing to just hand Jones the starting job based off experience alone. Jones is likely going to face steep competition in fall camp from incoming freshman such as five-star Kelvin Banks, four-star Neto Umeozulu, and three-star Cam Williams, for the starting left tackle spot.
That’s not to mention the challenge that returning offensive linemen could pose to Jones at the left tackle position such as sophomore Andrej Karic.
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I would put it at much greater than a 50 percent chance that Jones will lose his starting spot in fall camp. And while there is still a chance that he has to make a positive impression on this staff and really prove that he’s turning a corner, the odds seem very slim that he will be able to hold off the likes of Banks, Williams, Karic, etc., for too long.