3 Texas football freshmen ready to breakout in fall camp
On Aug. 4, head coach Steve Sarkisian will begin his second round of fall camp with the Texas football program. Texas will look to get ready for a difficult non-conference schedule in early-to-mid September by gearing up through fall camp, which starts next week.
Sark and the Longhorns have a number of noteworthy storylines heading into fall camp this year. But the two biggest storylines heading into fall camp in terms of the personnel on this roster are the looming quarterback battle and the impact that all the new additions can have on this team in 2022.
Texas signed a highly touted 2022 recruiting class that ranked in the top five in the nation. And Sark and his staff had a nice haul of players by way of the NCAA Transfer Portal that could have a big impact on this team on both sides of the ball.
Yet, it is the highly touted 2022 recruiting class and some of the freshmen that were brought in by way of the transfer portal that we’re mainly looking at here. Texas is sure to at least have a handful of freshmen that make an early impact this fall. And fall camp is a good place for them to establish their role on this team before the start of the regular season.
The freshmen to watch for Texas football in fall camp
With that in mind, here’s a look at three freshmen for the Longhorns that are ready to break out in fall camp.
Kelvin Banks, OT
The most likely of the true freshmen offensive linemen that signed with the Longhorns 2022 class to start right away this fall is the former five-star Summer Creek offensive tackle recruit Kelvin Banks. Texas could have their starter in place at one of the offensive tackle positions in Banks.
If Banks does have the opportunity to start right away this fall, he’s going to have a lot of pressure on his shoulders as Texas is not that strong at offensive tackle, to say the very least.
Banks can prove he’s capable of handling a starting role right away for the Longhorns by outshining the likes of redshirt senior offensive tackle Christian Jones, sophomore Andrej Karic, sophomore Jaylen Garth, freshman Cam Williams, etc.
But the fact of the matter is that the 6-foot-5 and 320-pound Banks is likely going to be a more proficient starting offensive tackle than really any other candidate to start at the position this fall. That is unless either Jones and/or Karic really made some massive strides in Year 2 under Sark and offensive line coach/offensive coordinator Kyle Flood.
What makes Banks such an appealing candidate to start at the offensive tackle position this fall comes largely thanks to his maturity and natural physical gifts. He’s a very quick and strong offensive tackle that has the wingspan and footspeed necessary to win against opposing defensive linemen in the run and the passing game.
Banks has a powerful punch against opposing defensive linemen and edge rushers. It’s also worth noting that his footspeed and lateral agility allow him to hang with even some of the quicker opposing edge rushers while protecting the passer.
This potent skill set for Banks that combines power and quickness off the line of scrimmage means that he should be able to reach multiple levels of the defense blocking for the run. That will help Sark and the Longhorns establish themselves this fall on the ground, which is what sets the tone for this entire offense.
Banks’ length and quickness also should help him compete more effective than most other true freshman offensive linemen in pass protection this fall.
If I had to put a probability on Banks winning a starting job out of the gates this fall, I would put it at least at 80 percent.