Steve Sarkisian shoots down question about OT Kelvin Banks

One of the more interesting developments for head coach Steve Sarkisian and the Texas football program in fall camp this year will lie along the offensive line. Sark and offensive line coach/offensive coordinator Kyle Flood must see some significant improvement out of the play in the trenches on this side of the ball this fall if they want to make some real strides as a team in 2022.

Thus, it was worth paying attention to what both Sark and Flood had to say regarding the situation along the offensive line as the Texas staff talked to the media ahead of the start of fall camp on Aug. 2. But we didn’t get some of the insight that some of the fan base might be hoping for during media availability this week.

Both Flood and Sark weren’t doing much to provide any level of insight into the situation along the offensive line on this day beyond generalities.

Steve Sarkisian turns aside question from media regarding Texas football OT Kelvin Banks

When asked about the situation along the offensive line and who some of the starters could be, Flood just stated that “it would be premature to peg who might play today”. He also noted that “the best five players are going to play”, without naming names.

Moreover, when Sark was asked about the status of the former elite five-star Summer Creek offensive tackle recruit and true freshman Kelvin Banks, he just wasn’t having it. A question was asked during media availability to Sark if he “needed Banks to win the starting job”.

Sark responded by saying that was “not a good question” and that is it “unfair to put that pressure on one guy”.

This continues to show that Sark doesn’t like it when one player, in particular, takes to the spotlight during media availability. Granted, he does have a point here. Sark isn’t going to put the spotlight on one player here when the entire staff doesn’t want to shed insight into who could be leading for any potential position battles in fall camp.

Yet, it is figured that Banks will challenge for a starting job at one of the offensive tackle spots in fall camp. Banks is likely to battle it out with the likes of redshirt senior Christian Jones, sophomore Andrej Karic, and true freshman Cam Williams, among others, for the starting spots at offensive tackle coming out of fall camp.

Texas finished up last season with a record of 5-7 (3-6 Big 12), missing out on bowl season for the first time since 2016. Sark and the Longhorns are set to open up the 2022 regular season at home on Sep. 3 against Louisiana-Monroe.