3 takeaways from Steve Sarkisian’s final press conference of fall camp

Kelvin Banks is a major key to success for the offensive line

Another topic that Sark didn’t talk about for too long, but was still significant this week, concerns the status of the offensive line. As was the case in the receiving corps, the Longhorns experienced some hurdles in fall camp along the offensive line, mostly in the way of injury issues.

The most significant injury issue along the offensive line was obviously the season-ending ACL tear that senior interior offensive lineman Junior Angilau suffered in the first fall scrimmage. But others such as true freshman interior offensive lineman Cole Hutson and true freshman offensive tackle Kelvin Banks have also suffered various injuries.

Yet, from what we heard from Sark on this day, Banks is still making some positive strides in camp. It really sounds like Banks is going to be the biggest x-factor along the offensive line among the true freshmen that could be starting in Week 1 against ULM.

Sark really seems to also like what the presence of Banks at offensive tackle does for the Longhorns with sophomore Andrej Karic. Having Banks lock down a starting job at left tackle does give offensive line coach/offensive coordinator Kyle Flood and the Longhorns the versatility to slide Karic around between tackle and even guard if they want to this fall.

By the looks of it heading into the regular season, Banks could be the most crucial of all the starting offensive linemen. If he does have a solid true freshman campaign, it will heighten the effectiveness of the entire offensive line. The same could be said for Hutson if he’s able to make a positive impact on the interior of the offensive line this fall.