Texas Football: 3 upperclassmen with stock on the rise post-spring ball

Christian Jones, OT

There wasn’t much discussion during spring practice regarding a bunch of standout performances from redshirt senior offensive tackle or anything like that. But what shows me that Jones had such a solid run during spring ball is that he was able to stave off any conversation regarding the competition to take his starting spot at the right tackle position.

Heading into spring ball, there was a lot of talk about sophomore offensive tackle Cam Williams potentially challenging Jones for the first-team reps at right tackle. Yet, by the end of spring ball, Williams was being moved to the interior offensive line to get first-team reps in the absence of fellow sophomore offensive lineman DJ Campbell (who is dealing with a wrist injury that held him out of the spring game).

Jones has clearly solidified his starting job at right tackle opposite starting sophomore left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. And if Jones can continue to perform at the level he did down the stretch last season, especially in pass pro, he should be in contention for All-Big 12 honors during the 2023 campaign.

Jones was one of the five highest-graded offensive tackles in the Big 12 in pass blocking in the final five games of last season.

All in all, this was one of the best spring camps we’ve seen and/or heard about from Jones in his collegiate career, which says a lot given that this is his sixth year on campus. Only hearing about Jones getting the job done, and not much more than that, out of most practice reports this spring was a really good thing for the sixth-year senior.