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Two Texas starters who could lose their jobs if they don't impress in week 4

There are a couple of Longhorns who haven't been producing over the past few weeks, and week 4 might be their last chance to prove themselves.
ByMatthew Wilson|
Dec 21, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns offensive lineman Cole Hutson (54) in action during the game between the Texas Longhorns and the Clemson Tigers in the CFP National Playoff First Round at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Dec 21, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns offensive lineman Cole Hutson (54) in action during the game between the Texas Longhorns and the Clemson Tigers in the CFP National Playoff First Round at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

It's no secret that Texas' offensive line has been underwhelming throughout the first few weeks of the season. They had to replace four starters from a year ago, and there's more youth amongst the players who are being relied upon.

That being said, things should've started to look better heading into the Longhorns' fourth game of the season, but that hasn't happened yet. Whether or not that's Kyle Flood's fault or the players themselves, something needs to change after week 4 if things stay the same. Two offensive linemen in particular have been unusually bad this year.

If these two players don't step up against Sam Houston in a big way this weekend, they could be benched:

C Cole Hutson

Hutson's performance, or lack thereof, is extremely surprising as he's one of the veterans along the offensive line this season. He's seen quite a bit of action over the past two seasons along the interior, but he's been pretty disappointing so far.

He's been having a lot of trouble staying on blocks and has been responsible for multiple tackles for loss over the past two weeks in the run game. Hutson's been reaching and lunging at defenders, which makes it easy for opponents to shed his blocks. He's been one of the main reasons why Texas' interior run game hasn't been up to par in 2025.

Backup C Connor Robertson has looked very good throughout the spring and summer, and if Hutson doesn't start to play better, Robertson should and could easily take over as the starting center going forward.

LG Connor Stroh

Much like Hutson, Stroh is a huge reason why there's been so much penetration along the interior for Texas' ground game. He's been a pretty good pass blocker in 2025, but the Longhorns need to get the run game going in week 4 before SEC play begins.

Neto Umeozulu was slated to start at left guard all offseason long, and for some reason, the team decided to start Stroh right before the Ohio State game. Umeozulu has shown to be a much better run blocker in practice than Stroh, and a switch could be made sooner rather than later if he doesn't step it up as a run blocker against an inferior Sam Houston defense this weekend.

Also read: Flip alert: Texas pursues former target, UCLA commit following DeShaun Foster news

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