Best of the Big 12: The offensive line is in focus as we rank all 14 conference teams
Ranking the Big 12 schools on the strength of their offensive lines heading into summer camp:
1. Texas
Head coach Steve Sarkisian likes to express his fondness for “big humans” up front, and this year's group — arguably the best pass-protection unit in the nation — certainly fits that description. Sophomore Kelvin Banks Jr. returns as an elite left tackle and looks like a future NFL first-round pick, but he’s hardly the only blue-chipper on a talented and experienced offensive front. Christian Jones found a home at right tackle in 2022, Cole Hutson and Hayden Connor give the team a pair of maulers in the middle, and center Jake Majors holds everything together. All five started all 13 games last season and paved the way for 429.5 yards and 34.5 points a game. Better yet, the program has developed impressive depth under position coach Kyle Flood over the past two recruiting cycles with 12 signees.
2. Kansas State
The Wildcats might not have as many cumulative recruiting stars as Texas, but they boast just as many bona fides. Versatile junior Cooper Beebe, a 6-foot-4, 335-pound guard who was the Big 12's offensive lineman of the year, returns after earning All-American honors. He welcomes back plenty of buddies from a physical unit that ranked 11th in the nation with 208.3 rushing yards a game. The other four starters also return, including senior tackle KT Leveston, senior tackle Christian Duffie, senior center Hayden Gillum and junior guard Hadley Panzer. The unit could be even stronger than it was last season since senior guard Taylor Poitier, who started the opener before suffering a season-ending knee injury, looks healthy. In all, K-State returns 15 linemen from a year ago.
3. Kansas
Mike Novitsky, a member of an elite collection of Big 12 centers, again will anchor a talented and veteran unit that welcomes back four starters from a team that averaged 183.5 yards rushing and 254.4 yards passing. The 6-5, 305-pound senior has started 44 games in a four-year career at Kansas and Buffalo. The Jayhawks might lack elite players at the other positions, but they have plenty of experience. Redshirt senior Dominick Puni was an All-Big 12 honorable mention pick at left guard, junior Michael Ford Jr. started at right guard and junior Bryce Cabeldue returns at right tackle. Transfers Spencer Lovell (California) and Logan Brown (Wisconsin) add to a deep group that has developed quickly under third-year head coach Lance Leipold.
4. West Virginia
The Mountaineers might have some offensive issues, but the front looks as solid as Appalachian granite. Zach Frazier, a 6-3, 305-pound senior who has 33 starts, returns as one of the nation’s top interior linemen. He’ll probably start again at center while captaining a veteran unit that helped West Virginia run for 171.5 yards a game last season. The other four starters also return: guards Doug Nester and Tomas Rimac and tackles Ja’Quay Hubbard and Wyatt Milum. Coaches think 320-pound redshirt freshman Sullivan Weidman could earn significant playing time.
5. Oklahoma
While the Sooners must break in a new pair of tackles, an impressive track record under position coach Bill Bedenbaugh alleviates a lot of concerns. Regardless of the head coach or quarterback, the unit always seems to produce; during a difficult 6-7 campaign in 2022, Oklahoma averaged a Big 12-best 474 yards of offense a game. Center Andrew Raym and left guard McKade Mettauer are returning starters, but former Duncanville star Savion Byrd, Caleb Shaffer and Jake Taylor all could start inside. Former Manor star Tyler Guyton played defense in high school but saw action at both tackle spots a year ago after transferring from TCU. Walter Rouse started 29 games at left tackle for Stanford before transferring in during the offseason, but he must overcome some injury issues from 2022.
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6. BYU
For a unit that relies more on cohesion than any other position on the team, offseason upheaval seems like a major concern. The Cougars lost four players to the transfer portal — including the Baylor-bound brother duo of Clark and Campbell Barrington — but responded by welcoming in five new players. All the newcomers certainly have plenty of talent, and the BYU coaches think they can help the team maintain the success of last season, when the Cougars averaged 426 yards. Returning left tackle Kingsley Suamataia looks and plays like a future NFL lineman, and Connor Pay, Paul Maile and promising sophomore Weylin Lapuaho return inside. Caleb Etienne should take over at right tackle after starting all 13 games for Oklahoma State last season, and Ian Fitzgerald earned all-conference honors as a tackle at Missouri State.
7. TCU
Graduation and the lure of the NFL gutted the offense after TCU’s stirring run to the College Football Playoff title game, but the Frogs do have an impressive set of rebuilding blocks in senior bookend tackles Brandon Coleman and Andrew Coker. The 6-7, 315-pound Coker manned the right tackle spot a year ago but also can slide inside if Alabama transfer Tommy Brockermeyer can rejuvenate his career in his hometown. Like Coker, Coleman earned all-conference honorable mention a year ago. The interior line spots remain a big concern; 350-pound transfer Willis Patrick can play multiple positions but has played only at smaller schools Jackson State and Angelo State, Garrett Hayes has limited experience, and John Linz hasn’t started since suffering an injury midway through the 2021 season.
8. Texas Tech
Though most of the Red Raiders' offensive line returns, don’t expect things to look the same for a squad that had major issues protecting its quarterbacks in 2022. Tech gave up 41 sacks (3.15 a game), which ranked last in the Big 12. Head coach Joey McGuire and his staff spent the spring tinkering with the starting five. Senior Caleb Rogers started at left tackle last year and is moving to right tackle, while Monroe Mills will move from right tackle to the blind side. Rusty Staats arrives from Western Kentucky, where he played for current Texas Tech offensive coordinator Zach Kittley and offensive line coach Stephen Hamby in 2021. Cole Spencer, a former All-Conference USA left tackle at Western Kentucky, is back for a seventh collegiate season after missing last year with an injury.
9. Central Florida
The Knights’ offensive front took a major hit in the offseason when three-year starter and all-conference center Matt Lee transferred south to join the Miami Hurricanes. Look for all-conference guard Lokahi Pauole to pick up the inside slack for a team that likes to run the ball, as evidenced by its 228.4 rushing yards a game last season. The portal helped UCF replenish the unit; Bula Schmidt should slide into Lee’s spot at center after starting 31 games at Fresno State over the past three seasons, and Marcellus Marshall earned all-conference honors for a powerhouse offense at Kent State. The Knights also could use a big year from former Alabama player Amari Kight, a fifth-year senior who never received much playing time for the Tide.
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10. Baylor
A massive offseason overhaul gives the Bears some fresh talent up front, but all those new faces come with plenty of questions about chemistry and communication. Senior offensive lineman Gavin Byers is the only holdover from last year's starting unit, and he’s coming off a strong season in which he started seven games at right tackle and graded out as the fourth-best tackle in the Big 12 by Pro Football Focus. Brothers Campbell and Clark Barrington both arrive from BYU; Campbell earned freshman All-American honors at right tackle in 2021 but came off the bench a year ago. Older brother Clark has plenty of experience at guard but also can play center. Redshirt sophomore Tate Williams and junior Elijah Ellis have impressed in the offseason.
11. Oklahoma State
Can the Cowboys’ line escape a funk that seemed to settle over the unit last year? A return to health as well as some portal transfers will help, especially since Oklahoma State managed just 126 rushing yards a game and was ranked 120th in run blocking among the 131 FBS programs by Pro Football Focus. Former Texas State star Dalton Cooper could take over at left tackle after earning All-Sun Belt and freshman All-American honors during his time with the Bobcats, and tackle Noah McKinney arrives from UNLV. Jason Brooks Jr. and Preston Wilson started in the interior but missed time with injuries, and tackle Jake Springfield has emerged as the Cowboys’ most consistent lineman despite joining the program as a walk-on back in 2019.
12. Houston
It’s never a good sign when a head coach has to cancel a spring football game because of a dearth of offensive linemen. But that’s what Dana Holgorsen had to do after the departures of nine players — and offensive line coach Brandon Jones — in the offseason. That exodus included two expected returning starters. New O-line coach Eman Naghavi is rebuilding the unit with guard Max Banes, who transferred back to UH (where he played from 2018 to 2021) from Akron, as well as left tackle Shamar Hobdy-Lee from Florida International. Two-time All-American Athletic Conference left tackle Patrick Paul, center Jack Freeman and guard Tyler Johnson return, and tackle Reuben Unije and guard Tank Jenkins also have starting experience.
13. Cincinnati
Like fellow Big 12 newcomers BYU, Houston and UCF, Cincinnati enters the conference with an offensive line revamped via the transfer portal. Center Gavin Gerhardt is the only returning starter, and tackle John Williams could finally start after playing in 28 games over the previous three seasons. But a handful of newcomers will have to meld quickly if head coach Scott Satterfield is to secure a successful debut. Tackle Deondre Buford, a former four-star recruit, never lived up to those lofty expectations at Kentucky and is seeking a fresh start. Phillip Wilder also arrives after garnering starting experience at both tackle spots at Southeast Missouri State, and guard Luke Kandra followed Satterfield from Louisville. Trevor Radosevich arrives from Penn, where he earned All-Ivy League honors at center.
14. Iowa State
The biggest change for the Cyclones' beleaguered offensive line won’t be on the field, where they welcome back four starters. Instead, head coach Matt Campbell hopes the hiring of new O-line coach Ryan Clanton will rejuvenate a unit that underachieved last season, when Iowa State put up conference lows of 20.2 points and 369.8 yards a game. Clanton, who previously coached at Northern Iowa, comes from the Chip Kelly school of offensive line play and favors a fast tempo characterized by efficiency, explosiveness and versatility. Jake Remsberg, Darrell Simmons, Jarrod Hufford and Tyler Miller all started last season, but expect Clanton to shuffle the pieces as he tries to find the right formula for the third-worst red zone offense in the FBS in 2022.
About this series
This summer, we're ranking each Big 12 team position by position. We will assign points for each team at each position, with 14 for the leader and one for 14th place. We’ll update the totals with each installment, giving an idea, in theory, of which teams will contend for the conference title and a possible College Football Playoff spot.
The lineup: (Week 1) quarterbacks, (2) running backs, (3) receivers, (4) offensive line, (5) defensive line, (6) linebackers, (7) defensive backs, (8) coaching and intangibles
Current standings
1. Kansas 50 points
2. Texas 46
3. BYU 39
4. Central Florida 37
5. Oklahoma 36
T6. Kansas State 32
T6. Texas Tech 32
8. Baylor 28
9. West Virginia 25
10. Oklahoma State 20
11. TCU 19
T12. Iowa State 15
T12. Cincinnati 15
14. Houston 13
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Offensive line rankings in the Big 12 feature elite blocking units
