Sarkisian Won't Put a 'Ceiling' On His Incredible Offensive Line Class

The Texas head coach won't close the door on prized recruit Devon Campbell, or any of his Class of 2022 Offensive linemen

Steve Sarkisian knows he’s signed one of the most talented offensive line classes in the country, and perhaps the most talented offensive line classes Texas has ever signed.

That was the goal. That was the priority. It will be a few years before he and his coaching staff know for sure the impact that players like Devon Campbell, the seventh offensive lineman the Longhorns signed in 2022, will have on the program.

But Sarkisian isn’t willing to assign all of them redshirts just yet.

“I don't want to put a ceiling on what any one of these seven … that could have potential to be a real contributor for us in the fall,” Sarkisian said on Wednesday after Campbell had turned in his national letter-of-intent.

Campbell may have been the prize Sarkisian and his staff wanted all along — he was ranked No. 13 on the SI99 and the No. 1 offensive lineman in the country— but that only adds to the haul that Sarkisian and his staff put together on Early Signing Day in December. 

@Kelvinbanksjr12

Back then, the Longhorns signed tackles Kelvin Banks, Malik Agbo, and Cameron Williams, and interior linemen Neto Umeozulu, Cole Hutson, and Conner Robertson.

Sarkisian had clear goals for this class. Not only did he want to get better up front, but he wanted to do it by cultivating in-state players in his first full recruiting cycle at Texas.

How did the Longhorns do? Of the seven, Agbo is the only out-of-state recruit, hailing from Federal Way in Washington state.

“Last time I checked our jerseys say ‘Texas’ on the front, not United States,” Sarkisian said. “So we’ve got to make sure that we do a great job recruiting our state.”

@neto_umeozulu

Sarkisian admitted that there are players at positions that can make an impact as a true freshman, most notably running back. But he also said that offensive line can be “one of the more challenging positions to play early at.”

Sarkisian believes that between the talent he and his staff have assembled and the ability of offensive line coach Kyle Flood, there’s a chance that one, or more, of them, could contribute in some way in 2022.

We're going to give these guys every opportunity to compete and compete at a high level,” Sarkisian said. “Coach Flood, as you all know, I think the world of him. I think he's the best coach at the offensive line position in football. Clearly, he's a tremendous recruiter. So these guys are going to get coached, they're going to get developed and when they're ready to play and they earn that time, we're going to put them on the field.”

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You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.

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