Texas football offensive lineman Neto Umeozulo paves way for more playing time

Young forward Neto Umeozulu took advantage of his extensive playing time at left guard during Texas Tech’s attack on Texas Tech last November. After playing in just three previous games as a redshirt freshman, he intimidated and brutalized the Red Raiders’ defensive linemen while helping Texas rack up more than 300 yards in a 57-7 victory.

But Texas coach Steve Sarkisian still made time for counseling during the game. And he didn’t take Umeozulu aside to talk about stunts or chores.

“I had to almost try to calm him down,” Sarkisian said this week. “He was actually playing through the echo of the whistle. So we’re trying to keep it within the limits of the game. He’s a nasty player, and we saw that last year when he was in the Tech game.”

For the record, those words were meant as a compliment — and they came with a smile from the coach. Sarkisian and offensive line coach Kyle Flood like their “big humans,” as Sarkisian often refers to his linemen, to have an advantage.

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Texas’ offensive line rotation is taking shape from within

Umeozulu, a 6-foot-3, 334-pound sophomore from Class 6A Allen High School, has certainly stepped things up this spring. He’s putting pressure on two-year starter Hayden Connor to play left guard while also giving Texas more options on the interior of the offensive line.

While Sarkisian emphasized that he’s not worried about depth charts or starting spots at this point in spring practice, he said Connor has also done some work at center, a position where Jake Majors enters his third season as a starter. Considering right guards Cole Hutson and DJ Campbell have combined for 27 starts in their careers, Texas has five proven players at all three interior line positions if you count Umeozulu.

“We have to play a long season, now more than ever with the College Football Playoff,” Sarkisian said. “It might take 15, 16 games to try to win a national championship. So we’re trying to develop all those guys as we go along.”

Junior Kelvin Banks Jr., one of college football’s top left tackles, said he can’t tell who lines up to his right during practice rotations — literally.

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“It doesn’t matter because they’re both doing their jobs,” Banks said, referring to Connor and Umeozulu. “We have a great rotation and we have guys coming in and out, but we all have good communication with each other.”

Running back CJ Baxter even compared the work rate of Umeozulu and the other linemen to his own position group, which is high praise from a player who always defends his own room.

“Out of the backfield, this is a group that says, ‘We’re going to work hard every day,’” Baxter said. “I mean, they try to get better every day. Coach Flood does a great job of getting them where they need to be.”

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Is bigger better in the front?

If Umeozulu becomes a full-time starter at left guard, he would add to the lineup in recent seasons, as he weighs Connor down by about 10 pounds. The 6-foot-5, 332-pound Campbell supplanted the 6-5, 313-pound Hutson at right guard last season, and presumptive right tackle Cam Williams checks in at 6-foot-5, 360, nearly 40 pounds heavier. heavier than Christian Jones, last year’s starter.

At this point in his career, Umeozulu just needs to learn from some of his older teammates like Connor and Hutson if he wants to become a full-time player, his teammates and coaches said.

“Grandson, he’s an aggressive player,” Banks said. “He’s never lacked aggression, but just understanding the game and what goes into making different calls and things like that, I feel like that part of his game has improved a lot.”

Sarkisian agreed, saying the combination of experience and power could make Umeozulu a major contributor — if not a breakout star — in 2024.

“We’re feeling it; he’s coming,” Sarkisian said. “He is making progress. In the first spring ball practice, he could have four, five or six missed assignments. That number has dropped to one or two now. I see some of Neto’s most physical blocks. He’s definitely a talented player, an explosive player.”

This article originally appeared in the Austin American-Statesman: Neto Umeozulo trying to pave the way to start working in Texas football