As the portal window finally came to an end, Longhorn fans came away somewhat conflicted. The Longhorns picked up Cam Coleman, Raleek Brown, Hollywood Smother, Rasheem Biles and plenty more depth/rotational pieces all over the place. The issue is they didn’t pass with flying colors at the most important position: offensive line. Despite adding Melvin Siani, a true starting OT, the overall haul up front left much to be desired.
The question now is how worried should Longhorn fans be? That is a rather complicated answer, given it is hard to know what the starting five will end up being. On top of that, it’s hard to know how big of a jump players like Brandon Baker and Connor Roberston will take(if any at all). Those variables have Longhorn fans and likely the Texas staff search for answers. Where could they come from?
Possible Answers In 2026
The Coleman Twins: Jordan and Devin Coleman were some of the few depth OL that didn’t find their way out of the Texas program, leaving them in the spotlight. Jordan is presumed to be further along and could very well earn one of the guard starting spots, but at worst, Texas needs both to provide quality depth in 2026.
Andre Cojoe and Jaydon Chatman: With Trevor Goosby returning and Melvin Siani coming in, the OT spots are spoken for. That being said, these two could provide important depth not only at OT, but possibly slide inside to a guard spot. Cojoe is coming off an ACL tear, so it’s hard to expect too much from him, but Chatman could be an option for a guard spot if Coleman or Sikorski don’t take the reins.
Possible Portal Options: There isn’t much there, but there are options. Jamal Meriwheather was in Austin yesterday, but has since committed to Miami. Jordan Seaton is officially off the board and Bray Lynch is increasingly unlikely to find his way into the portal.
Tyrell Green, Purdue OG, is the top interior OL in the portal currently. Laurence Seymore is a name that has been brought up, but he’s fighting for another year of eligibility, something Texas would likely have to get involved in if he was added. Point is, the options are limited and/or complicated.
Health Factor
Something that always goes without saying is the OL needs to stay healthy. For the Longhorns, it’s the difference between a possible national title and another January sitting on the couch. If Trevor Goosby, Melvin Siani, Brandon Baker and Connor Robertson play every game of the 2026 season, I expect the unit to be much improved. That is far from a guarantee.
The Longhorns losing one piece of that OL changes the entire complexion of the unit. If Goosby goes down, Siani likely has to flip to LT, Baker takes back over at RT and then you plug a new name into the interior. That’s far too much movement, especially because that’s just a single player going down. If multiple people get injured, it turns back into the near disaster we saw in 2025.
Kyle Flood’s Test
No matter what additions are made to the OL(if any), this upcoming season will come down to Kyle Flood. Given the struggles in 2025, many Longhorn fans likely cringe at that idea, but Flood has shown his ability to develop. Trevor Goosby took a massive leap in 2025. Brandon Baker improved drastically from Week 1 to Week 14 at RT. Despite it not being perfect, Connor Roberston did continue to improve as the season went on as well.
Can Flood continue to get more out of Robertson and Baker? Can he get someone like Jordan Coleman or Dylan Sikorski ready to play by September 5th? If necessary, can he slide Chatman inside and make him a formidable run blocker? Those questions(and more) will have to be answered by the Longhorns OC and OL coach before the season. If they aren’t answered in the affirmative, too much will fall on the shoulders of Arch Manning(once again).
My Take
I’ll start with this: I fully expect the starting OL for Texas to be better in 2026 than it was in 2025. I believe the OT duo of Goosby and Siani is one of the best in the SEC, I believe Connor Robertson will improve into a solid C and Brandon Baker’s move to guard will be beneficial for him and the OL as a whole. That’s obviously dependent on the health we talked about, but if the unit is healthy, they will be better than the 2025 unit.
That being said, the unit can’t just be better. It has to be marketably better. Although the RBs should be improved and Arch Manning is elite when it comes to avoiding sacks, you don’t build a championship team off solely individual greatness. You need the starting five to make playmakers and QBs job easier. You need them to get push in the run game, to hold up in pass protection consistently and set the pace physically. Right now, it’s uncertain if this Longhorns unit can do that.
I feel confident Steve Sarkisian and his staff entered this portal window with a solid plan to rebuild the unit. Trevor Goosby returning was the top priority and they were able to get that done. Adding another top-end OT was another and Melvin Siani checked that box. However, they also wanted to add a true starting-level OG and didn’t. They wanted to add multiple depth pieces at guard and center and didn’t. This was a solid effort, but an incomplete one.
If I were to predict the starting five when Texas faces off against Texas State, I’d lean(from left to right) Goosby-Chatman-Robertson-Baker-Siani. That is a unit that not only should give you much improved pass protection, but allow players like Dylan Sikorski and the Coleman twins to fill out depth on the interior.
Don’t get it twisted. This is not what Sarkisian and company planned, but it is better than what they had in 2025. How much better it is falls firmly on the shoulders of Kyle Flood. Barring any remarkable moves, he has what he has and I can promise expectations among Longhorn nation won’t be changing. They have to make it work.
This article originally appeared on Longhorns Wire: Did Texas Football do enough in transfer portal to fix offensive line?
