Texas fortifies a depleted offensive line with a highly-rated freshman transfer, shoring up protection for Arch Manning.
The Texas Longhorns are coming off another 10-plus win season, their third in as many years. At this time of year, the transfer portal has spun off its axis, with thousands of players deciding to look for greener grass elsewhere.
The Longhorns are not immune to that sort of thinking.
Offensive line coach Kyle Flood has watched as six of his offensive linemen have said goodbye to the program, making that position thin on experience and depth. Flood is sounding the alarm and making this issue a top priority.
According to Horns247, at the Citrus Bowl Media Days, Flood said this about the Longhorns' offensive line play,
"Really, what we've been searching for all year is consistency," Flood said. "And I think we found that a little bit better toward the end of the year…But you'd like to have continuity. Continuity generally leads to consistency. It's the most important part of that position. It's really what we've been searching for.
"I think we found that later in the year. So that's exciting for us. And now we've got to continue against a really good [Michigan] defense."
Responding to that alarm, former Oregon State left guard Dylan Sikorski has announced his commitment to the Longhorns.
At 6-4, 332 pounds, Sikorski was a freshman in 2025 for the Beavers. In eight games, Sikorski played 444 offensive snaps and allowed just one sack, according to Pro Football Focus. In 250 pass blocking snaps, Sikorski gave just eight quarterback pressures.
That is a good thing when you consider that Flood’s offensive line unit allowed star quarterback Arch Manning to be sacked 23 times. The Longhorns ranked No. 62 in the FBS in this category.
One game particularly, on the road at Florida, the Longhorns gave up six sacks of Manning in a 29-21 loss to the Gators.
In addition, Texas failed to rush for over 2,000 yards as a team for the first time in nine seasons. The Longhorns failed to rush for 75 yards in four games against Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi State and Georgia.
That must improve, and Texas needs to open big holes for their new teammate, running back Raleek Brown, so he can show off his speed and play-making skills in space.
The Longhorns need a talented anchor on the line and a bodyguard to protect Manning’s blindside. Sikorski can step into that role now and help turn the Texas offensive line around for the better. Coach Flood has to be excited about that.