AUSTIN, Texas — A year after the Texas Longhorns were unable to solidify the left guard position until late in the season, sophomore Dylan Sikorski and sixth-year Laurence Seymore shared those duties during Saturday’s 59-7 win over the Texas State Bobcats in Austin.
Next week’s high-profile matchup against No. 1 Ohio State will determine whether the lack of separation at the position is cause for concern.
On the official depth chart, one of the surprises was Sikorski listed as the first co-starter ahead of Seymore, the projected starter at the position after he received his waiver to play a sixth season after transferring from Western Kentucky. But the 6’2, 316-pounder suffered an injury early in the first scrimmage and missed critical practice time Seymore wasn’t afforded during the spring when he was resolving his eligibility.
And, indeed, it was Sikorski who trotted out with the first team for his seventh career start — the Oregon State transfer made six last year for the Beavers as a true freshman before losing that role — ultimately playing 33 snaps as Seymore spelled the 6’4, 335-pounder for 36 snaps.
“I thought Dylan had a really good game. I thought he played well,” Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said Monday. “I thought Lawrence was getting his footing a little bit, and granted, he was coming off of being out a little bit, and so it took a minute.”
Along with the rest of the offensive line, Sikorski and Seymore were solid in pass protection as Pro Football Focus did not credit either with allowing a pressure in 40 combined pass-blocking snaps, but there was some separation in run blocking, an area of weakness for Seymore with his lack of height.
PFF graded Sikorski out at 66.8, a solid effort, while Seymore was below average at 54.5, contributing to a 10-point overall edge for Sikorski in the site’s grading.
A bad game in pass protection against Wake Forest helped define Sikorski’s freshman season — he allowed one hit and three hurries in only 26 pass-blocking snaps — contributing to his lack of playing time late in the year. If Sikorski can keep that area clean, his advantage in height, length, and mass over Seymore could decide the position battle in the younger player’s favor.
“I think he’s a physical player. He’s not afraid to hit. He’s pretty smart. I think especially for a guy that transferred in, I’d say he knows the playbook pretty well,” fifth-year center Connor Robertson said last week. “I think his physicality is probably the one thing that stands out to me, but he’s a really good player, and he’s getting better and better every week.”
One of Sikorski’s best blocks came at right guard, where his size and physicality helped create a hole for fifth-year running back Raleek Brown to score on a 21-yard touchdown run.
Sarkisian believes that Texas will continue to need that rotation, at least for the first part of the season until one of those players creates some separation with fifth-year Cole Hutson currently ineligible and senior Andre Cojoe, a potential competitor at the position, rotating in at left tackle with senior Trevor Goosby as he regains full health following Goosby’s preseason bone bruise in his knee.