offensive guards – Syndication Server

Texas Football Recruiting: List of offers to offensive guards in 2022 class

The interior offensive line is a competitive one and somewhere that Texas needs to perform well.

Offensive line recruiting is going to be one of the most important positional groups in Texas’ 2022 class. After covering who the Longhorns have offered at the offensive tackle position, let’s shift gears and take a look at the interior of the line with the guards.

To this point, there have only been three offers extended to guards. Each of them come from inside the state of Texas and in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex area. Steve Sarkisian and Kyle Flood recently re-offered five-star Devon Campbell as they reevaluate their options.

According to the 247Sports composite, there are only nine prospects who are classified as guards and have blue-chip status. The interior offensive recruiting area is a competitive one and somewhere Texas needs to perform well on.

Here is the list of offensive guards Texas has offered from the 2022 class:

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Jonah Jackson gets 1st-team RG reps in 1st day of Lions practices

Rookie Jonah Jackson gets 1st-team RG reps in 1st day of Lions practices, and coach Matt Patricia endorses the guard rotation

Rookie Jonah Jackson earned the first-team reps at right guard in the first practice session of the Detroit Lions training camp. The third-round pick from Ohio State worked with the starters, sandwiched between new RT Halapoulivaati Vaitai and center Frank Ragnow.

Jackson was the only rookie who was consistently working with the first team on Monday. First-round CB Jeff Okudah and second-round RB D’Andre Swift, both of whom figure to play extensively if not outright starting, played primarily with the second teams at their respective positions.

Lions head coach Matt Patricia indicated after practice to not read too much into Jackson’s status. He explained that it was simply Jackson’s turn in the guard rotation after Kenny Wiggins and Oday Aboushi had run with the 1s in prior walkthroughs.

“Really, Oday (Aboushi) and Kenny (Wiggins) and those guys have been working through there previous to getting out there today, so it’s kind of just a rotational thing that wound up being the first day of pads.”

Patricia did cite Jackson’s maturity and extensive experience starting at both Rutgers and then Ohio State as feathers in his cap. The coach also gave a noncommittal endorsement of the guard rotation the team used last year.

“I think it’s something that we did earlier, I think it’s something that we liked and really kind of in the long run helped us with our situation that we had because of some injuries and gave some guys some good reps going forward,” Patricia said when asked about rotating the guards again in 2020. “I would say it’s not really a set-in-stone plan that, ‘Hey, we’re going to do it this way, or that way.’ We just want to really get some competition right now and see what it looks like from that standpoint.”

Expect Jackson to be a significant part of the rotation as a rookie.

Instant analysis of the Lions selecting OG Jonah Jackson

Instant analysis of the Detroit Lions selection of Ohio State guard Jonah Jackson after trading up in the third round.

The Detroit Lions traded up in the third round with the Indianapolis Colts from No. 85 to No. 75 and selected Jonah Jackson to fill in on the interior offensive line.

After the departure of Graham Glasgow in free agency, there were many questions as to how the Lions will fill that void, and we got our answer with Jackson.

He possesses an NFL ready body (6-3.5 and 305 lbs) and will immediately make his presence known. He was only a one-year starter at Ohio State, but that was after a graduate transfer from Maryland.

One of Jackson’s calling cards is he can line up anywhere along the interior offensive line registering snaps at left guard, right guard, and center during his collegiate career.

With his mean streak, he will open gaps for the run game and will clear any lane with his firm, engaging hands. If he loses the initial battle, he has excellent balance and quickness to re-engage and attack. He has only allowed a single sack in the past three seasons and fewer than 10 pressures during the same stretch.

The area that gets Jackson in trouble is sometimes his upper half doesn’t communicate well with his bottom half leading some mechanical issues and him getting too upright, eventually losing the battle. He also gets grabby at times leading to him relying on his strength to holds. Some of his techniques could require some refinement, but the attributes are there for him to be an effective guard.

The Lions got an up-close and personal look at Jackson, coaching him at the Senior Bowl, and they must’ve fallen in love with him if they were willing to trade up to make sure he is a Detroit Lion. With his superior play strength, NFL ready size, and quality guard attributes, he will immediately step in and fill the vacant guard spot. Between him and Vaiti, they will create a formidable run blocking duo and help clear the lanes for Kerryon Johnson and second-round selection D’Andre Swift.