Here, we’ll go over Texas Longhorns snap-count data, offensive line grades, offensive line disruption-allowed statistics and give historical context about Arch Manning and the Texas Longhorns offense coming out of the Florida game.
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Skill Player Snap Counts and Game-by-Game Percentages of Offensive Snaps (Through Week 5)
***please note that exact snap-count numbers may differ from other sources at times, as the Deep Dig does not count plays as offensive player snaps that are blown dead due to penalty, punts, extra points, field goals, spiked balls, victory formations, kneel-downs, etc.***
Personnel-Grouping Frequency Overall and by Game (Through Week 5)
Tight End Total Snap Counts and Alignment Data (Through Week 5)
Team Target Share By Week (Through Week 5)
Deep Dig OL Grading Scale (each snap by each player is graded as its own independent event)
OL Grades (Florida)
LT Trevor Goosby – 56 snaps
2 QB pressures, 1 sack allowed
1 false start penalty
DEEP DIG GRADE: 76.79
LG Connor Stroh – 16 snaps
1 sack allowed
DEEP DIG GRADE: N/A
LG Nick Brooks – 40 snaps
….here we go …
6 QB pressures, 2 QB hits, 1 run stuff allowed
2 false start penalties
1 knockdown
DEEP DIG GRADE: 68.5
C Cole Hutson – 56 snaps
2 QB pressures, 2 run-stuffs, 1 sack, 1 QB hit allowed
1 knockdown
DEEP DIG GRADE: 72.75
RG DJ Campbell – 56 snaps
No disruption allowed
(Was called for a holding penalty, but it was not counted per Deep Dig scoring as the penalty was declined)
DEEP DIG GRADE: 77.79
RT Brandon Baker – 56 snaps
1 QB pressure, 1 run-stuff allowed
1 false start penalty, 1 holding penalty
DEEP DIG GRADE: 76.07
OL Grades by Week
OL Snaps-per-Disruption Allowed (Through Week 5)
OL Snaps-per-Disruption by Week (Cumulative, Post-Week)
OL Snaps-per-Disruption Allowed (2025) vs. Historical Context
2025 OL Inclusions to Historical 80-Plus Point Game List
QUICK FINAL THOUGHTS
The first thing you’re likely going to ask is whether the 68.5 grade from Nick Brooks in this game is the worst in the history of the Deep Dig, and you’d be right for doing so, because it is the first thing we asked once the calculations were done.
We’ve been doing the Deep Dig since 2013, but have only kept decent records for most of the data since 2015 when we started using our current template for comparative purposes from year to year. So we can at least look back that far … and in looking at the lowest-graded single game performance from each season dating back over that decade, here’s what we found:
The worst grade in one game in all of 2024 was 73.51 (DJ Campbell vs. Georgia). In 2023 it was 73.14 (Hayden Conner vs. BYU). In 2022, it was 73.55 (Cole Hutson vs. Texas Tech). In 2021, it was 71.25 (Denzel Okafor vs. Arkansas). In 2020, it was 73.54 (Denzel Okafor vs. Texas Tech). In 2019 it was 72.36 (Denzel Okafor vs. Baylor). In 2018 it was 73.27 (Patrick Vahe vs. TCU). In 2017, it was 70.58 (Terrell Cuney vs. TCU). In 2016, it was 68.16 (Tristan Nickelson vs. Kansas State), and in 2015 it was 70.56 (Marcus Hutchins vs. OU).
So, Nick Brooks didn’t just play the worst game in the history of the column, but he did just play what we’d call the second worst. Out of 674 games graded over the period (sort of amazing how much time has gone into this at this point, goodness gracious) it was the second-worst we’ve seen. We’ll talk about what this means, but before that, we need to give a little context.That 70.58 number that Terrell Cuney put up in 2017 came on 71 snaps at center against TCU where he allowed 4 pressures, a sack, 2 TFLs, and committed a leg whip penalty. The 70.56 in 2015 from Marcus Hutchins in the Cotton Bowl came on 67 snaps where he allowed 2 pressures, 2 QB hits, and 1 run-stuff.
The Big Kahuna, the worst game in the easily accessible annals of the Deep Dig’s history, the Tristan Nickelson 68.16-pointer in 2016, came on 39 snaps where he allowed 3 pressures, 1 sack, and a TFL while also committing a false start penalty.
In those games, those players obviously played really badly. It’s worth noting, though, that Brooks’ bad plays led to an astounding amount of disruption to the offense. On 40 total snaps, he allowed disruption once every 3.63 snaps. Nickelson’s game “only” allowed disruption once every 6.5 snaps. For Cuney it was every 8.88 snaps, and for Hutchins it was once every 13.4.There’s no getting away from the fact that this game was disastrous for Brooks, who came in in relief of Connor Stroh at LG, who seemed to be benched after once again getting his weight out over the balls of his feet, getting overextended, and allowing the defender to use his lurching body weight against him en route to a clean sack. It was all of Stroh’s shortcomings as a player wrapped up in perfect presentation, and it felt like Kyle Flood had simply seen enough. We think a lot of fans felt the same way.
And here’s the thing with Nick Brooks — he doesn’t always look like a disaster. He has good enough feet, and he can move bodies in the run game. He’s an athlete with a lot of upside. A lot (but certainly not all) of the disruption he allowed was not recognizing/feeling delayed blitzes and stunts to the B-gap on the outside half of his body. He would help Hutson with the one-shade, and close the gate to the outside half of his body, leaving the B-gap wide open, only to realize too late that he’d done so and not be able to engage the player until he was well out of position to do so. It’s why you always saw him back there helping Manning up on the QB hits — heck, one time he actually was the one who delivered the hit to Manning running back towards him to chase after his responsibility.
We think those are things that can be fixed. It’s not like his feet look stuck in cement like Stroh, but there’s no doubt that Stroh, despite leaving MUCH to be desired as a starter, has never played a game at Texas anywhere near as bad as Brooks’ was on Saturday. It was at a level where it’s hard to just say, “these things can be fixed,” when you understand the consequences that can come about if they are not. The floor with this player coming into the Oklahoma game might be a level below our dark basement here at the Deep Dig. Despite any talk of his traits, is it safe to roll him out there again versus Oklahoma, once again betting on the come?
It seems like Neto Umeozulu is just skating by until the season ends. When you see a guy on the sidelines sitting on the bench and not wearing his helmet during an offensive series, you get the idea that the staff has let him know in some way that he’s not going to be playing. They’re playing the guy who was set to be the team’s third-string right tackle over him. At this point, we don’t see how Umeozulu could be that much worse … he’s graded out fine this season (albeit versus Texas’ easiest opponents, mostly in mop-up time). So, that’s an option.
Would playing Conner Robertson at center and Cole Hutson at LG be better? Well, maybe, but don’t let Brooks’ game distract you from the fact that Hutson was a total liability in this one as well and at this point should be thought of as a weak link himself. The bad news is that Robertson has allowed more disruption on a per-snap basis this season than Hutson has, and Robertson has only played against bad teams. Robertson would be a downgrade at an already weak center position.
Will Kyle Flood bet on traits and upside (of which Brooks has much of both) and stick with him, or will he go back to Stroh, who he knows is a very limited player, probably always will be, but one who’s likely not going to allow as much total chaos if things go sideways like they did versus Florida? Could they try playing Nate Kibble? Is that really that much more of a gamble than rolling out Brooks was last week? At least Kibble has been in the system for over a year now and has actually been playing guard.
The season depends on the offensive line never having a game like it did against Florida ever again. Kyle Flood’s biggest test during his entire time at Texas is one heck of a challenging riddle.
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Discussed at length today as the topic of our daily OB YouTube Show.
