After years of discussions, negotiations and preparation, Texas has finally joined the SEC. But how do the Longhorns stack up as they enter the toughest conference in college football?
We’re ranking the SEC position by position, assigning points for each team — 16 points for first place through one point for 16th. We’ll update the totals with each installment, giving a sense of which teams will contend for the SEC title and College Football Playoff spots.
We’ve already examined SEC quarterbacks, running backs and receivers. Next we rank the SEC schools on the strength of their offensive lines heading into the season:
More: Why the SEC needs the Texas cachet to keep the football party going | Golden
1. LSU: Tough, talented Tigers pace rankings
There are no apparent weaknesses up front for the Tigers, who led the SEC in offense (543.5 yards a game) and points (45.5) last season. Will Campbell and Emery Jones, both projected as first-round NFL picks in 2025, have a combined 50 starts and give the Tigers the best bookend tackles in the country. Garrett Dellinger and Miles Frazier return at the guard spots, with Frazier’s 37 starts more than any player in the SEC at any position. DJ Chester could be seen as the unit’s lone question mark since he’s taking over as the starting center, but the former blue-chip recruit played plenty as a freshman in 2023 and looks like a rising star.
2. Texas: Kelvin Banks Jr. leads veteran bunch
Junior Kelvin Banks Jr. may duel LSU’s Campbell for the first left tackle who’ll be taken in the 2025 NFL draft, and a veteran Texas bunch could battle the Tigers for the Joe Moore Award honoring the nation’s top line come awards season in December. Banks, a three-year starter, is one of four starters back from a unit that paved the way for 477.5 yards and 35.8 yards per game. That group includes savvy fifth-year senior center Jake Majors, who has 41 career starts, and proven depth at guard with Hayden Connor, DJ Campbell and Cole Hutson all returning. If 6-foot-5, 360-pound Cam Williams can effectively replace the underrated Christian Jones at right tackle, this group could surpass its 2023 performance.
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3. Georgia: Guards are the strength of unit
With loads of talent and plenty of continuity, there’s plenty to like in the trenches. First-team all-SEC player Tate Ratledge and Dylan Fairchild form arguably the best guard tandem in the nation, especially when it comes to neutralizing an interior pass rush for an offense that ranked second in the SEC with 496.5 yards a game. But the Bulldogs bring a lot more than that elite tandem. Right tackle Xavier Truss decided against the NFL to return to Georgia, and left tackle Ernest Green earned freshman All-American accolades a year ago. If Jared Wilson can step up as the new center and ease the loss of All-American Sedrick Van Pran, Georgia could make its case as the best line in the conference.
4. Tennessee: New tackle keys talented front
The Vols didn’t need much help in the offseason for a deep and talented offensive line, but that didn’t stop head coach Josh Heupel and his staff from plucking LSU tackle Lance Heard from the portal. The former five-star recruit saw plenty of action as a true freshman and could start at left tackle, joining a veteran group that includes returning starters in right tackle John Cooper, center Cooper Mays and right guard Javontez Spraggins. That trio has a combined 126 games and 95 starts, and they helped the Vols lead the SEC in rushing a year ago with 204.8 yards a game.
5. Missouri: Cedar Ridge product part of strong line
Sure, Missouri lost its best lineman from a team that ranked fifth in total offense in the SEC. But a former Austin-area prep star and plenty of returning talent should help the Tigers retain one of the top offensive lines in the conference. Cedar Ridge graduate Marcus Bryant, an All-American Athletic Conference player at SMU last season, will ease the departure of All-American left tackle Javon Foster. He’ll line up alongside another portal arrival in left guard Cayden Green, a part-time starter for Oklahoma as a freshman in 2023. The rest of the Tigers’ line returns intact, including center Connor Tollison, guard Cam’Ron Johnson and tackle Armand Membou.
6. Kentucky: Experience abounds for underrated Cats
The Wildcats ranked just 10th in offense in the SEC a year ago, but don’t blame an efficient offensive line that ranked in the middle of the conference pack in both run blocking and pass protection, according to Pro Football Focus grades. Better yet, most of the group returns for a unit with 156 combined career starts, sixth-most in the nation. Eli Cox is back at center after earning second-team all-SEC honors while left tackle Marques Cox returns for a sixth season. Starting guards Dylan Ray and Jager Barton also run it back for what looks like one of the most cohesive units in the country. Gerald Mincey, the lone newcomer in the starting lineup, started at both…
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