Brennan Marion’s memory of his Texas stop is a little too generous for Longhorn fans’ taste.
Marion, who spent one season in Austin before moving on to become Colorado’s offensive coordinator under Deion Sanders, has been a popular name among Texas supporters in the past. Plenty of fans liked the idea of him taking over play-calling duties from Steve Sarkisian and easing the head coach’s workload. That goodwill took a hit after Marion’s latest comments about the offensive line he’s coaching now.
In a recent interview with The Athletic, Marion made a direct comparison between Colorado and the Texas team he worked with in 2022.
"Obviously, being in the Big 12 before when I was at Texas, I know other than Texas Tech, it hasn't drastically changed as far as the players," Marion told The Athletic. "Our O-line is better than what we had at Texas other than we don't have Kelvin Banks.
Offensive line-wise, we're better than we were at Texas. We're bigger.
We're more physical. This will be the best offensive line that I've ever had."
That’s a strong claim, especially with Colorado having lost offensive tackle Jordan Seaton, the No. 3 overall player in the transfer portal this offseason, to LSU. And the “other than Banks” caveat matters a lot, considering Kelvin Banks was arguably the best offensive tackle in the country at his peak.
Marion’s Texas line in 2022 had plenty of talent around it, too. The group included future NFL Draft picks and players who later earned All-Conference recognition, even if not all of them had fully established themselves in Austin at the time.
Among the key names from that Texas front were Kelvin Banks Jr. (first-round pick), Christian Jones (fifth-round pick), DJ Campbell (sixth-round pick), Junior Angilau (2022 second-team All-Big 12 Preseason selection), Hayden Conner (sixth-round pick), Jake Majors (All-Big 12 Honorable Mention in 2023, program-record 56 starts), Cole Hutson (member of Joe Moore Award finalist group in 2023, '24), and Cameron Williams (sixth-round pick).
None of that means Colorado can’t field a strong line this season. The Buffs did add multiple notable offensive linemen through the portal. But Marion’s comparison reads more like a coach backing his current group than a fair-eyed assessment of the two units.
For now, the 2022 Texas offensive line still looks like the safer bet.
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