Pro Football Network’s latest grades put Houston right guard McKenzie Agnello at No. 2 nationally, and the Cougars’ hunt starts up front.
Through seven weeks, Agnello sits at 93.2 in PFN’s right guard grades. He earned that number the way this offense earns everything, by running down Oklahoma State at TDECU. Conner Weigman finished 24-of-33 for 343 yards and five touchdowns, and the pocket he did it from was built on the right side.
Agnello slipped behind only one name, Kentucky’s Tegra Tshabola, who leads the pack at 93.7. Tshabola earned the top spot the same weekend, when the Wildcats went to Norman and took down Oklahoma. The two are separated by half a point. Between them and the rest of the country, though, is a canyon. Army’s Paolo Gennarelli is third at 91.9, which puts Agnello 1.3 points clear of the field behind him.
The list says a lot about where good guard play lives right now. Six of the 15 graded guards play in the SEC: Tshabola, Ole Miss’ Patrick Kutas (90.5), Georgia’s Zykie Helton (89.8), LSU’s Aliou Bah (89.1), Florida’s TJ Shanahan Jr. (88.9) and Alabama’s Michael Carroll (87.9). Agnello outgrades every one of them. He is also the Big 12’s best by a wide margin. Cincinnati’s Xavier Lozowicki (89.2) and BYU’s Kyle Sfarcioc (89.0) are the only other Big 12 guards listed, and Agnello leads them by 4.0 and 4.2 points.
Guard is the least glamorous job on the field. Nobody makes a highlight reel out of a pocket that stayed clean or a double team that moved a nose tackle three yards off the ball. Those wins are quiet, and they show up in a quarterback’s stat line, a running back’s yards per carry, and a defense’s time on the bench. Agnello’s 93.2 is the quiet part of this offense put into a number.
Top 15 right guards through Week 7 (PFN)
Tegra Tshabola, Kentucky: 93.7
McKenzie Agnello, Houston: 93.2
Paolo Gennarelli, Army: 91.9
Roger Carreon, Boise State: 91.3
Kade Pieper, Iowa: 90.5
Patrick Kutas, Ole Miss: 90.5
Kamen Smith, NC State: 90.3
Zykie Helton, Georgia: 89.8
Xavier Lozowicki, Cincinnati: 89.2
Aliou Bah, LSU: 89.1
Kyle Sfarcioc, BYU: 89.0
TJ Shanahan Jr., Florida: 88.9
Addison Nichols, SMU: 88.5
Bradley Smith, Duke: 88.2
Michael Carroll, Alabama: 87.9
Next up: The test gets harder Saturday. No. 14 Houston (6-1, 3-1 Big 12) visits No. 10 Utah (6-0, 3-0) at Rice-Eccles Stadium, with ESPN’s College GameDay on site. The right side of Houston’s line should be ready for it.
