Jump to content

Position Preview (and updates) - Offensive Line


catdaddyp

Recommended Posts

Watching Liberty vs Oregon now. Had a pop up that all 5 of Liberty’s OL started every game this season and was only 1 of 8 teams to do so. One of those OL was Xavier Gray (at RT). Not sure what to make of that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, LZIp said:

Watching Liberty vs Oregon now. Had a pop up that all 5 of Liberty’s OL started every game this season and was only 1 of 8 teams to do so. One of those OL was Xavier Gray (at RT). Not sure what to make of that.

He has 3 penalties in 1st qtr so far

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, LZIp said:

Watching Liberty vs Oregon now. Had a pop up that all 5 of Liberty’s OL started every game this season and was only 1 of 8 teams to do so. One of those OL was Xavier Gray (at RT). Not sure what to make of that.

I watched that game too. Gray did not distinguish himself, but he played better than he ever played in a Zip uniform. i was glad to see him transfer as I felt there was no way he would ever help us. Based on what I saw in games i still stick by that. Kudos to him and his Liberty coaches who helped him begin to reach his potential. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/1/2024 at 1:26 PM, LZIp said:

Watching Liberty vs Oregon now. Had a pop up that all 5 of Liberty’s OL started every game this season and was only 1 of 8 teams to do so. One of those OL was Xavier Gray (at RT). Not sure what to make of that.

I'm not calling for anyone's head, because I like Joel Rodriguez, but this has to be a bit of indictment on our coaching. No?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, Blue & Gold said:

@catdaddyp, for D-1 standards, our OL are a bit on the short side, aren't they?  And I know this is currently a shot in the dark, but who do you see contributing, and at which OL positions, next season.  The only one I've got pencilled in is Tyhler Williams at C.

Our IOL recruiting has definitely been on the shorter side than our OTs, but most of them seem to have a fairly long reach. 
 

I expect to see Blanchard at LT, K. Davis and Seymore at OG, and T. Williams at C. If Chambers returns, he’s probably our RT. Kindred and Shor definitely have more athletic ability and upside, but neither have proven anything at this level. If one of them can claim the RT spot, that should be a substantially better OL than what we’ve seen.

 

I’m still concerned about quality depth for an extended period of time. Would like to see a at least one more portal transfer with experience. I expect we’ll add another HS lineman in the 2nd signing period too.

  • Thanks 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/7/2024 at 4:59 PM, Blue & Gold said:

@catdaddyp, for D-1 standards, our OL are a bit on the short side, aren't they?  And I know this is currently a shot in the dark, but who do you see contributing, and at which OL positions, next season.  The only one I've got pencilled in is Tyhler Williams at C.

 

Lack of height In OL doesn't bother me. The best interior lineman I ever watched play was Dave Remington (yeah, the one the award is named after).  Wearing spikes and a helmet, he very well may have measured in at 6'3" or 6'4". But, standing right next to him in street clothes I looked down at him because he was only about 5'11", maybe 6'0'. Granted, he was more than twice as wide as me.

And I seem to recall many football experts claim that the line that gets the lowest is going to control the line of scrimmage, so short is good.

 

Edited by Zipmeister
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, catdaddyp said:

 

Chambers landed with Tulane.

Do you think he got a full scholarship, partial or PWO?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

28 minutes ago, 72 Roo said:

Do you think he got a full scholarship, partial or PWO?

I’d guess a full. He was solid for us at RT, which is where I’d think he would be slotted for Tulane. Probably will be a backup, but I don’t know much about Tulane’s OL situation. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, ZippyRulz said:

Thanks. Would you say we're in at least 2.5 range with the current crop of OL?

 

I think the staff has done a really nice job recruiting the OL. In general, it just takes longer to develop offensive linemen than most other positions. The OL was in rough shape when Moorhead took over. There were a handful of players that had talent, but still needed developing. The rest really should have been nothing more than situational backups.


From the 1st class (2022) Landers started as a freshman and unfortunately was lost to JUCO. The following year Williams and Davis became starters as redshirt freshmen (expecting both of them to only get better from here). Whigan was an immediate starter and All-MAC guard from the portal. Banes was a starter from the portal when he wasn’t injured.

 

The 2nd class (2023) brought in two starters from the portal in Blanchard and Frank. All of the freshmen (Morris, James, and Mann) redshirted, so still too early for them, but they look promising.

 

The 3rd class (2024) has 2 JUCO All-Americans (Walker and Fox), 1 JUCO that was on the All-American watchlist before the year began (Burrell), 1 All-MEAC (Thomas), a part-time starter at Miami (Seymore), a starter at Southern (Fields), a former Alabama recruit (Shor), and a prep recruiting win over Boston College (Mitchell). 

 

There were 5 linemen that transferred out this offseason and 5 that transferred out last offseason from the previous staff. So 10 OL didn’t get the job done at a high enough level that the current staff inherited. That’s tough.

 

They won’t all work out but the talent and athleticism has been increased dramatically. As far as the stars go, most of these guys would be fringe 3 star guys according to Rivals ratings, which basically means either a multi-year starter, potential all-conference player, or potential late round pick in the NFL draft. This ought to be the year we see substantial improvement from the OL.

 


 

 

 

 

 

  • Like 5
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...