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First, the defensive line produced THREE NFL draftees, which is pretty good no matter what your team of choice may be. Second, the skill players (quarterback, wide receivers and running backs) really shocked a lot of people last season with their production. No one really expected Nesbitt to be successful in the option nor did they expect Roddy "Smith" Jones and Jonathan Dwyer to totally OWN the games they played.
With the new season coming up and the new recruits coming into spring training, press coverage is looking into these two areas again, but this time for all new reasons. The skills positions have gotten better and deeper so defenses can't really rest when the second string players are on the field. The defensive line is coming along slowly with three new players, two specifically at defensive tackle (although I consider anyone 6'7" and 325 lbs. to be counted as TWO people). Although both these areas should be covered and analyzed, I want to focus on the offensive line, the most unheralded but important of football positions.
The offensive line is now said to be the weakest link on the team and by looking at the data, this viewpoint can be justified. Several of our senior players have moved on and the incoming recruits, while substantial, are very young and will require a lot of coaching. Knowing our coaching staff, I am sure that they are up to the task. The one issue that bloggers and columnists have been pushing out is the fact that the more senior players on the line have been having a good deal of injuries.
Here is the brief list of significant injuries:
Cord Howard - Missed MOST of the Spring practice
Dan Voss - Miss ALL of Spring practice with a shoulder injury requiring surgery
Nick Claytor - Missed MOST of Spring practice with a back surgery
While there are only THREE players who have been dealing with injuries, the biggest concern is that these players have the most experience and provide solid leadership to the remaining players, especially with so many Freshmen and Sophomore players being utilized. Experts would point to this as a major flaw but I tend to disagree, which would make me NOT an expert (I guess). I see the pushing of the younger players into action as being truly a blessing. Too often teams will want to use only the upper year players until graduation, which then causes them to use the younger players who often do not have the experience to be integrated so quickly.
If you want to read the information yourself, try HERE or HERE, or even HERE. As always, READ IT!!
However with the Offensive line now in its current position of depletion and competition, I see this as nothing but a HUGE plus for us as the year progresses. The experimentation and repetitions that this group will face will provide the coaching staff with plenty of data in which to determine the best groups of starters.
Ladies and Gentlemen - Your Georgia Tech Offensive Line Players!
Raymond Beno - OL 6-1 270lbs. FreshmanNick Claytor - OT 6-6 304lbs. Sophomore
Jay Finch - OL 6-4 255lbs. Freshman
Antonio Foster - OL 6-4 280lbs. Freshman
Zach Fraysier - OL 6-3 275lbs. Freshman
Joseph Gilbert - OG 6-4 288lbs. Sophomore
Cordaro Howard - OG 6-5 310lbs. Senior
Chase Hudson - OG 6-2 268lbs. Sophomore
Will Jackson - OL 6-4 275lbs. Freshman
Mike Johnson - OL 6-4 300lbs. Freshman
Jeff Lentz - OT 6-5 252lbs. Junior
Brad Sellers - OT 6-2 252lbs. Senior
Phil Smith - OT 6-6 290lbs. Freshman
Omoregie Uzzi - OG 6-3 291lbs. Freshman
Dan Voss - C 6-4 294.lbs. Senior
Clyde Yandell - OT 6-5 296lbs. Sophomore
I decided to highlight the Freshmen in red just to show that this side of the football is indeed very young. The flip side of this stat is that in a year or two, Tech should have one of the deepest, most experienced offensive lines in college football. Even looking at the individual player information, this recruiting class is going to be a strong one with the average offensive line player being 6-3 and 280lbs. I fully understand that this size is not in the line of the Oklahoma's and the USC's of the world, but the Triple Option is predicated on the usage of fast, agile and nasty linemen.
Conclusion:
There could be some early season issues with regards to meshing and leadership, but as the season progresses and the line becomes a more cohesive unit, I see a strong offensive line for the next two seasons. You can only imagine how strong the lines will become as this recruiting class alone matures and the next classes arrive on campus.
Ridiculous UGA AJC Vent of the Week:
Paul Johnson is a great coach and GT will have a great offense, but this is big boy football. GT's defense will its downfall.
4 comments:
I wouldn't say its a plus to have those guys injured (I am quite sure we would have been better off with them getting some practice, and the younger guys maybe getting a little less...).
Other than that, however, I agree with you. This should bode really well for us in a couple of years. Additionally, while our O-line will not be as good as it could have been because of the injuries, the important factor is that it will be better than it was last year. There was a HUGE improvement in the O-line from Game 1 to Game 12 last season, so after Fall practice, our O should really be rolling...
"Paul Johnson is a great coach and GT will have a great offense, but this is big boy football. GT's defense will its downfall."
I don't even understand this ... the big boy thing is usually about our O, which they admit will be great. We are running a fairly standard D..
Roddy JONES, guys- not Smith or White or anything else. "nor did they expect Roddy Smith and Jonathan Dwyer to totally OWN the games they played."
Calling him "Roddy 'Smith' Jones" is a running inside joke among the Tech Nation ever since the TV announcer called him Roddy Smith through an entire game.
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