Tray Dub wrote:It's not that I think our o line is more talented than our d line. It's that I think our o line is much, much more important. A team can survive a mediocre d line. It can't survive a mediocre o line (ask ASU).
Oh I agree I just don't worry about our O-Line anymore, they just seem to be able to plug a new guy or two and keep our offense humming that's why I'm more concerned with our Defensive side of the ball! PL:us our O-Line is loaded with talent our D-Line not so much!
IMO as someone mentioned and I'll echo the center position is the critical loss to this team. Finding someone who not only can accurately snap and get off a block, but has the ability like Unger to be quick enough and pull is critical.
I agree with the Jwill comment, his largest contribution this year was blocking ability. Seems like on every highlight you see him in there laying out or bottling up one to two defenders
Stevens was one of the top centers in the country last year, I don't think we have anything to worry about there. We're probably looking at a four year starter
I talked to one of the linemen on the team. He said that Hamani has a lot of work to do if he is to start next year. My bet is Jordan holmes takes over the center spot.
Here is a offensive little rundown:
QB - Nothing to worry about here. Masoli should be the starter, with Roper and Costa backing up. DT likely redshirt.
RB - Blount is a beast, but it would be nice if someone else stepped up to compliment him. Perhaps LMJ? Or if Bryce Brown commits, all our worries are gone. Don't forget about Alston and Crenshaw..
WR - Maehl, Davis, Holland, Harper, Embry, Jordan, Krout, Pflugard, others and some incoming freshmen. The depth is there, that's for sure. Give me Maehl, Davis and Holland as the starters (If we Land Gaines, I could see him being our 3rd starter).
OL - Young, but I love the group we have right now. I think these 4 will probably be our starters: CE Kaiser, Bo Thran, Jordan Holmes, and Mark Asper. Don't forget the youth though. York, Carmichael, Weems, Cody, and Stevens were studs in HS, I wouldn't be surprised if 2 of them ended up starters by seasons end.
TE - Ed Dickson is bigtime. We have to get him more involved! He's our most reliable player and he runs the best routes. Malachi Lewis is perhaps the best backup TE in the pac-10, if not the country. Those 2 are enough to make this our strongest class. NaDerris Ward, David Paulson, and Mychal Rivera bring insurance.
I don't think our backfield should be much of a concern. They'll do their part, that's for sure. The WR group is deep, but very inexperienced. Drew Davis HAS to step up for us. I don't see any of the other guys really turning into our goto guy. Maehl needs to be reliable as well. We can't have anymore dropped passes. Our OL is probably the biggest concern. Nothing recruiting can fix, but it's just a matter of these guys getting out there and playing. Kaiser IMO stepped up this past season, I think he could be big for us. But we lost so much talent, that it might take a while to bounce back. The talent at OL is probably more talent than we have at any other position, but the lack of experience could hurt. Our tight end group is our best.
Anyone notice how extremely good college players (ex: Reggie Bush) can't make the same types of super run's nearly as often in the NFL? The players are all sooo ridiculous that it is impossible to get anywhere without being tackled. The play of the O-line is absolutely essential to a good backfield, as our guys can't run anywhere if there is no room. Considering our two best (tupou & unger) are gone, I have often wondered where we stand there as well.. Controlling the line of scrimmage is the only way to really pour gas on our offense's fire IMO...
Hamani Stevens seems to be forgotten, very good chance we will have a RS Frosh stnrting at C. Weems is the wildcard IMO, can he step up and take that LT job, it's right there for him if he gets the work ethic part going.
