Offensive-Line Struggles

MarcoColemanFan

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I thought the O-line was decent against Clemson and USF, but we really struggled with both pass blocking and run blocking against the Citadel on Saturday. It won't help that the injuries are piling up too. This is my biggest concern rn with the team. What do ya'll think?
 

Jacketeer

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Haven't been the best, but I really like Key. Unfortunately we are really thin there and Lee out for season, Minihan injured, and Cooper battling injuries is not a recipe for success.
 

Dcgt4542

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The most OL recruits we took in one year under Paul Johnson was four.

Only took 2 in 2018 and took ZERO in 2019. This rebuild is gonna take forever.

We’ve basically duct taped some fat kids together for an OL and trotted them out there.
Your point is funny with the duct tape and fat kids but very accurate and insightful. The factories have very specific body types that must be met unless the outlier performance dictates otherwise. Not just height and weight. They know what body type can be molded and leveraged - not an exact science but statistically sound. Example Mason is a wrecking ball but still did not meet certain profiles. His outliers were and are special. With BK we will see a new profile upon entry. Might take a while but he knows what he needs. We have failed the eye test for years but that will change. Even Kirby moved that way and his starting point was - well different. That O line is not just huge but more leverage built. Our staff needs some time. And it will be painful for a while. They know what they have.

Now no excuse for Citadel but one mulligan on the coaching front is OK.
 

33jacket

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The most OL recruits we took in one year under Paul Johnson was four.

Only took 2 in 2018 and took ZERO in 2019. This rebuild is gonna take forever.

We’ve basically duct taped some fat kids together for an OL and trotted them out there.
This exactly. Paul under recruited this position for 10 years. We were always thin and short in numbers. And the last two recruiting cycles were an OL disaster thanks to his ol recruiting strategy that was overly compensated for in AB and RB.

We need transfers for sure. Need to sign 7 even if that means taking one less somewhere else. We are still young at a few positions.

If i was this staff for 2020 i would be loading up on OL, LB, and QB. Maybe sacrificing 1-2 dbs or whatever
 

Yukonwreck

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Sep 27, 2007
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Your point is funny with the duct tape and fat kids but very accurate and insightful. The factories have very specific body types that must be met unless the outlier performance dictates otherwise. Not just height and weight. They know what body type can be molded and leveraged - not an exact science but statistically sound. Example Mason is a wrecking ball but still did not meet certain profiles. His outliers were and are special. With BK we will see a new profile upon entry. Might take a while but he knows what he needs. We have failed the eye test for years but that will change. Even Kirby moved that way and his starting point was - well different. That O line is not just huge but more leverage built. Our staff needs some time. And it will be painful for a while. They know what they have.

Now no excuse for Citadel but one mulligan on the coaching front is OK.
So our guys will look like the interior linemen at Wisconsin or Nebraska?
 

JoeCakeEater

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Does the fact that CPJ recruited 0 last year look to suspicious to you?
He recruited 2. Sounded like we ghosted them and allowed them to head elsewhere. If they didn't fit what we were trying to do, then probably the best outcome for all parties involved.

It's going to take a couple more seasons to have a quality O-Line built/developed. I don't see any way around that fact. We just need to own it and as long as it's progressing in the right direction then be content with that as a fan base.
 

Flywheel

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I been sayin'.

I appreciate CPJ for everything he did here, but signing 2 OLs in 2018 and none in 2019 did not set up the next coach well. Moreover, our best one transferred to start at Texas and we replaced him with one from Vanderbilt. Then key injuries to the best 2 remaining. The offensive switch is less impactful than how the OL depth chart has been decimated over the last 18 months. Partly luck, partly self-inflicted by the previous regime. You can judge CGC for some boneheaded game management, but Judge Brent Key in 2021, not today. By then, the guys he's recruiting now to fill the void will be sophomores or redshirt freshmen, so even then his unit will be relatively young.
 

Diseqc

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This exactly. Paul under recruited this position for 10 years. We were always thin and short in numbers. And the last two recruiting cycles were an OL disaster thanks to his ol recruiting strategy that was overly compensated for in AB and RB.

We need transfers for sure. Need to sign 7 even if that means taking one less somewhere else. We are still young at a few positions.

If i was this staff for 2020 i would be loading up on OL, LB, and QB. Maybe sacrificing 1-2 dbs or whatever
We probably lose Gibbs from this class. We don’t need another RB at this point. That’s a luxury we just can’t afford. Replace him with some more OL.
 

texstinger

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Does the fact that CPJ recruited 0 last year look to suspicious to you?
Not to me.

This is exactly the concern many had for years - the way his system cheated certain groups because we had to overload on A, B, and “Athlete” O backs.

When the O worked it was great, but when it didn’t there was no D or passing game to fall back on.

And even given all that, how many years did we not even use all our ships?

Lazy recruiting (minus Andy), could not find ANY worthwhile kids that would accept our ships due to the negativity of the program?

Not sure we were even a one trick pony.
 

Flywheel

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We probably lose Gibbs from this class. We don’t need another RB at this point. That’s a luxury we just can’t afford. Replace him with some more OL.
DT. Six OL is enough in one class. 7 freshmen aren't going to be substantially more helpful than 6 freshmen next year. If we got a transfer with experience, I'd agree with you.

But the DL is in just as much need. DT was a position of weak depth for us before Brandon Adams passed away, and with Jahaziel graduating, we're in dire straights in the interior DL. There is not a single one committed in 2019 yet. If Jayson Jones, Nazir Stackhouse, and Reginald Perry all tried to commit in this class I think we'd take all 3.
 
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