We're taking zero OL this year?

BrentwoodJacket said:
Richie Petitbon is an OL grad transferring from Alabama. Is there any chance we could get him?
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He was a top recruit but never a starter at Bama. I guess Coach Key could have had some leverage with him but didn't push it too hard.
 
Football is won and lost on the line of scrimmage. I don't care how you slice it, not taking any offensive linemen in a class is a major screw up. We keep looking for wide receivers. I hope somebody pulls a couple of big boys out of the hat by Wednesday or we are going to pay a price down the road.

Go Jackets!
 
Jerry the Jacket said:
Football is won and lost on the line of scrimmage. I don't care how you slice it, not taking any offensive linemen in a class is a major screw up. We keep looking for wide receivers. I hope somebody pulls a couple of big boys out of the hat by Wednesday or we are going to pay a price down the road.

Go Jackets!
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That thinking is predicated on all things being equal. They are not.

The pool is shallow now. And much deeper next year. We have to assume we can get 4-5 star players next year. Do you really think 3 star linemen from the remainers will beat out the 4-5s that are a year younger?
 
Given the late start and the lack of really good prospects that were available after December, maybe 2019 was not a great year for OL. I know they don't get the notoriety of some positions, but good to great offensive linemen do have some skill sets that not all of us are blessed with.
 
ramblin57 said:
Seems to me that we might be able to make our new OG positions work with the OLs already here, but need entirely different type OL for new OT positions. Center is an open question in my mind for new offense as to whether we can use existing OLs or need a new OL at center. I'm sure spg practice will give a lot of answers.
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I pretty much agree with this. It’s why the Shaq argument for pro style makes zero sense.

Center will be huge. They will ask him to call protections/run blocks
 
Jerry the Jacket said:
Football is won and lost on the line of scrimmage. I don't care how you slice it, not taking any offensive linemen in a class is a major screw up. We keep looking for wide receivers. I hope somebody pulls a couple of big boys out of the hat by Wednesday or we are going to pay a price down the road.

Go Jackets!
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We have 15 scholarship OL next year, counting the grad transfer. At this point, if you're not going to add an immediate impact 4 or 5 star for 2019, save the scholarship for Brent Key to make his full recruiting presence felt in 2020. It's not like a freshman project coming in here (and that's all that's left to recruit) is going to be able to adjust to the offensive change any better than the guys already here. We have a few guys like Quinney (6'6") and DeFoor along with Southers who fit the traditional offense OT body type. With Quinney, it's all a matter of how quickly and successfully can he take to pass-blocking versus option blocking. Throwing a scholarship at some 6-6 320 unathletic 2 star right now just to have a body makes no sense. It's taking away from a scholarship you might give to 2020 kids like Zimmerman, Cohen or McLaughlin next year who have a much better chance at developing into good players.
 
One little experiment someone can conduct is to analyze OL injuries - both GT and opposing team - this year and next and see if there is a difference. The sample size will be too small to draw any definitive conclusion and the transition to different blocking schemes by GT is a variable we can’t control, but it may be interesting nonetheless just to see the data.
 
Jerry the Jacket said:
Football is won and lost on the line of scrimmage. I don't care how you slice it, not taking any offensive linemen in a class is a major screw up. We keep looking for wide receivers. I hope somebody pulls a couple of big boys out of the hat by Wednesday or we are going to pay a price down the road.

Go Jackets!
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FWIW, we are signing more DL than we would have. That is the line of scrimmage also.

Remember the college game is changing with regard to transfers. We have an OL in this class. PJ was going to sign two lightly recruited 18-year-olds. Collins signed one 22-year-old with a degree from Vandy and experience in the SEC. We might sign another similar OL come June.
 
It an easy and smart decision. Why give scholarships to guys you don't think will play be impact players. Kirby did the same his first year at ugay. He could have signed 25+ but only signed 20 or so because he didn't think the last 5 would have been quality players. The following year he had extra scholarships with more time for his staff to recruit.
 
As many times as CGC has said "Roster Management", I have to believe he has a strategy. If he over-overcorrects next recruiting class I'll be concerned. If CBK thinks it is a big problem, I'm sure he'll bring it up with CGC on the next helicopter ride.
 
I'm no football coach, but if you take a chance on OL, best case scenario is you have to redshirt the kid. He MAY start one year down the road, or he may just provide depth all of his career. It's hard to say. BUT, you could instead focus your efforts on a recruit you know has higher potential to contribute. And then with future scholarships, you could pick up a grad transfer, which is essentially the same thing as waiting 2-3 years for the initial redshirted OL to potentially contribute, except you're getting a bonafide proven commodity on the transfer market later on when you can afford the scholarships.

I get it, the lines are essential, BUT this is a calculated risk either way, it's not as cut and dry as it's being made out. There are options down the line.
 
This is really the first big year of grad transfers due to the portal. There will be plenty of OL on the market every season. CGC needs to make us THE destination for grad students
 
I don't understand this thread.

One, we are taking an offensive lineman and a P5 transfer >>>>> two scrubs that prolly did not have signable offers. Otherwise, they would have signed. One is greater than zero.

Two, CPJ did not seem to have a problem with undersigning at the position this recruiting class. Last year looked good for OL, and if he (and Tevin W and the new staff) was happy with the future of the RS Freshmen, he did not have need to worry about it for 2019.

Three, CGC was not the architect of this class. When he showed up on the job the main work was complete. All he could do is ask, "Who is left out there? Who can we turn?" The week before initial signing day is not the time to do detailed roster balance maintenance.

From what I can tell, CGC has done a helluva job in virtually zero recruiting time. Rather than collect position-desperate scraps, such as at tight end, he has identified people who can help the team and help his vision of where we are going. The defensive players are the type that can play what CGC likes to play, and can help on special teams in the meantime. He is retooling the wide receiver position, which was desperate, and we are getting needed speed. And given a choice between the level of OL prospects still available and Joseph Darkwa I would prefer he work on bringing in the stud DL, win or lose, which is what he did.

We didn't win a natty until we had a Kevin Battle in the middle.

Is this staff ignoring OL? Like Bill Lewis did? Of course not. Look at what is going on in 2020. Yes, OL is critical to a team's success. Yes, we are going to be fine there.

To me the bigger news is that CGC appears to be fine with the quarterbacks, with just bringing in Yates, et. al. Who starts under center will have a much bigger impact on 2019 than a coupla low-ceiling developmental offensive linemen.
 
MidnightJacket said:
I'm no football coach, but if you take a chance on OL, best case scenario is you have to redshirt the kid. He MAY start one year down the road, or he may just provide depth all of his career. It's hard to say. BUT, you could instead focus your efforts on a recruit you know has higher potential to contribute. And then with future scholarships, you could pick up a grad transfer, which is essentially the same thing as waiting 2-3 years for the initial redshirted OL to potentially contribute, except you're getting a bonafide proven commodity on the transfer market later on when you can afford the scholarships.

I get it, the lines are essential, BUT this is a calculated risk either way, it's not as cut and dry as it's being made out. There are options down the line.
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Dodd rarely allowed underclassmen offensive linemen to see the field. It is an important position. But we have some experience, albeit not great talent at the position. We have time to remedy the situation. I am not sure how a lesser athlete, taken this year, would help us.
 
GoGATech said:
This. If you're shopping for a Ferrari, you don't buy a Kia just because you didn't find the Ferrari you wanted this year.
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Unless of course you can never afford the Ferrari and still need to get from point A to point B
 
How does the addition of 2 or 3 tight ends CGC has signed count in the OL calculus?
 
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