O Line Comments

#1
coach799

coach799

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#1
I have read several articles about Butch and the future of the program and every time they mention that we will lose our entire O-line next year. With the caliber of this line, I think the 2nd string will get plenty of reps this year to be ready for the future.

We have several guys that were studs coming out of HS that should be ready. I know it will take time for them to jell but it isn't like we will have 5 freshmen. Any thoughts?

GO VOLS!!
 
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#2
#2
Yes, I believe you're right. However, I've seen (through the years) times when a group freshman can perform and get the job done as well as seen an o-line full of Jrs/Srs that under-perform. I wouldn't mind the line full of freshman so much if we only had one Jr/Sr up front directing blocking assignments (preferably the center). As such, we'll see next year if letting Sam Pittman go was a good idea (I'm currently not convinced it was). Nevertheless, depth is always the key - injuries, sickness, disciplinary issues, mid-game exhaustion, etc. can all take a toll on your O-line and quality depth (in the SEC) is a prerequisite for success.
 
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#3
#3
This is way overblown as far as experience and talent goes. Jackson will be back and has started and played a lot. All of the rest of the back-ups/future starters will have played a lot of football. They may add juco Blair, who would be a first day starter. The only thing to be concerned with is the teamwork aspect. The O-line has to learn to play together as a unit more than any other positions on the field. Fortunately the Jones system uses standard zone blocking schemes and the guys will have played a year in the sytem before having to step up.
 
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#4
#4
Our line is pretty solid, but I think we have some quality backups too. The offense will open up more in '14 and that will help. I hope.
 
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#5
#5
Figuring out how to trust each other and want to play ball with each other happens as much off the field as on. Good news is that we should not have to throw any freshman at the issue that have not had time with this system.
 
#7
#7
Big question for the o line in 14 is who will replace our tackles? James and Richardson are beasts. Superb tandem.
 
#8
#8
RichRollin said:
Our O-Line is gonna be way solid in 14 IMO.
Click to expand...

It looks like it'll be Blair-Kerbyson- Crowder- Jackson-Posey. Our 6th man will be Austin Sanders, I hope he learns guard and tackle. Our 7th is where the problems start. Do we have Pair playing up to 25% of snaps? We'll struggle a bit at first, then in 2015 we'll be great.
 
#9
#9
Burger said:
It looks like it'll be Blair-Kerbyson- Crowder- Jackson-Posey. Our 6th man will be Austin Sanders, I hope he learns guard and tackle. Our 7th is where the problems start. Do we have Pair playing up to 25% of snaps? We'll struggle a bit at first, then in 2015 we'll be great.
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Yes I think Pair will be that next guy. The time as backups has been a blessing for the future o-line. Just think how grossly incompetent this current crew looked when they were thrust into the fire as freshman. I mean seriously...think about the o-line we ran out on the field against Oregon two years ago. Next years crew should be light years ahead of that crew. A drop off from this year's line doesn't mean we'll be bad. It's nearly impossible not to have a dropoff losing a line this good. IMO our current o-line has a chance to be 1985 good. Now that line was something else.

Edit: we will also have Dylan Wiesman along with Pair and Sanders. I think dudes gonna be a baller.
 
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#12
#12
We have 3-4 really good ones with Crowder, Kerbyson, Jackson and Posey. At least two of them are close to starting now. Who knows, maybe Tiny will pull a Peyton and go an extra year? Those first few games will be important in building trust, chemistry and working out the kinks.

I agree CBJ will do a lot of substitution when we get a lead over 17 points.
 
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#14
#14
HuntlandVolinColo said:
We have 3-4 really good ones with Crowder, Kerbyson, Jackson and Posey. At least two of them are close to starting now. Who know, maybe Tiny will pull a Peyton and go an extra year? Those first few games will be important in building trust, chemistry and working out the kinks.

I agree CBJ will do a lot of substitution when we get a lead over 17 points.
Click to expand...

You bring up a good point in regard to OVERALL player development, not just o-line. That being:

1) Part of scheduling scrub teams is to get reps for your reserves in the second half. But Dooley struggled with the likes of UAB, MTSU, and Akron late into the 4th quarter giving our backups little to no reps.

2) Dooley sucked so bad he couldn't muster up a 6-6 record for a suck bowl. That's an extra training camp our opponents are getting annually that we don't. This especially matters with young players.
 
#15
#15
RichRollin said:
You bring up a good point in regard to OVERALL player development, not just o-line. That being:

1) Part of scheduling scrub teams is to get reps for your reserves in the second half. But Dooley struggled with the likes of UAB, MTSU, and Akron late into the 4th quarter giving our backups little to no reps.

2) Dooley sucked so bad he couldn't muster up a 6-6 record for a suck bowl. That's an extra training camp our opponents are getting annually that we don't. This especially matters with young players.
Click to expand...

#2 is very important if we want to start catching up. We will have many early enrolls this year, so it will be monumental.
 
#16
#16
RichRollin said:
Yes I think Pair will be that next guy. The time as backups has been a blessing for the future o-line. Just think how grossly incompetent this current crew looked when they were thrust into the fire as freshman. I mean seriously...think about the o-line we ran out on the field against Oregon two years ago. Next years crew should be light years ahead of that crew. A drop off from this year's line doesn't mean we'll be bad. It's nearly impossible not to have a dropoff losing a line this good. IMO our current o-line has a chance to be 1985 good. Now that line was something else.

Edit: we will also have Dylan Wiesman along with Pair and Sanders. I think dudes gonna be a baller.
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Exactly, we need our back ups to get some playing time, even if that means subbing one in at a time. Weisman will be the back up center, and first interior guy off the bench. We absolutely cannot throw more than 2 guys without game experience in our starting line up.
 
#18
#18
RichRollin said:
So very true.
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That's my only reason the true minimum in wins is 6. We need to make up for all the bad Dooley did. I'll be happy if we can get a juco to play guard also. We might be short on interior olinemen next year because Dooley got none in '12.
 
#19
#19
Burger said:
That's my only reason the true minimum in wins is 6. We need to make up for all the bad Dooley did. I'll be happy if we can get a juco to play guard also. We might be short on interior olinemen next year because Dooley got none in '12.
Click to expand...

Why do you think we need more guards?
 
#21
#21
bkdamoron said:
Why do you think we need more guards?
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As far as I know, we have Jackson, Kerbyson, and Weisman for guard next year. We'll need to rotate more than 3 guys in. Austin Sanders and Pair are both back-up tackles. I don't think two interior line back ups are enough for a uptempo no-huddle offense.
 
#24
#24
coach799 said:
I have read several articles about Butch and the future of the program and every time they mention that we will lose our entire O-line next year. With the caliber of this line, I think the 2nd string will get plenty of reps this year to be ready for the future.

We have several guys that were studs coming out of HS that should be ready. I know it will take time for them to jell but it isn't like we will have 5 freshmen. Any thoughts?

GO VOLS!!
Click to expand...

they really like Kerbyson and Jackson.. everyone else needs a lot of work to get to level required.. lot of work. they would love to get a few juco's that could play right away but that is very hard market to corner
 
#25
#25
1972 Grad said:
That is like Kiffin not taking a qb in 09.
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Looking back at how many of Dooley's top recruits didn't pan out, his recruiting class with Bonner, etc is looking like Kiffin's.

In all fairness to Dooley (who I don't like) with the state of the program he did have to take a flyer on high risk guys to get some highly rated prospects.
 
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