OL breakdown:
14 on the roster.
2 of them, I would say, are guaranteed starting spots: Zach Tom and Terrance Davis
2 who rotated at LG last year: Loic Ngassam Nya and Sean Maginn (since Davis is also a guard, they'll rotate again, one will switch positions or one plays over the other)
1 r-soph who appears ready for larger role: Michael Jurgens
2 fifth-year seniors who haven't played significant reps: Je'Vionte' Nash and Taleni Suhren
2 r-juniors who haven't played significant reps: Spencer Clapp and Allan Rappleyea
1 r-freshman who entered as a bit of a project, CJ Elmonus
1 r-freshman who greyshirted because of gruesome leg injury, DeVonte Gordon
1 early enrollee, George Sell
2 walk-ons, Trey Turner and Goran Jovanovic
It's absolutely a position that has recruited well when you talk about the successes of Phil Haynes, Ryan Anderson, Jake Benzinger, in terms of taking lowly regarded recruits and molding them into multi-year starters. But it's also a unit that showed cracks in the foundation at the end of last season, and now loses 3 starters. There should be a good bit of trepidation when it comes to the OL, I'd say.
It could be a long season if the Offensive line doesn't come together over the summer.
But when you consider JohnWolford’s first two years it is a credible statement.
I am not holding my breath on a grad transfer db. Plus, the last one we had was horrific
It’s very credible. When our offensive line was bad, our offense couldn’t operate in 2014.
But I think it’s an over exaggeration to compare that line to the future 2020 offensive line. We have some experienced players. Loic Nya and Sean Maginn will only improve. That was their first full year of getting real playing time. I thought they both showed they have the ability to play at a high level at left guard. They just had a few too many mistakes here and there down the stretch. If they minimize those, we won’t have any problems on the interior. Terrence will come in and give us some much needed experience and size. He’s a big dude and we’re going to work off of his size in the middle of our line. I think Zach Tom and Jurgens are both very good centers. So if Zach can go out and play the tackle well, that’s a good thing. CJ Elmonus should definitely be a guy to watch. He’s got Jake Benzinger size, so hopefully he can end up playing at that caliber (although I thought Jake struggled at times last year to be quite honest). Luke Petitbon is a center coming out of high school, will he be transitioning to tackle? Jevionte Nash needs to step up. He’s been here long enough to where he should be figuring things out. George Sell is going to be a future star. I can’t wait to see him play in the next couple of years. I’d like to see Spencer Clapp step up too. He’s got a lot of size like Jake Benzinger as well. Jevionte or him one are going to end up playing on the outside. One of the two NEEDS to be ready to play. That’s my 2nd biggest concern, RT. First is the corner position opposite of Jasir Taylor. I can see that being a problem. I really hope Clawson goes out and finds a grad transfer still available that can play immediately. Isaiah Essissima did not look anywhere near ready in the Pinstripe Bowl.
Big Mike may be a project for whenever he winds up next. Its been a long time since he’s been able to play football. It sucks that he had that injury, but I wish him the best in his future endeavors.
OL breakdown: . . . .It's absolutely a position that has recruited well when you talk about the successes of Phil Haynes, Ryan Anderson, Jake Benzinger, in terms of taking lowly regarded recruits and molding them into multi-year starters. But it's also a unit that showed cracks in the foundation at the end of last season, and now loses 3 starters. There should be a good bit of trepidation when it comes to the OL, I'd say.
It’s very credible. When our offensive line was bad, our offense couldn’t operate in 2014.
But I think it’s an over exaggeration to compare that line to the future 2020 offensive line. We have some experienced players. Loic Nya and Sean Maginn will only improve. That was their first full year of getting real playing time. I thought they both showed they have the ability to play at a high level at left guard. They just had a few too many mistakes here and there down the stretch. If they minimize those, we won’t have any problems on the interior. Terrence will come in and give us some much needed experience and size. He’s a big dude and we’re going to work off of his size in the middle of our line. I think Zach Tom and Jurgens are both very good centers. So if Zach can go out and play the tackle well, that’s a good thing. CJ Elmonus should definitely be a guy to watch. He’s got Jake Benzinger size, so hopefully he can end up playing at that caliber (although I thought Jake struggled at times last year to be quite honest). Luke Petitbon is a center coming out of high school, will he be transitioning to tackle? Jevionte Nash needs to step up. He’s been here long enough to where he should be figuring things out. George Sell is going to be a future star. I can’t wait to see him play in the next couple of years. I’d like to see Spencer Clapp step up too. He’s got a lot of size like Jake Benzinger as well. Jevionte or him one are going to end up playing on the outside. One of the two NEEDS to be ready to play. That’s my 2nd biggest concern, RT. First is the corner position opposite of Jasir Taylor. I can see that being a problem. I really hope Clawson goes out and finds a grad transfer still available that can play immediately. Isaiah Essissima did not look anywhere near ready in the Pinstripe Bowl.
Big Mike may be a project for whenever he winds up next. Its been a long time since he’s been able to play football. It sucks that he had that injury, but I wish him the best in his future endeavors.
Sorry for a dumb question, but who is Big Mike and where did he go? You arent talking about Mike Allen, are you?
I would phrase it as concern rather than "a good bit of trepidation" but the observation is apt enough. The maturity of the program should help lineman come along better than in 2014.
I forgot this until speaking with Zach Tom today, but he was a tackle through high school. Came here and moved to center, picked it up quickly because A) he's a sharp kid and B) learning from Ryan Anderson was beneficial. Clawson thinks really highly of Tom, said he's a good enough athlete to play any OL position, 3-technique DL and even probably TE.
Basically, in Clawson's purview, they have 3 "knowns" on the OL: Tom, Maginn and Ngassam Nya. That becomes 4 in May when Terrance Davis gets healthy. What they have to figure out in the next month is who the Nos. 5, 6, 7 OLs, etc. are, and Tom's flexibility is such that he'll play wherever they need him.
I'm writing about defense today, probably about OL after Thursday or Saturday practice.
I hope Mike Allen's decision to transfer and find a school that will medically clear him to play doesn't have bad consequences for his future health.