HOW IS THE OL DEVELOPING?

I expect the OL to be one of the best in the country going into the summer and then just like recent years, be disappointed at what we actually see

 

Possibly, we either have a bunch of good ones, a bunch of bad ones, or a mixed bag. We won't really know until they start playing the games and I don't mean against our 2nd team D (you saw our D last year ). Unfortunately, sometimes OLinemen look good on the hoof, but can't play a lick. Also injuries WILL occur...do we have a couple of backups that can step in fill the roles adequately.

There was a lot of optimism on this board about our OL last year. They were awful in the Spring game, but that was the first game playing together and it takes more than a handful of practices to gel. Unfortunately, the Utah game demonstrated pretty clearly that they were a weak link on the offense and would most likely be a liability all year. Mertz making it until Game 11 without injury was a minor miracle.

 

Were you disapointed with 2022's OL?

If so, I doubt you'll ever be happy with the OL.

 

That’s ridiculous.

When White and Tarq transferred, were we optimistic? When Waites got hurt and Goodwin left, were we optimistic? When Mazz hurt his shoulder, were we optimistic?

Comparing 2024 to 2023 is disingenuous at best.

 

Thanks, but there is a correction. It’s actually 15 of the 16 scholarship players here for spring. FR Macuss Mascoll arrives in the fall. He looks to be OG8, OG9 or OG10 for 2024, so I think it’ll be OK.

 

Except that there are 19 new scholarship High School additions, not 16. Three of those 19 will not be onboard for spring (Jackson, Mascoll, and Chiles.) Still, 16 out of 19 in spring camp, along with all the eleven transfers is exceptional. As of today, there should be 27 new faces enrolled and in spring camp. I can't remember that ever being the case.

 

The "unit" is specific to the OL. Check post 106 for the updated info.

 

Oh, sorry.

 

No coach can make George defend a speed rush from a good edge guy. He just doesn’t have it. Hopefully these new guys have the feet to deal with it

 

They do... There's video on both BCD and Manuel in the other threads. Manuel, with his size, is very impressive. They way he sets on pass blocks and gets to the 2nd level on run blocks is crazy quick for 6'8 320lbs.

 

I like it for sure but future nfl edges will be testing him further. SDSU isn’t the sec.

 

Manuel is SEC (ARK). BCD played aginst NFL edges. One of the videos on him called him a bigger Gouraige... We'll see.

 

SDSU doesn’t play tge strongest of schedules.

 

I think most of it was when we were jazzed up at the news of the transfer signees and then again the week before the season started when it became clear that Mazz would play. It seemed there were some who thought the replacements to our 2022 OL would easily step in and perform up to that level and we know that didn't happen.

 

I'm feeling a lot better about Kearney after seeing how stacked he has become after his redshirt. He was already super athletic, then to add size and strength will get him on the field if he takes to coaching. He looks better than most of our upperclassmen have looked physically.

 

Ok, my last post in the thread. I’ve been a prodigious poster in all the OL threads. I’ve said everything I can about 2024’s OL. I’ve always posted a lot on the OL. It seems to me a lot of posters are hypercritical of the OL, so I like to engage in that. A good example of the hypocritical attitude is the negative references to the 2022 OL. By any standard, the 2022 OL was good to very good.

I'm gonna wait until the spring weights come out in early March to follow up. Really interested to see what Williams and Kearney look like (weigh) after S&C. Also interested to see how much Waites plays OG this spring. He started at RG in the 2022 bowl game and looked the part. Would love the size of a Harris/Waites as the OG1 combo.

All in all, I trust CBN with the OL. He has a track record of successful OL development. Last year a lot of bad luck, especially with the OTs, hit the team. Now going into his 3rd spring, he has his players in place to be successful.

We’ll see. Update in March.

Links to the other OL threads are in post's #49 and #75.

 

I expect our 2d team DL to be salty this year. There's a lot of great talent there. I think the the new DL knows his trade. He got kudos from top NFL players for his time there. They should be a good match for our OL.

 

I hope our DL is as improved as you appear to think it is. The youth factor is always intriguing...sometimes in a good way, and sometimes not.

 

I'm not saying it is improved or that there is better personnel. We have a very talented DL as is. If they don't perform, there is a coaching or systemic problem. DL and OL can be night and day from one year to the next with almost the same personnel. The jump from freshman to sophomore can be extraordinary.