With 18 OL on that list, not including the incoming freshmen, we should be able to do better at starting center, IMO.
I thought they had Behrens practicing there last fall, I guess the coaches didn't like what they saw.Originally Posted by buffs04
Last year it was youth, this year upperclassmen. That can make a huge diff, especially on the line.
"You have to fail to get better." -Michael Jordan
Behrens had some type of shoulder surgery after the NU game in 08, and he missed most of spring ball, and couldn't really lift until camp at which point he was befind in the running for both LG and C. He will now have had a full season to rebuild his strength and compete. We will see what happens.
Itilis was injured in the second series of the CSU game last year. I can't remember what the injury was, or if it caused him to play tender due to his ACL the prior year. In the last game of the season he, Miller, and Stevens did a good job against Suh and Click. I don't think we will play a pair of DT's better than those two for the entire 10 schedule.
I thought Hawk and Johnson always preached utility among the O-lineman. They like to teach every guy every position. Therefore, we should be able to mix and match for the best line right?
While this sounds good on paper, meaning maybe we can get the best five athletes on the field, it could be having the opposite effect. Too much information and not enough narrow focus for these kids. Let them get good a certain positions and not have to constantly worry about the "little things".
I have strong hopes for this line! It better be pretty darn good or we are wasting a lot of talent.
Interesting that you have Dannewitz listed at RT. I have heard from a couple of places that the kid is a true, natural LT and is developing very well. One person close to the program speculated that if Solder were not there Dannewitz would actually be one of the better LTs in the league this year.
Like so much of the rest of what goes on with the program when you look at the roster of OL players we have talent and depth that should make us highly competitive. The problem is that they just never seem to get it together and make it work and that to me all goes back to coaching.
If this team turns it around this year and starts to win, a lot of that is going to start with OL play. If they don't turn it around then Hawk and Co. will be gone and the new staff will definately have the raw material to do something with early.
Utility is great, for backups. All non-starting linemen should know as many positions as possible to enable the best possible substitution when a starter goes down. Utility among starters does nothing but muddle the outcome. Once a lineman is named the starter he needs to focus on that position to optimize his growth and the stability of the line. Granted he should know the assignments of the other linemen on PAPER to insure that all blocking assignments and contingencies are covered, but he should always practice his position. Mixing starters around when one goes down creates several less than optimal positions rather than the one.
Are you for real? You're worried about the center spot. How about the sieve that was LG or the penalties of a talented but hot headed RT. Those penalties killed so many drives. I hope Givens has matured but if not, I would love to see somebody like Dannewitz or Tau challenge Givens and provide some more consistency at RT.
Our starting center played in 11 games and graded out 80% or higher in all 11 games and had 4 games 90 or higher, that is second best only to our all-conference LT. Stevens only had two penalties all year compared to 13 by our RT and 10 by our RG. A center shouldn't have many penalties anyway because he is snapping the ball, I'm just trying to say that there are other areas for improvement. Besides of those 23 penalties on the right side of our line, quite a few were of the 15 yard variety. Having the refs at the spring practices was a nice touch this year, I hope it pays off and cuts down on the penalties.
Stevens also only gave up 2 QB pressures compared to 19 by Miller and 19 by Adkins and 16 by Givens. As far as sacks, they all gave up 3 to 4 with the exception of Adkins who gave up 6. That just has to improve across the board. I know you guys don't like to admit it because he didn't come out of high school with any "stars" but I think Stevens could be our second or third best lineman.
As for LG, I would like to see Iltis there. With Iltis at LG, that was the best our line played all year. I think Richter is going to redshirt, and I'm pretty sure he has been quoted as saying that he wants to redshirt this year. Playing Iltis at guard gives him more experience this year and then he can slide into the center spot next year. Then next year you could have a line of:
LT: Dannewitz
LG: Richter
C: Iltis
RG: Miller
RT: Givens
Plus we have Simon (JC Recruit) who could contribute. He will be a 3 to play 3 guy. He is listed as the top JC center in the country so you could also put him at Center and keep Iltis at guard.
Sets us up with a talented and experienced oline for our move into the PAC-12.
https://www.nmnathletics.com//pdf8/706100.pdf
Last edited by Chefselite; 07-31-2010 at 11:37 PM.
I was just going to mention Simon.
I look forward to seeing him on the field.
If and its a big if right now, you do this you flip sides on your tackles. Givens has nothing resembling the discipline needed to play the left side and Dannewitz is a natural LT. Givens aggressiveness and physical technique would make highly effective as a RT in the run game, potentially you even move him inside to RG where he would be a more natural fit.
Dannewitz at LT would be a good fit too, it just comes down to experience. Givens could be a good bridge at LT, but I definitely see your point. I would also like to see Bakhtiari at LT but he is still pretty raw. Who knows, he may surprise next spring.
i thought Simon had "reopened" his recruiting?
I believe he said it depends on what happens to the coaching staff. If the current staff survives this year, Simon will be a Buff.
We should have listened to Colorado fans.
According to Rivals story on BuffStampede, he is committed, although a coaching change would make him think twice:
Simon signed with Colorado out of high school, before failing to qualify, and he re-committed to the Buffaloes in February. But a recent report suggested that Simon might be looking around.
"I am still full with it, I am still solidly committed to Colorado," he stated "But I read in Sports Illustrated and other places that he (Buffs' head coach Dan Hawkins) is on the hot seat.
"Even if a coaching change were to happen, CU would still be number one on my list but I need to keep an open ear and have a backup plan just in case something happens to the coaches there."
Yes, Givens needs to cut the penalties, but he is one guy that doesn't buy into the "play on an even keel" BS. I sure hope he gets things squared away and gets on the right side of the fine line between playing with ruthless abandon and losing complete control. I don't mean to stir up trouble, but anyone remember what Chris Naeole did... ?
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