Rank our top 5 OL

Scoop123 said:

I used to spit out my top 5 OL....in order.... for 40 years of NU football. That was fun! Unfortunately I've faded in my knowledge and interest level. When Rhule kept Donnie as OL Coach, I lost a lot of interest in the OL (and for good reason).

Geep has given me some hope in the trenches. Who do you think are our top 5 OL this season? I know we got a few portal guys and I think I remember that 1-2 of them looked like potential starters.

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Jeep has signed or got 7 OL (I think) in less than a year. That alone should tell you what he thought of Donnie's guys. Fwiw he's STILL trying to get at least another guy THIS year.

I think Pritchett and Justin are the only two likely returning starters. I think Mbenga, Black, and Tree from LSU, ISU and South Carolina are likely starters as well

Just a guess though...



Holla

I am just glad that many of our previous offensive tackles are gone. They were lacking in talent, and the ones that showed flashes of talent were constantly injured.

Pennsyhuskers said:

I am just glad that many of our previous offensive tackles are gone. They were lacking in talent, and the ones that showed flashes of talent were constantly injured.

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Yup this is true. Jeep seems to place a much higher value on athleticism and guys who can move . While Donnie seemed more concerned about size and measurables . I think they try and sign another OT this year also.

Tired of seeing edge guys just run around our OTs like turnstiles. Hopefully it looks better this year.



Holla

hopefully they can block

Scoop123 said:

I used to spit out my top 5 OL....in order.... for 40 years of NU football. That was fun! Unfortunately I've faded in my knowledge and interest level. When Rhule kept Donnie as OL Coach, I lost a lot of interest in the OL (and for good reason).

Geep has given me some hope in the trenches. Who do you think are our top 5 OL this season? I know we got a few portal guys and I think I remember that 1-2 of them looked like potential starters.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Click to expand...

I'm at a point right now where I don't really care who our top 5 linemen are. Just find five guys who can work together and be competitive against decent competition. I don't think we have a single guy who is a standout and they have to prove it on the field in Big 10 play before we should even learn their names and numbers. And I'm as guilty as most in that I've wasted time on here discussing guys, praising prospects and so on like it is the 80's or 90's where the Husker standard was what it was. If this was Iowa's board with last year's starting five likely to all have pro careers, it would be different.

Nuts McClanahan said:

I'm at a point right now where I don't really care who our top 5 linemen are. Just find five guys who can work together and be competitive against decent competition. I don't think we have a single guy who is a standout and they have to prove it on the field in Big 10 play before we should even learn their names and numbers. And I'm as guilty as most in that I've wasted time on here discussing guys, praising prospects and so on like it is the 80's or 90's where the Husker standard was what it was. If this was Iowa's board with last year's starting five likely to all have pro careers, it would be different.

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Agreed, however Justin Evans has earned some considerable draft stock and did allow no sacks last season. IMO he's a standout player and has earned that recognition after last season.

Also learned he started his career here as a DT. The more ya know

They have some guys that I was really excited to see develop and be contributors... Such as Brix, Sledge, Knutson, Gotulla, etc... Some of them guys they went in really hard for on recruiting... I'm NOT the expert here so correct me if I'm wrong but for OL it seemed like traditionally, lineman would come into their own somewhere in their So year and then really become good Jr/Sr year... Many of these guys are home grown dudes like we had in the past so I'm hoping Geep can restore the Pipeline with these fellas

Pennsyhuskers said:

I am just glad that many of our previous offensive tackles are gone. They were lacking in talent, and the ones that showed flashes of talent were constantly injured.

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We had one guy I won’t name who could barely make it to the huddle. Big sloppy gut. He may have been the best backup OT we had but he wasn’t very good. I don’t care if a O lineman carries some belly fat but damn you have to be able to move athletically.

Kakdawg said:

Yup this is true. Jeep seems to place a much higher value on athleticism and guys who can move . While Donnie seemed more concerned about size and measurables . I think they try and sign another OT this year also.

Tired of seeing edge guys just run around our OTs like turnstiles. Hopefully it looks better this year.



Holla

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Preach brother.

ADV88 said:

They have some guys that I was really excited to see develop and be contributors... Such as Brix, Sledge, Knutson, Gotulla, etc... Some of them guys they went in really hard for on recruiting... I'm NOT the expert here so correct me if I'm wrong but for OL it seemed like traditionally, lineman would come into their own somewhere in their So year and then really become good Jr/Sr year... Many of these guys are home grown dudes like we had in the past so I'm hoping Geep can restore the Pipeline with these fellas

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I'm hoping Geep can play the best 5 no matter where they are from AND restore the pipeline as well. I'm not sure about any of these guys but Gotulla has played some and it's been a mixed bag. I think Donnie was high on Sledge. The others haven't heard much of anything at all about.

Again we haven't gotten 7 new OL in here in less than a year for no reason. Sometimes you gotta read between the lines.



Holla

Kakdawg said:

I'm hoping Geep can play the best 5 no matter where they are from AND restore the pipeline as well. I'm not sure about any of these guys but Gotulla has played some and it's been a mixed bag. I think Donnie was high on Sledge. The others haven't heard much of anything at all about.

Again we haven't gotten 7 new OL in here in less than a year for no reason. Sometimes you gotta read between the lines.



Holla

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Gottula played through some injuries before they finally shut him down. I’m not giving up on him but I don’t think he’ll start out this fall as a starter. He can give us a very good depth piece at multiple spots if he’s not starting.

Kakdawg said:

I'm hoping Geep can play the best 5 no matter where they are from AND restore the pipeline as well. I'm not sure about any of these guys but Gotulla has played some and it's been a mixed bag. I think Donnie was high on Sledge. The others haven't heard much of anything at all about.

Again we haven't gotten 7 new OL in here in less than a year for no reason. Sometimes you gotta read between the lines.



Holla

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Not disparaging anyone, or their opinions, but "the pipeline" is pretty much a pipe dream these days. At least the formula that produced The Pipeline in the 70s-80s-90s. Not to say we can’t have good to great OL.

The Pipeline was a system that was just as much about cohesiveness as it was athletic ability. What made our OL so darn good was that most of each recruiting class played and practiced as a complete unit. This created cohesion. Each lineman knew exactly what every other player was doing on every call that it became "natural". That took 2-3 years to develop. When a lineman had superior athletic talent and could grasp things quicker, they found the field as underclassmen (i.e. Will Shields). A cohesive unit could somewhat make up for pure athleticism. Having the best OL coaches in CFB pushed us over the top. Now, there is much more of a need for the athleticism. With the HS recruiting and transfer portal processes these days, it is more likely the better OLs have the best athletes. It won't be a surprise that this fall we will have some games where the cohesion "clicks" and the OL looks really good. And vice versa. There will be games where the OL doesn't mesh together as well. That is when Geep will earn his paycheck to be able to make in-game adjustments when necessary.

Kakdawg said:

Jeep has signed or got 7 OL (I think) in less than a year. That alone should tell you what he thought of Donnie's guys. Fwiw he's STILL trying to get at least another guy THIS year.

I think Pritchett and Justin are the only two likely returning starters. I think Mbenga, Black, and Tree from LSU, ISU and South Carolina are likely starters as well

Just a guess though...



Holla

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Very much looks like Evans will be the only non-portal guy in the starting five.

inWV said:

Very much looks like Evans will be the only non-portal guy in the starting five.

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Thanks again Don.

inWV said:

Very much looks like Evans will be the only non-portal guy in the starting five.

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Yup and after having an OL coach who has been here like 5 or 6 years that is sad...



Holla

Kakdawg said:

Yup and after having an OL coach who has been here like 5 or 6 years that is sad...



Holla

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Rhule had preached competition. Geep is bringing it. Get your butt in gear or get passed over. It looked way too much to me like a seniority system these past few years on the O line. I still believe we recruited some talented kids the last couple of years but it’s time to prove it.