Offensive line discussion

[chef dixon]

We've always had our best offensive lines with developmental guys over time. Almost all of them had underwhelming years before they became good. I just don't see how a portal strategy works here. If we are replacing over half our O line every year, there's no cohesion. Especially considering we aren't getting the top guys to transfer in.

Not saying someone like Luke Work is a big loss, but maybe keeping some of these guys and working on them over 3 years with affordable NIL might beat a knee jerk yearly revamp every year for our program. Now I get coaching matters here, but just a thought.

[CaptainObvious]

Nah.

[Coach34]

developmental days are about over. Most guys wont be anywhere more than 2 years. Recruit grown men to play OL.

[somebodyshotmypaw]

developmental days are about over. Most guys wont be anywhere more than 2 years. Recruit grown men to play OL.

I agree. But you don't need 5 that can play. You need 8. I think Jimothy Lewis and Luke Work had the potential to be in that 8. They might have been backups, but i think they could have been in the group. Of course, we have no idea how much money they wanted.

[HancockCountyDog]

I agree. But you don't need 5 that can play. You need 8. I think Jimothy Lewis and Luke Work had the potential to be in that 8. They might have been backups, but i think they could have been in the group. Of course, we have no idea how much money they wanted.

Disagree, you need 5.

The bears got away with 5 all season. Hell their sixth OL isn?t even playing tonight, he is in Wisconsin.

You need 5. Now, I am not sure we have 1 currently.

[BlackSailsDawg]

You gotta be 2 deep. That is if you want to go to the playoffs. An injury will happen.

[Pancho]

You make a valid point but as has been stated, the sharts up north have just 5 and have been injury bug free and have been lucky. We need 5 before we get out over our ski's

[HancockCountyDog]

You gotta be 2 deep. That is if you want to go to the playoffs. An injury will happen.

You are just wrong. The bears are in the damn semis and their top 4 OL have played 95% of the meaningful snaps. The only guy that wasn't a starter and played more than 100 snaps hit the portal and is in Madison.

If you can have depth, great. But what you need are 5 dudes up front.

[dawggrad08]

I'm guessing people who want more than 5 are taking into account we always seem to get a few injuries at key spots. Steen going down completely derailed the OL this year. If we can only get 5, we have to pray they stay healthy all season.

[Todd4State]

I think you basically need two groups of offensive linemen.

5 that can play now and start.

And at least 5-8 to develop for the future.

The problem is Lewis and Work needed to be in the second group.

[Todd4State]

You are just wrong. The bears are in the damn semis and their top 4 OL have played 95% of the meaningful snaps. The only guy that wasn't a starter and played more than 100 snaps hit the portal and is in Madison.

If you can have depth, great. But what you need are 5 dudes up front.

Most people aren't that lucky.

[HancockCountyDog]

Most people aren't that lucky.

Well - I think we all agree that for us to make a run at the playoffs, it is going to require some luck.

I don't want to sign 7-8 dudes and hope they develop in a year or 2. You don't know what your roster is going to look like year to year.

Hey maybe I'm wrong, but signing a bunch of guys to develop hasn't worked for us. If we get an injury on the OL, then it sucks, but i'd rather shoot my shot and go for it.

I mean, signing 8-10 dudes and knowing that half of them can't play next year makes no sense to me. I'd rather have a roster of about 50 and all of them can play.

[Coach34]

Most people aren't that lucky.

Right. Got to have 8 than can play. Obviously you're 5 best need to be pretty damn good

[DownwardDawg]

You gotta be 2 deep. That is if you want to go to the playoffs. An injury will happen.

As already pointed out by others, you only "need" 5. Ole Miss has zero depth on o line and are about to win the national championship.
I would prefer 8 or more studs there though.

[DownwardDawg]

Most people aren't that lucky.

When Kiffin played them the way he did, the football gods decided to smile upon them.

[Coach34]

Shit- most of us are hoping for a run to 6 wins

[CaptainObvious]

Well - I think we all agree that for us to make a run at the playoffs, it is going to require some luck.

I don't want to sign 7-8 dudes and hope they develop in a year or 2. You don't know what your roster is going to look like year to year.

Hey maybe I'm wrong, but signing a bunch of guys to develop hasn't worked for us. If we get an injury on the OL, then it sucks, but i'd rather shoot my shot and go for it.

I mean, signing 8-10 dudes and knowing that half of them can't play next year makes no sense to me. I'd rather have a roster of about 50 and all of them can play.

Nope

[CaptainObvious]

Shit- most of us are hoping for a run to 6 wins

Yep

[Pancho]

6 is what we must shoot for next year. 7 would mean extreme luck or terrible misfortune for an opponent.

[BlackSailsDawg]

You are just wrong. The bears are in the damn semis and their top 4 OL have played 95% of the meaningful snaps. The only guy that wasn't a starter and played more than 100 snaps hit the portal and is in Madison.

If you can have depth, great. But what you need are 5 dudes up front.

That's not the norm. Has never been the norm and will never be the norm. A study using college football surveillance data found that about 50.7% of football players sustained at least one injury in a season. Offensive linemen are among the positions most often injured in collegiate football, accounting for a large share of injuries. This data is out there for anybody to see.

In NCAA Injury Surveillance Program (ISP) data covering multiple seasons (e.g., 2014–2019), offensive linemen are among the positions with the most reported injuries, alongside defensive linemen and defensive backs. One long-term study of Division I football shows that over 10 seasons, about 22.9% of offensive linemen had an injury requiring surgery, based on institutional exposure data.