So far, in his quest to bolster the OL, CDH has signed two HS players. One is a 3 star and one is a 4 star. We also have a 3 star juco commit. I would expect freshmen OL’s to redshirt, learn college level techniques, and go through S&C to muscle up. However, Hunter may be an exception to that rule. I don’t know who we may be targeting for the OL in the transfer portal, but I suspect we are looking at a couple.
I think folks need to remember he effort our OL put forth in the Birmingham Bowl against a really good defense. most of these guys are returning. Our 2 deep this year consisted of 3 seniors, one junior, 2 sophomores, 2 redshirt freshmen, and one true freshman. When you consider that everyone other than the one true freshman, had a free COVID year and really have one year more experience and physical maturity. We also have 5 other kids who were true freshmen this past season that will be returning as RSFR.
CDH has been very intentional in developing our OL. If you look at the really good teams, a common thread is they have a lot of juniors and seniors on their 2 deep. We are getting there, but this is one spot that takes time to develop. Here are who we have for this fall so far:
52 Crim, Almarion 6-3 285 RFr
53 Derick Bowman 6-5 270 RFr
54 Atkins, Joshua 6-4 290 RFr
58 Ugonna Nnanna 6-4 265 RFr
59 Carson Walker 6-4 285 RFr
60 Sylvester, Trevonte 6-5 240 RFr
61 Benil Johnson 6-3 290 Jr
70 Jordan Boatman 6-6 295 Sr
72 Marcus “Tank” Jenkins 6-3 350 Jr
73 Cam’ron Johnson 6-4 305 RSo
74 Ruben Unije 6-5 305 Jr
75 Jack Freeman 6-3 295 Jr
76 Patrick Paul 6-7 305 RSo
79 Chayse Todd 6-2 290 RSo
Hunter, Demetrius 6-2 315 Fr
Jones, Karson 6-5 290 Fr
Let them say what they want. Maybe we have better coaching or tougher athletes. All I know is this….we finished 12-2, which includes a bowl win over Auburn.
This is one of the most important data point IMO. Is it easy to find 6’.7" or more players? Of course it is not. To be able to have multiple that have these metrics and are able to play is what takes you to the top.
Seifert, Madden, Belichick, Saban will always tell you that the game starts at the OL. The OL is at the core of every team’s success.
Very good point. Interestingly, recently CDH mentioned that what really tends to set a lot of P5 programs apart from the G5 is the OL, which he refered to as “the trenches”. Perhaps he is being very intentional, as you noted.
Our OL held up well against Auburn. The key was we had enough depth to substitute and give guys a breather. Our OL was quicker than the big dudes at Auburn, most of the time. They did have one guy that gave us fits.
Child? At 75, I don’t think I qualify for that label.
BTW, we ran for 115 yards against Auburn. They ran for 125 against us. We averaged 4.4 yards per carry while they averaged 4.3. We are a balanced attack team and they are primarily a run team.