It all starts up front

[Paul C]

OL preview

http://www.furmanpaladins.com/sports/m- ... 0807h0lusj

based on the content of the article, we are returning a fairly experienced starting 5. Only one "rookie" plus some experience depth.

And we are young.....3 Sophs and 2 Jr's. And long....Can't remember another Paladin OL where the shortest guy was 6-4.

Starting 5:

LT - Bo Layton (6-7, 287, So) 7 starts and 386 snaps last year
LG - Jacob Conrad (6-4, 286, Jr) 6 starts and 444 snaps last year, 3 starts as a Fr.
C - Reed Kroeber (6-4, 284, So) 13 starts and 756 plays last year
RG - Jordan Harris (6-4, 288, So) - rookie, untested, moved from DL
RT - Andy Godwin (6-4, 286, Jr) - 7 starts and 617 snaps last year

Key backups:
Caleb Auer (6-3, 262, So) - backup at C and T, coach Hendricks really likes him, it's obvious from the comments
Cole Neely (6-3, 273, So) - backup at C, 8 games and 52 plays last year
Chris Breedlove (6-2, 282, Jr) - 3 starts at G last year
Jon Bockhorst (6-3, 284, Jr) - injured last year

[fufanatic]

OL preview

http://www.furmanpaladins.com/sports/m- ... 0807h0lusj

based on the content of the article, we are returning a fairly experienced starting 5. Only one "rookie" plus some experience depth.

And we are young.....3 Sophs and 2 Jr's. And long....Can't remember another Paladin OL where the shortest guy was 6-4.

Starting 5:

LT - Bo Layton (6-7, 287, So) 7 starts and 386 snaps last year
LG - Jacob Conrad (6-4, 286, Jr) 6 starts and 444 snaps last year, 3 starts as a Fr.
C - Reed Kroeber (6-4, 284, So) 13 starts and 756 plays last year
RG - Jordan Harris (6-4, 288, So) - rookie, untested, moved from DL
RT - Andy Godwin (6-4, 286, Jr) - 7 starts and 617 snaps last year

Key backups:
Caleb Auer (6-3, 262, So) - backup at C and T, coach Hendricks really likes him, it's obvious from the comments
Cole Neely (6-3, 273, So) - backup at C, 8 games and 52 plays last year
Chris Breedlove (6-2, 282, Jr) - 3 starts at G last year
Jon Bockhorst (6-3, 284, Jr) - injured last year

Good weight on the starters too. Not giant 300 pounders, but not 265-270 either. I'm guessing based on the height, all will look strong and fairly lean for OL.

[The Jackal]

I haven't gone back and dug through, but can anyone recall the last time we had an OL where all starters were 6'4 or taller?

I agree, I expect our OL is going to be tall, lean, and fast. I also really like that we have a number of guys cross trained at various positions. That is a big time advantage for an OL when you have a couple of guys that can play different positions, rotate in and keep other guys fresh.

[FUBeAR]

And long....Can't remember another Paladin OL where the shortest guy was 6-4.

I know of an NFL Team that had 2 OL Starters under 6-4 last year and may very well have 3 Starters under 6-4 this year as their 1st Round Draft Choice was a 6-2 Offensive Tackle. Anyone ever heard of the New England Patriots? Are they any good?

Sorry for the digression, but OL "Altitide" is the most overrated metric in all of sports and that overrating by Coaches has been responsible for major degradation in the quality of OL play throughout the game of Football in the past 10-15 years, particularly at the FCS level.

NOTE: The comment above is NOT a comment intended to disparage these young men and/or Furman's O-Line in any way whatsoever. On the contrary, Coach Hendrix, Coach Lusk, and these young men are doing a FANTASTIC JOB. These Players are athletes 1st...they just happen to also be tall. In other words, they are not good OLmen BECAUSE they are tall. They are good OLmen because they are well-coached great athletes and they are also tall. Nothing wrong, and A LOT right with that!

[Fred Garvin]

And long....Can't remember another Paladin OL where the shortest guy was 6-4.

I know of an NFL Team that had 2 OL Starters under 6-4 last year and may very well have 3 Starters under 6-4 this year as their 1st Round Draft Choice was a 6-2 Offensive Tackle. Anyone ever heard of the New England Patriots? Are they any good?

Sorry for the digression, but OL "Altitide" is the most overrated metric in all of sports and that overrating by Coaches has been responsible for major degradation in the quality of OL play throughout the game of Football in the past 10-15 years, particularly at the FCS level.

NOTE: The comment above is NOT a comment intended to disparage these young men and/or Furman's O-Line in any way whatsoever. On the contrary, Coach Hendrix, Coach Lusk, and these young men are doing a FANTASTIC JOB. These Players are athletes 1st...they just happen to also be tall. In other words, they are not good OLmen BECAUSE they are tall. They are good OLmen because they are well-coached great athletes and they are also tall. Nothing wrong, and A LOT right with that!

Just because old school O linemen weren't tall didn't mean they weren't long....

[sluggo]

I'm really happy about Clay getting the OL where it needs to be to win.
Those guys played great last year. AWESOME!

And that's how Furman won in the past : strong OL and move the ball on the ground.
I loved the performance of the QB and receivers last year and part of that is the QB had time to throw.
Furman is going to always get good QB, RB, WR, so getting a great OL makes it all work.

[apaladin]

Average starting lineup is 6-4.5 and 285 lbs. No started under 280.

[furman88]

Clay's vision of OLineman is showing quickly. Quick athletic lineman that play smart and play with attiude whether you are 5'10" or 6'10". Clay is a master craftsman in this field beside being a great Headcoach. Developed great olines at Air Force and continues the great work here. Love the guys learning multiple positions, really adds to depth, a luxury we haven't had. Added year in the weight room will show for sure.

[sluggo]

Just for the record : I was 6'9" when I played OL.
The official record of my height is way off.



hehehe.

[furman88]

Offical records are Fake News! Offical pics are not pretty either.

[gofurman]

And long....Can't remember another Paladin OL where the shortest guy was 6-4.

I know of an NFL Team that had 2 OL Starters under 6-4 last year and may very well have 3 Starters under 6-4 this year as their 1st Round Draft Choice was a 6-2 Offensive Tackle. Anyone ever heard of the New England Patriots? Are they any good?

Sorry for the digression, but OL "Altitide" is the most overrated metric in all of sports and that overrating by Coaches has been responsible for major degradation in the quality of OL play throughout the game of Football in the past 10-15 years, particularly at the FCS level.

NOTE: The comment above is NOT a comment intended to disparage these young men and/or Furman's O-Line in any way whatsoever. On the contrary, Coach Hendrix, Coach Lusk, and these young men are doing a FANTASTIC JOB. These Players are athletes 1st...they just happen to also be tall. In other words, they are not good OLmen BECAUSE they are tall. They are good OLmen because they are well-coached great athletes and they are also tall. Nothing wrong, and A LOT right with that!

Yep. As for weight (teams always brag on height and weight of OL) I seem to see SC State have these 320 pound monsters and they are so slow they just aren't that good... I mean if they were awesome why didn't Bama recruit them? We also usually beat SC State when we face them - usually, not always... and they usually have a huge FCS OL.

Technique and attitude appear to go a long way ! I will take a well-coached 6'2 280 pound guy who can move over a 6'5 330 pound guy who can't get out of his own way all day. Granted, the enormous slower guy does help on fourth and one I guess... But he often seems pretty limited in most situations

[The Jackal]

1. Good/well coached offensive linemen are better than big poorly coached offensive linemen.

2. Ideally, you'd like to have big well coached offensive linemen.