Position Ratings- Offensive Line

[smallcollegefbfan]

This is my favorite position because it is the toughest for most people to judge to due to the lack of stats at the position. The most important measurables for linemen are sacks allowed, knockdowns, consecutive starts, etc.

If you have a lineman who warrants NFL consideration but is not quite an All-American post them as well.

Here are some names to get the thread started

OT Brent Russum, Montana, Sr.
OT Tim Silver, Richmond, Sr.
OT Joel Bell, Furman, Sr.
OT Tyler Booth, Youngstown State, Sr.
OT James Williams, Harvard, Jr.
OT Steve Jonas, Colgate, Sr.
OG Brad Samsa, Youngstown State, Sr.
OG Jon Compas, UC Davis, Sr.
OG Stephen Field, Cal Poly, Sr.
OG Aaron Lockwood, Southern Illinois, Sr.
OG Matt McCracken, Richmond, Jr.
OG Jeff Hansen, Montana State, Jr.
C Colin Dow, Montana, Sr.
C Kheon Hendricks, Delaware, Sr.
C Raymond Harrison, SC State, Sr.

[Green26]

C, JD Quinn, Montana, Sr. Quinn can play all 5 positions. Not only very talented and athletic, but knows o-line play very well.

Dow has been moved back to guard, where he was first team all-conference as a sophomore. I think he's still the back up center.

[smallcollegefbfan]

JD Quinn, Montana, Sr.

I thought about putting him on this list. He is certainly a top 5 guard.

[X-Factor]

Sr. Zach Harrington (center) was maybe our best lineman last fall, and played on one of the best offensive line units in the country. He probably deserves consideration although at 6-2 he might be a little short for the NFL. Also, Jr. RT Keith Buckman (6-5 305)is another player that absolutely has All-American talent. 1st team all-conference as a sophomore 1st year starter.

[BDKJMU]

Scott Lemm, rising 5th yr senior center JMU (also 1 season Navy Prep). Started 8 of last 9 games 05', every game 06' and 07'. 07' 1st team All CAA center. Also named to the VA Div I All State Team (9 schools: UVA, VT, JMU, UR, W&M, Liberty, VMI, Hampton, Norfolk St). Was listed 6'3", 285 last season.

"Lemn was a third-year starter on JMU's offensive line that helped the Dukes average 410.0 yards of total offense per game and lead the nation in fewest quarterback sacks allowed. He was first-team All-CAA and led the team in knock-down blocks with 36."
http://www.jmusports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=71225&SPID=8113&DB_OEM_ID=14400&ATCLID=1354656

He will certainly be pre season All CAA and possibly make some pre season All America lists, at least those that have 2nd & 3rd team.

[Green26]

I believe most consider Quinn to be the top o-lineman on the team. As you may have seen, he and Russum were named first team all-american in the Lindy's all-american team.

[katstrapper]

Small College Football Fan.... Keep an eye on this kid.

OG 78 Hunter Schmidt 6-3 303 Jr

This kid is a stud. He is a two starter at Sam Houston, securing a starting spot his Freshman-Redshirt year. He can play both Center and Guard, but has played guard his first two years. He has started all 22 games in two years and was an All-Conference Selection last year. He could be a kid that could move to the next level.

[UCABEARS75]

Brad Gordon Sr., 6'1" 290. Will be a 4 yrs starter at OG for UCA.

Not the biggest by today's standards but may be one of the best to ever play for the Bears

[danefan]

From Albany this kid is really getting a lot of NFL interest:

#74 Raphael Nguti
6'6" - 330 lbs.

1st team All-NEC
Moves pretty well and has a lot of upside.

[smallcollegefbfan]

Small College Football Fan.... Keep an eye on this kid.

OG 78 Hunter Schmidt 6-3 303 Jr

This kid is a stud. He is a two starter at Sam Houston, securing a starting spot his Freshman-Redshirt year. He can play both Center and Guard, but has played guard his first two years. He has started all 22 games in two years and was an All-Conference Selection last year. He could be a kid that could move to the next level.

I have heard of him. You know how these preseason lists are. Tough to be named in the top 5-10 of your position if you weren't a All-American or 1st team All-Conf last year. I can't wait to see him more this year. Heard good things about him.

[smallcollegefbfan]

From Albany this kid is really getting a lot of NFL interest:

#74 Raphael Nguti
6'6" - 330 lbs.

1st team All-NEC
Moves pretty well and has a lot of upside.

Yeah with his size it sounds like he would be a NFL prospect. They love those 6'6 300 plus guys.

[Green26]

Speaking of size, Montana's o-line is big. From the spring roster:

LT: 6'7", 305 or 6'8", 290
LG: 6'5", 299
C: 6'4", 301
RG: 6'7", 325 or 6'5", 312
RT: 6'4", 289

[McNeese_beat]

sleeper is Kyle Link OT McNeese. He's about 6-6, 280-290. Two years ago, he was the starting tight end, but he was moved to left tackle after a couple of injuries on the o-line. He already was built like a tackle. Needless to say, as a former mid-skill player he has outstanding agility for an offensive lineman.

He didn't move to tackle until after the start of August camp last year. I would expect with a full off-season at the new position, he could really break out and be dominant this year.

[katstrapper]

Speaking of size, Montana's o-line is big. From the spring roster:

LT: 6'7", 305 or 6'8", 290
LG: 6'5", 299
C: 6'4", 301
RG: 6'7", 325 or 6'5", 312
RT: 6'4", 289

Bigger they are the harder they fall!!:D

[CopperCat]

Bigger they are the harder they fall!!:D

The smaller guy is getting knocked on his a$$ more often than an O-lineman of that size.xcoolx

[SideLine Shooter]

Speaking of size, Montana's o-line is big. From the spring roster:

LT: 6'7", 305 or 6'8", 290
LG: 6'5", 299
C: 6'4", 301
RG: 6'7", 325 or 6'5", 312
RT: 6'4", 289

That is bigger than a lot of NFL O-Lines.

I tend to lean toward the larger o-lines but I have seen some smaller offensive lineman that are stronger man-handle the larger guys. Actually make the bigger, more heralded guys look bad.

[Lionsrking]

He doesn't deserve to be on any All-American lists at the present, but a name to watch out for over the next couple of years is Kevin Hughes, 6-5, 290, So., Southeastern Louisiana. Played very well as a RS freshman in '07 and had an outstanding spring. Very aggressive, athletic guy with ability to emerge as a dominant OL in the Southland Conference.

[Hoyadestroya85]

Brian Brannigan OG Villanova
maybe
Izzy Bauta RT Villanova

[Longhorn]

Speaking of size, Montana's o-line is big. From the spring roster:

LT: 6'7", 305 or 6'8", 290
LG: 6'5", 299
C: 6'4", 301
RG: 6'7", 325 or 6'5", 312
RT: 6'4", 289


Out West we'd call those UM lineman "tall and rangy" xthumbsupx

Here's the projected JMU OL for next season (based on last year's returning roster):

Terrence Apted OT 6-4 335
Vernon Eason OG 6-1 315
Scott Lemn OC 6-3 285
Theo Sherman OG 6-2 295
Arthur Walker OT 6-3 310

The average size of UM's and JMU's OL's are:

JMU 6' 2.75" 308#

UM 6' 5.4" 303.8#

Besides Lemn (already mentioned in this thread) Apted should really star this year. He was a big time transfer from Utah a couple years back, but fell into JMU's lap because he married a local gal.

[Green26]

JMU's line is huge too. Montana fans all remember how JMU's line pushed us around in the '04 national championship game, especially as the game went on.

UM's line has transfers from Oklahoma (Quinn), Arizona St. (Russum) and Oregon (Horn). Quinn started 4 games as a frosh for Oklahoma. Russum would have started for Arizona St. last year, had he still been there. Both Russum and Horn transferred after their redshirt year. Russum and Horn are originally from Idaho and Spokane, Washington, respectively. Horn is Native American. Russum started pre-season practice last year at 305, but plans to play a bit lighter this fall. He is very good. The taller left tackle and tall guard both played center on their high school basketball teams (in Montana). The 6'8" tackle is actually a bit taller. The left guard is probably a bit heavier, or will be, as I think he played at about 310 last year.

If UM's o-line doesn't have a great year, UM's offense, and UM's team, will struggle.

[slostang]

Here is the size of Cal Poly's starting O-line:

RT 6'2" 265
RG 6'1" 285
OC 6'0" 260
LG 6'1" 290
LT 6'3" 270

Small and athletic.

[Lionsrking]

He doesn't deserve to be on any All-American lists at the present, but a name to watch out for over the next couple of years is Kevin Hughes, 6-5, 290, So., Southeastern Louisiana. Played very well as a RS freshman in '07 and had an outstanding spring. Very aggressive, athletic guy with ability to emerge as a dominant OL in the Southland Conference.

http://www.lionsports.net/stats/Photos/Football/fb_NICH1117/image/111707_1125.JPG
Kevin Hughes (#77)

[terrierbob]

Our bulldozers:

Jonathan Hufford OG 6'3"287 So.
Kyle Lanham OT 6'5" 265 Jr.
Ben Miller OG 6'3" 305 Sr.
Ben Quick OG 6'3" 285 Sr.
Brent Owen OT 6'2" 275 Jr.
Pat Illig C 6'5" 311 Fr.
Derek Wooten OT 6'6" 300 Sr. (5th yr. senior-didn't have to return but wanted to honor commitment)

[smallcollegefbfan]

Our bulldozers:

Jonathan Hufford OG 6'3"287 So.
Kyle Lanham OT 6'5" 265 Jr.
Ben Miller OG 6'3" 305 Sr.
Ben Quick OG 6'3" 285 Sr.
Brent Owen OT 6'2" 275 Jr.
Pat Illig C 6'5" 311 Fr.
Derek Wooten OT 6'6" 300 Sr. (5th yr. senior-didn't have to return but wanted to honor commitment)

I'm glad Wooten did. He is one of the best in the SoCon.

[Ruler]

Nguti from Albany was ranked in the top 10-12 O lineman in the country. Albany will be very big again this year although not Montana big.

LT: Nguti 6'6" 330
LG: Lieble 6'5" 310
C: Richards 6'2" 285....the runt of the litter
RG: ? most of the underclassman are 285-300
RT: Tougas 6'6" 310....Boston College Transfer

[OLDMAIN80]

Our bulldozers:

Jonathan Hufford OG 6'3"287 So.
Kyle Lanham OT 6'5" 265 Jr.
Ben Miller OG 6'3" 305 Sr.
Ben Quick OG 6'3" 285 Sr.
Brent Owen OT 6'2" 275 Jr.
Pat Illig C 6'5" 311 Fr.
Derek Wooten OT 6'6" 300 Sr. (5th yr. senior-didn't have to return but wanted to honor commitment)

Terrierbob,
Thought we would not have Hufford this season. Didn't he get picked for the Presidential International Scholar program?

[SkinsWizDukes]

Longhorn.. Eason is no longer on the team.

[terrierbob]

Terrierbob,
Thought we would not have Hufford this season. Didn't he get picked for the Presidential International Scholar program?

Damn. You're right. We had to have some Renaissance Man for a O lineman.
xrolleyesx

[OLPOP]

Fordham's starting OL: LT 6'4" 290, LG 6'5" 305, C 6'3" 300, RG 6'1" 300 RT 6'5" 300. All returning starters, but RG.

[OLPOP]

OOP! That's all returning, but LG.

[Longhorn]

Longhorn.. Eason is no longer on the team.


xbowx You're jogging my memory...I do remember something about that...didn't he leave to concentrate on his role as a new Papa? Guess we'll have to wait until Fall practice to see who steps into his spot.

[Hoyadestroya85]

I'm a proponent either big bruising o-lines or small athletic ones
nothing in between!

[SkinsWizDukes]

xbowx You're jogging my memory...I do remember something about that...didn't he leave to concentrate on his role as a new Papa? Guess we'll have to wait until Fall practice to see who steps into his spot.


Yea, from what I've heard the mother wasn't doing a great job and he is stepping up to take responsibility. Got to respect him for that.

[Houndawg]

Shawn Smith is worth a look at SIU. Looks about 6'4" 280, good feet, smart, recruited by Kansas, started last two seasons.

[ngineer]

Kevin Bayani of Lehigh 6'3" 300 lbs. (last year) Started last year, and is expected to be the leader of Lehigh's OL this year.

[BDKJMU]

xbowx You're jogging my memory...I do remember something about that...didn't he leave to concentrate on his role as a new Papa? Guess we'll have to wait until Fall practice to see who steps into his spot.

I remember reading there were about 4-5 guys being considered for that guard spot, including the transfers from WVU and from Army, both of whom were at Spring ball. So sounds like still a lot of depth there, and hopefully not much of a drop off.

[smallcollegefbfan]

Tennessee State OT Cornelius Lewis is a name people are overlooking but is one of the best in the nation. His athletic ability and estimated 4.9 speed will have NFL scouts drooling. The word is that NFL people see him as a OG. He is about 6'4, 321 pounds.

[Green26]

4.9 is very fast. The top o-lineman at this year's NFL combine was 4.99.