Looking Ahead - OL

[OldJacketFan]

Obviously, building this kind of OL depth has been the plan from day one; it's taken seven years. Is that just how long it takes? Or did GT recruiting disadvantages, bad decisions, injuries and just bad luck stretch out what should have been a 4 (?) year process?

A little bit of all of it, O linemen usually take 2 years to get their feet under them, so even in the best of years you might have 3 to 4 that are able to be ready to play 2 years after they come on campus if for no other reason than simply physical maturity. It's tough to take an 18 year old and expect him to match up with a 20-22 year d lineman who's been in a collegiate S&C program for 2-3 years. Add injuries into mix, misses in recruiting and the other factors you mention it's not the quickest process in the world. Most coaches will tell you the closer you are to the ball the longer it takes to be ready to step in.