O Line Starters

[D-man44]

this place would be better off if people quit looking for or reading between the lines to find real or imaginary slights against the current or previous coaching staffs. This is a general comment and not directed at you personally.

? I think it is a more than appropriate question for a message board. I was going to argue that most starting lineman are upperclassman. It would make sense that a couple O-line holdovers and transfers are starting. Not everything is a shot at someone just a general comment and not directed at you personally.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

Lol is this supposed to be a shot at CGC recruiting and development?

No. Not at all.

It was supposed to show ingenious integration of several different recruiting legacies (5 by my count) into one cohesive effective unit. That’s impressive if it works as well as some of us hope.

 

[Jerry the Jacket]

I have a lot of mixed feelings about our offensive line situation. We are returning 3 of the 5 starters plus an expeienced former starter and an SEC caliber transfer with a ton of game experience. That's the good news but also may be the bad news. If you look at how the starters perfomed last year, we were not very good so unless they substantially up their performance, this may actually be bad news. I find it concerning that so many of the younger guys we have recruited are not progressing to the point of even competing for playing time. Guys like Austin Smith, Mike May, Rankin, Vaipulu, Green, Spiers, Franklin, Leftwich, and Kootsouradis don't seem to be progressing to the point of being ready to play. It's probably time to encourage the guys that have been here more than 2 years to move on for to be honest they are just taking up scholarships that could go to other more talented players. The balance of the young guys have not got much press other than Franklin and Green but they are yet to go through the fire of competition so basically they are unknowns.

To me with the level of coaching we have, I would have expected more production out of ournunder classmen. It is a tale tale sign that we continue to pound the transfer portal to find guys who can come in and play right away. I don't think that iis a sustainable long term staffing strategy. Guys like Johnson, Cochran and Kirby are good players but not great players and I think that is true of 99% of all transfers. I don't see us upgrading our performance to the elite level using transfers to address our needs.

So in summary, I like the size of our line but I still have concerns as to how well they will play. I would sure love to see some of our younger guys step forward and contribute so we can truly say we have some quality depth. I am hopeful that all of the positive talk will play out as we roll into this season.

Go Jackets!

 

[Gt2019]

I have a lot of mixed feelings about our offensive line situation. We are returning 3 of the 5 starters plus an expeienced former starter and an SEC caliber transfer with a ton of game experience. That's the good news but also may be the bad news. If you look at how the starters perfomed last year, we were not very good so unless they substantially up their performance, this may actually be bad news. I find it concerning that so many of the younger guys we have recruited are not progressing to the point of even competing for playing time. Guys like Austin Smith, Mike May, Rankin, Vaipulu, Green, Spiers, Franklin, Leftwich, and Kootsouradis don't seem to be progressing to the point of being ready to play. It's probably time to encourage the guys that have been here more than 2 years to move on for to be honest they are just taking up scholarships that could go to other more talented players. The balance of the young guys have not got much press other than Franklin and Green but they are yet to go through the fire of competition so basically they are unknowns.

To me with the level of coaching we have, I would have expected more production out of ournunder classmen. It is a tale tale sign that we continue to pound the transfer portal to find guys who can come in and play right away. I don't think that iis a sustainable long term staffing strategy. Guys like Johnson, Cochran and Kirby are good players but not great players and I think that is true of 99% of all transfers. I don't see us upgrading our performance to the elite level using transfers to address our needs.

So in summary, I like the size of our line but I still have concerns as to how well they will play. I would sure love to see some of our younger guys step forward and contribute so we can truly say we have some quality depth. I am hopeful that all of the positive talk will play out as we roll into this season.

Go Jackets!

Rankins is no longer in the team, koots I wouldn’t even consider since he’s kinda on scholarship but not, Franklin is progressing very well and could start at center some point this year, he is the center of the future, wing green is looking better and he’s more of a develop with s&c due to his size, mike maye is progressing and can be a 2nd unit guy, Also, Leftwhich is a true freshman, this is his first fall camp so I have 0 idea what is your expectation from him this year since he just got into the program.

 

[bobongo]

I have a lot of mixed feelings about our offensive line situation. We are returning 3 of the 5 starters plus an expeienced former starter and an SEC caliber transfer with a ton of game experience. That's the good news but also may be the bad news. If you look at how the starters perfomed last year, we were not very good so unless they substantially up their performance, this may actually be bad news. I find it concerning that so many of the younger guys we have recruited are not progressing to the point of even competing for playing time. Guys like Austin Smith, Mike May, Rankin, Vaipulu, Green, Spiers, Franklin, Leftwich, and Kootsouradis don't seem to be progressing to the point of being ready to play. It's probably time to encourage the guys that have been here more than 2 years to move on for to be honest they are just taking up scholarships that could go to other more talented players. The balance of the young guys have not got much press other than Franklin and Green but they are yet to go through the fire of competition so basically they are unknowns.

To me with the level of coaching we have, I would have expected more production out of ournunder classmen. It is a tale tale sign that we continue to pound the transfer portal to find guys who can come in and play right away. I don't think that iis a sustainable long term staffing strategy. Guys like Johnson, Cochran and Kirby are good players but not great players and I think that is true of 99% of all transfers. I don't see us upgrading our performance to the elite level using transfers to address our needs.

So in summary, I like the size of our line but I still have concerns as to how well they will play. I would sure love to see some of our younger guys step forward and contribute so we can truly say we have some quality depth. I am hopeful that all of the positive talk will play out as we roll into this season.

Go Jackets!

I think it's at worst a step in the right direction. The OL was better last year than this, and this year will be better than the year before. We're older and bigger. We have more depth and experience. Don't know about "elite", but we will be improved up front. As for transfers, we're all glad to have them but sustainability is a legitimate concern. We'll see what happens...

 

[Gt2019]

My understanding and guess of the OL rotation currently is:
LT: Cochran, Leftwhich, Vaipulu
LG: Cooper, Pendley, and then you could cross some guys here like Vaipulu.
C: Minihan, Franklin
RG: Johnson, Smith/Maye
RT: Williams or Kirby: can switch out and as Kirby gets more comfortable he maybe turns into the starter, then Green/ a guy moving over if need be like Pendley.

 

[Lotta Booze]

FTRS put out this article on the OL and provided the below notes from one of the open practices

Offensive Line: The first two units today were:

1 - LT Devin Cochran, LG Jordan Williams, C Mikey Minihan, RG Ryan Johnson, RT Nick Pendley

2 - LT Jakiah Leftwich, LG Paula Vaipulu, C Weston Franklin, RG Kenny Cooper, RT Kenneth Kirby

There’s a very strong transfer portal flavor here, with three transfers in the first unit and a fourth in the likely swing tackle (Kirby). As of now, the starting five seems all but set, with Franklin, Cooper, and Kirby likely to rotate in.

My understanding of the projected OL starting lineup is similar to what @Gt2019 posted but....man do I want to see both Cochran and Williams on the left side paving the way for Mason and Gibbs.

 

[ncjacket79]

I have a lot of mixed feelings about our offensive line situation. We are returning 3 of the 5 starters plus an expeienced former starter and an SEC caliber transfer with a ton of game experience. That's the good news but also may be the bad news. If you look at how the starters perfomed last year, we were not very good so unless they substantially up their performance, this may actually be bad news. I find it concerning that so many of the younger guys we have recruited are not progressing to the point of even competing for playing time. Guys like Austin Smith, Mike May, Rankin, Vaipulu, Green, Spiers, Franklin, Leftwich, and Kootsouradis don't seem to be progressing to the point of being ready to play. It's probably time to encourage the guys that have been here more than 2 years to move on for to be honest they are just taking up scholarships that could go to other more talented players. The balance of the young guys have not got much press other than Franklin and Green but they are yet to go through the fire of competition so basically they are unknowns.

To me with the level of coaching we have, I would have expected more production out of ournunder classmen. It is a tale tale sign that we continue to pound the transfer portal to find guys who can come in and play right away. I don't think that iis a sustainable long term staffing strategy. Guys like Johnson, Cochran and Kirby are good players but not great players and I think that is true of 99% of all transfers. I don't see us upgrading our performance to the elite level using transfers to address our needs.

So in summary, I like the size of our line but I still have concerns as to how well they will play. I would sure love to see some of our younger guys step forward and contribute so we can truly say we have some quality depth. I am hopeful that all of the positive talk will play out as we roll into this season.

Go Jackets!

Think you miss the mark in a number of ways but primarily in how quickly you expect recruits to be ready on the OL. Ideally you redshirt every freshman, start to see some challenge for playing time on their RS-FR or So year and take over by the time they are juniors. We’re pretty much on that trajectory. The transfers are to fill gaps til the kids are ready. Pretty smart if you ask me.

 

[GT14]

I have a lot of mixed feelings about our offensive line situation. We are returning 3 of the 5 starters plus an expeienced former starter and an SEC caliber transfer with a ton of game experience. That's the good news but also may be the bad news. If you look at how the starters perfomed last year, we were not very good so unless they substantially up their performance, this may actually be bad news. I find it concerning that so many of the younger guys we have recruited are not progressing to the point of even competing for playing time. Guys like Austin Smith, Mike May, Rankin, Vaipulu, Green, Spiers, Franklin, Leftwich, and Kootsouradis don't seem to be progressing to the point of being ready to play. It's probably time to encourage the guys that have been here more than 2 years to move on for to be honest they are just taking up scholarships that could go to other more talented players. The balance of the young guys have not got much press other than Franklin and Green but they are yet to go through the fire of competition so basically they are unknowns.

To me with the level of coaching we have, I would have expected more production out of ournunder classmen. It is a tale tale sign that we continue to pound the transfer portal to find guys who can come in and play right away. I don't think that iis a sustainable long term staffing strategy. Guys like Johnson, Cochran and Kirby are good players but not great players and I think that is true of 99% of all transfers. I don't see us upgrading our performance to the elite level using transfers to address our needs.

So in summary, I like the size of our line but I still have concerns as to how well they will play. I would sure love to see some of our younger guys step forward and contribute so we can truly say we have some quality depth. I am hopeful that all of the positive talk will play out as we roll into this season.

Go Jackets!

I also have a lot of mixed feeling on this, but one thing to be optimistic about is we took no O line recruits between CPJ and CGC, so our oldest "younger" HS guys would be true Juniors this year. Not too young to contribute (Williams), but not old enough that you'd expect them to be starting over RS-Seniors like Cochran, Johnson, or 2xRS Cooper. Along with that, COVID screwed everyone up but I would guess it hurt the young players more than the old players who already know the system and have less conditioning to do.

 

[g0lftime]

I just want our OL to remain healthy. We were devastated there in 2019. More depth now but hope to see the "last year " guys get in a full season.

 

[LibertyTurns]

My understanding and guess of the OL rotation currently is:
LT: Cochran, Leftwhich, Vaipulu
LG: Cooper, Pendley, and then you could cross some guys here like Vaipulu.
C: Minihan, Franklin
RG: Johnson, Smith/Maye
RT: Williams or Kirby: can switch out and as Kirby gets more comfortable he maybe turns into the starter, then Green/ a guy moving over if need be like Pendley.

This may be the singular improvement factor driving our success- OL depth. There’s a decent back up for every starter.

Thinking this year will be like 2019 or 2020 is pretty comical given your list above. Night and day difference.

 

[YJMD]

What Kenny does best is slobber knock people. Good fit for a guard.

 

[GoJacketsInRaleigh]

I have a lot of mixed feelings about our offensive line situation. We are returning 3 of the 5 starters plus an expeienced former starter and an SEC caliber transfer with a ton of game experience. That's the good news but also may be the bad news. If you look at how the starters perfomed last year, we were not very good so unless they substantially up their performance, this may actually be bad news. I find it concerning that so many of the younger guys we have recruited are not progressing to the point of even competing for playing time. Guys like Austin Smith, Mike May, Rankin, Vaipulu, Green, Spiers, Franklin, Leftwich, and Kootsouradis don't seem to be progressing to the point of being ready to play. It's probably time to encourage the guys that have been here more than 2 years to move on for to be honest they are just taking up scholarships that could go to other more talented players. The balance of the young guys have not got much press other than Franklin and Green but they are yet to go through the fire of competition so basically they are unknowns.

To me with the level of coaching we have, I would have expected more production out of ournunder classmen. It is a tale tale sign that we continue to pound the transfer portal to find guys who can come in and play right away. I don't think that iis a sustainable long term staffing strategy. Guys like Johnson, Cochran and Kirby are good players but not great players and I think that is true of 99% of all transfers. I don't see us upgrading our performance to the elite level using transfers to address our needs.

So in summary, I like the size of our line but I still have concerns as to how well they will play. I would sure love to see some of our younger guys step forward and contribute so we can truly say we have some quality depth. I am hopeful that all of the positive talk will play out as we roll into this season.

Go Jackets!

Who said they aren't competing? Older OL are better because they have more time in the weightroom. I love the depth we are building there and letting the young guys have a year or two as backups before they are ready to dominate. We need the same thing on the DL especially the interior DL. We have three great recruits plus Biggers which is awesome but it will likely take a year or two before these guys are kicking ***.

 

[Ibeeballin]

What Kenny does best is slobber knock people. Good fit for a guard.

And CDP wants to play bully ball which is match made for him. I don’t question KC capability just his availability throughout the season

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

The love of the game and crazy

This. There was a guy on my baseball team that played in 5 baseball games in his 4 year career because of injury. His scholarship was guaranteed regardless yet he still worked to stay on the team because he loved the game so much. (And that was at Div III level)

Also, for a lot of these guys it's their last hurrah. Once college is over so is their football career.

 

[Ibeeballin]

@Jerry the Jacket you might want to wake up “Guys like Austin Smith, Mike May, Rankin, Vaipulu, Green, Spiers, Franklin, Leftwich, and Kootsouradis don't seem to be progressing to the point of being ready to play.”

Smith & Maye transition casualties it appear
Rankin no longer here

Vaipulu, Green, Franklin, Leftwich, Koots are all Freshman

 

[takethepoints]

I hadn't heard we had lost Rankin. I thought he was odds on the best OL recruit we had in the last few years, though Williams could also make that claim. Luckily, it appears that we are deep enough to take the hit without much damage this year.

I hope both Smith and Maye earn meaningful snaps this year. They have the talent, especially in drive blocking, and they are upper classmen. No substitute for experience on OL.

 

[augustabuzz]

Those are some Big Ol Boys. We should run it 50 times a game legitimately.

I am expecting 45+ depending on the second half score.

 

[forensicbuzz]

This. There was a guy on my baseball team that played in 5 baseball games in his 4 year career because of injury. His scholarship was guaranteed regardless yet he still worked to stay on the team because he loved the game so much. (And that was at Div III level)

Also, for a lot of these guys it's their last hurrah. Once college is over so is their football career.

I thought Div. III was non-scholarship.

 

[danny daniel]

I hadn't heard we had lost Rankin. I thought he was odds on the best OL recruit we had in the last few years, though Williams could also make that claim. Luckily, it appears that we are deep enough to take the hit without much damage this year.

I hope both Smith and Maye earn meaningful snaps this year. They have the talent, especially in drive blocking, and they are upper classmen. No substitute for experience on OL.

Where does Camp and Morgan stack in the overall OL picture, along with Smith and Maye?