grad1973
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Post by grad1973 on Jan 5, 2024 10:35:20 GMT -8
I would agree that we are not empty... but we also did not look good in the bowl game. Hopefully some of these guys will emerge into bonafide legit starters - I would agree on Starck but I would also say that Lectenhan might be another one. I have to agree with your assessment. Nirte dame exposed a big physical difference up front on both sides of the ball. With two offensive starters playing thst day and i wont blame our defense because our offense was so poor.! The big suprise during the bowl game for me is Smith had essembled lot better depth in his time here. Also norte dame didnt player all their starting linemen. Question for then becomes how could the differences be so glaring |
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Post by nuclearbeaver on Jan 5, 2024 11:15:44 GMT -8
I would agree that we are not empty... but we also did not look good in the bowl game. Hopefully some of these guys will emerge into bonafide legit starters - I would agree on Starck but I would also say that Lectenhan might be another one. I have to agree with your assessment. Nirte dame exposed a big physical difference up front on both sides of the ball. With two offensive starters playing thst day and i wont blame our defense because our offense was so poor.! The big suprise during the bowl game for me is Smith had essembled lot better depth in his time here. Also norte dame didnt player all their starting linemen. Question for then becomes how could the differences be so glaring Starck, Levengood, Morano and Miller were the only guys with actual experience. Starck is up to the task, Miller is still undersized and has more dedication than talent and Levengood was maybe the third best guy. Morano is very undersized and possibly not the best talent around. Gray and Fuaga are by far the best linemen we had and anchored the line. We replaced them with a 4 year undersized guy and a freshman. Notre Dame had one of the best and most physical defensive lines in the country and most of it played. They would have been a tough ask for our starters much less what we had on hand. To my eyes it looks like the coaches went with experience over talent. The line we have by the mid point next year will physically and talent wise much better than the bowl line. Lots to be figured out but I think Lopez, Vinic, Stark and Strand all have good shots to start. They all have good size minus strand who is still a bit light. I think of the Transfers Wells is likely to be taking over at center. |
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Post by grayman on Jan 5, 2024 13:18:06 GMT -8
I have to agree with your assessment. Nirte dame exposed a big physical difference up front on both sides of the ball. With two offensive starters playing thst day and i wont blame our defense because our offense was so poor.! The big suprise during the bowl game for me is Smith had essembled lot better depth in his time here. Also norte dame didnt player all their starting linemen. Question for then becomes how could the differences be so glaring Starck, Levengood, Morano and Miller were the only guys with actual experience. Starck is up to the task, Miller is still undersized and has more dedication than talent and Levengood was maybe the third best guy. Morano is very undersized and possibly not the best talent around. Gray and Fuaga are by far the best linemen we had and anchored the line. We replaced them with a 4 year undersized guy and a freshman. Notre Dame had one of the best and most physical defensive lines in the country and most of it played. They would have been a tough ask for our starters much less what we had on hand. To my eyes it looks like the coaches went with experience over talent. The line we have by the mid point next year will physically and talent wise much better than the bowl line. Lots to be figured out but I think Lopez, Vinic, Stark and Strand all have good shots to start. They all have good size minus strand who is still a bit light. I think of the Transfers Wells is likely to be taking over at center. I like Starck as an inside guy. IMO, Fuaga, then Heneli Bloomfield, then Gray were the top three guys. Then Levengood and Miller. Some of the young guys should be able to step up to provide at least key depth. Agree that Wells will start and I think he's maybe a little underrated. I haven't heard a definitive statement from Gray as far as what he wants to do but I assume it's the NFL. So grabbing anybody who looks like they can play tackle should be a priority IMO. Strand and Morano need more weight/strength. I especially like Morano's potential but he needs to put on a solid 15-20 pounds in the offseason to match up physically. |
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Post by nuclearbeaver on Jan 5, 2024 16:22:22 GMT -8
Starck, Levengood, Morano and Miller were the only guys with actual experience. Starck is up to the task, Miller is still undersized and has more dedication than talent and Levengood was maybe the third best guy. Morano is very undersized and possibly not the best talent around. Gray and Fuaga are by far the best linemen we had and anchored the line. We replaced them with a 4 year undersized guy and a freshman. Notre Dame had one of the best and most physical defensive lines in the country and most of it played. They would have been a tough ask for our starters much less what we had on hand. To my eyes it looks like the coaches went with experience over talent. The line we have by the mid point next year will physically and talent wise much better than the bowl line. Lots to be figured out but I think Lopez, Vinic, Stark and Strand all have good shots to start. They all have good size minus strand who is still a bit light. I think of the Transfers Wells is likely to be taking over at center. I like Starck as an inside guy. IMO, Fuaga, then Heneli Bloomfield, then Gray were the top three guys. Then Levengood and Miller. Some of the young guys should be able to step up to provide at least key depth. Agree that Wells will start and I think he's maybe a little underrated. I haven't heard a definitive statement from Gray as far as what he wants to do but I assume it's the NFL. So grabbing anybody who looks like they can play tackle should be a priority IMO. Strand and Morano need more weight/strength. I especially like Morano's potential but he needs to put on a solid 15-20 pounds in the offseason to match up physically. Yeah I didn't count Henelli just because he was injured. The run game was hurting without him grading people. I've never really been sure about Morano. He has good technique but he seems to lack some quickness/speed for a guy as light as he is. As a recruit he was 255 and as a frosh in 2021 he was 264. He's to 277 now but really needs to be in the 290s to start being in the right weight zone. With him gaining 13 lbs in 3 seasons I wonder if he struggles at a higher weight, not everyone can stay athletic and safe at 300 lb. Gray coming back would be amazing. To me he's either going to come back and anchor the line or go pro, not worried about transfer for him. Strand is 283 now and came in 277 last year. I would expect him in the 290s and looking very solid next year. |
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Post by grayman on Jan 5, 2024 17:06:15 GMT -8
I like Starck as an inside guy. IMO, Fuaga, then Heneli Bloomfield, then Gray were the top three guys. Then Levengood and Miller. Some of the young guys should be able to step up to provide at least key depth. Agree that Wells will start and I think he's maybe a little underrated. I haven't heard a definitive statement from Gray as far as what he wants to do but I assume it's the NFL. So grabbing anybody who looks like they can play tackle should be a priority IMO. Strand and Morano need more weight/strength. I especially like Morano's potential but he needs to put on a solid 15-20 pounds in the offseason to match up physically. Yeah I didn't count Henelli just because he was injured. The run game was hurting without him grading people. I've never really been sure about Morano. He has good technique but he seems to lack some quickness/speed for a guy as light as he is. As a recruit he was 255 and as a frosh in 2021 he was 264. He's to 277 now but really needs to be in the 290s to start being in the right weight zone. With him gaining 13 lbs in 3 seasons I wonder if he struggles at a higher weight, not everyone can stay athletic and safe at 300 lb. Gray coming back would be amazing. To me he's either going to come back and anchor the line or go pro, not worried about transfer for him. Strand is 283 now and came in 277 last year. I would expect him in the 290s and looking very solid next year. Honestly, I should rewatch the Notre Dame game and focus on Strand and Morano (sounds like a fun time, lol). I remember seeing Morano earlier and thinking that he was pretty light on his feet but, as you pointed out, he might be struggling at 277, which would not be good because he definitely needs to be in the 290s. |
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Post by nuclearbeaver on Jan 5, 2024 17:11:19 GMT -8
Yeah I didn't count Henelli just because he was injured. The run game was hurting without him grading people. I've never really been sure about Morano. He has good technique but he seems to lack some quickness/speed for a guy as light as he is. As a recruit he was 255 and as a frosh in 2021 he was 264. He's to 277 now but really needs to be in the 290s to start being in the right weight zone. With him gaining 13 lbs in 3 seasons I wonder if he struggles at a higher weight, not everyone can stay athletic and safe at 300 lb. Gray coming back would be amazing. To me he's either going to come back and anchor the line or go pro, not worried about transfer for him. Strand is 283 now and came in 277 last year. I would expect him in the 290s and looking very solid next year. Honestly, I should rewatch the Notre Dame game and focus on Strand and Morano (sounds like a fun time, lol). I remember seeing Morano earlier and thinking that he was pretty light on his feet but, as you pointed out, he might be struggling at 277, which would not be good because he definitely needs to be in the 290s. I haven't had a rewatch (tough ask) but I noticed Strand being beat on moves/quickness but not so much on bull rush type stuff. Morano, Levengood and Miller all got absolutely sat on their butts multiple times by bull rushes. Starck was the most solid all game and mostly got beat due to assignment breakdowns. |
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Post by grayman on Jan 5, 2024 17:30:02 GMT -8
Honestly, I should rewatch the Notre Dame game and focus on Strand and Morano (sounds like a fun time, lol). I remember seeing Morano earlier and thinking that he was pretty light on his feet but, as you pointed out, he might be struggling at 277, which would not be good because he definitely needs to be in the 290s. I haven't had a rewatch (tough ask) but I noticed Strand being beat on moves/quickness but not so much on bull rush type stuff. Morano, Levengood and Miller all got absolutely sat on their butts multiple times by bull rushes. Starck was the most solid all game and mostly got beat due to assignment breakdowns. Yeah, I didn't think Strand had a particularly good game against Oregon either. Of course, you're asking a second-string guy to come in and start against UO and Notre Dame. |
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Post by nuclearbeaver on Jan 5, 2024 17:42:18 GMT -8
I haven't had a rewatch (tough ask) but I noticed Strand being beat on moves/quickness but not so much on bull rush type stuff. Morano, Levengood and Miller all got absolutely sat on their butts multiple times by bull rushes. Starck was the most solid all game and mostly got beat due to assignment breakdowns. Yeah, I didn't think Strand had a particularly good game against Oregon either. Of course, you're asking a second-string guy to come in and start against UO and Notre Dame. He's also a RS frosh. Big asks there. |
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Post by ag87 on Jan 5, 2024 22:22:02 GMT -8
I like Starck as an inside guy. IMO, Fuaga, then Heneli Bloomfield, then Gray were the top three guys. Then Levengood and Miller. Some of the young guys should be able to step up to provide at least key depth. Agree that Wells will start and I think he's maybe a little underrated. I haven't heard a definitive statement from Gray as far as what he wants to do but I assume it's the NFL. So grabbing anybody who looks like they can play tackle should be a priority IMO. Strand and Morano need more weight/strength. I especially like Morano's potential but he needs to put on a solid 15-20 pounds in the offseason to match up physically. Yeah I didn't count Henelli just because he was injured. The run game was hurting without him grading people. I've never really been sure about Morano. He has good technique but he seems to lack some quickness/speed for a guy as light as he is. As a recruit he was 255 and as a frosh in 2021 he was 264. He's to 277 now but really needs to be in the 290s to start being in the right weight zone. With him gaining 13 lbs in 3 seasons I wonder if he struggles at a higher weight, not everyone can stay athletic and safe at 300 lb. Gray coming back would be amazing. To me he's either going to come back and anchor the line or go pro, not worried about transfer for him. Strand is 283 now and came in 277 last year. I would expect him in the 290s and looking very solid next year. I had a friend that played OLine at USC and a bit of time in the NFL (maybe only practice squad, not sure). Anyway he said his last year at SC and his Seahawks time he weighed about 315. Said his soph year when he weighed 285 was his best year. Teams wanted the extra 30 pounds but they were not good for him. What was interesting is that he said if he was going to do it again, he would never get over 270 and play tight end. I had golfed with him and guessing he was about a 5 handicap so probably athletic enough to play tight end. |
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Post by bleedorange21 on Jan 6, 2024 1:30:22 GMT -8
Yeah, I didn't think Strand had a particularly good game against Oregon either. Of course, you're asking a second-string guy to come in and start against UO and Notre Dame. He's also a RS frosh. Big asks there. Ya you have to ask why did he jump so many other guys as a lowly recruit and RS freshman? Just kind of strange. |
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Post by bvrbred on Jan 6, 2024 8:41:48 GMT -8
Maybe not that strange. Maybe because our other O-line depth guys were not developing that well? There was a concerning drop off in effectiveness of our O-line once some key injuries (and other losses) happened. I was surprised we recruited 4 or 5 HS O-linemen this year prior to Smith/M's departure, more than any other position even though we had 21 O-linemen on our roster already.
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Post by spudbeaver on Jan 6, 2024 10:29:49 GMT -8
So is this a real deal? 2 pages based on “rumor has it?” Or is there some confirmation that I missed?
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Post by grayman on Jan 6, 2024 11:05:19 GMT -8
So is this a real deal? 2 pages based on “rumor has it?” Or is there some confirmation that I missed? Well, he is in the portal and he was coached by DeVan. FWIW, DeVan left Charlotte and was named OL coach for OSU and then Arabee entered the portal. Both happened on Dec. 4 (although Muslim announced his intention to enter on Nov. 30, it seems to at least coincide with DeVan's decision). No decision has been announced. He posted on X that he will be graduating in May so maybe that has something to do with it. He probably can take his time. |
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Post by Henry Skrimshander on Jan 6, 2024 11:17:29 GMT -8
He's also a RS frosh. Big asks there. Ya you have to ask why did he jump so many other guys as a lowly recruit and RS freshman? Just kind of strange. He's from Canby, a decent 5A school but not exactly an Oregon football powerhouse. Probably under-recruited, really benefitted from the better nutrition, coaching and weight program available in college, and perhaps came in with a chip on his shoulder and with something to prove. Maybe he's really coachable. . I think OL is one of the hardest positions to project. So many big guys who dominated in HS don't when they get to college because their weight advantage is diminished; lots of smaller guys with great frames can put on good weight and are quicker. Again I am no expert but if you can't move, you're really at a disadvantage as an OL. Footwork and leverage are so important. I bet there are proportionately more walk-ons starting on the OL than in any other position in college football, except kickers and punters, who seldom are scholarshipped coming out of HS. |
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Post by rgeorge on Jan 6, 2024 14:44:19 GMT -8
Ya you have to ask why did he jump so many other guys as a lowly recruit and RS freshman? Just kind of strange. He's from Canby, a decent 5A school but not exactly an Oregon football powerhouse. Probably under-recruited, really benefitted from the better nutrition, coaching and weight program available in college, and perhaps came in with a chip on his shoulder and with something to prove. Maybe he's really coachable. . I think OL is one of the hardest positions to project. So many big guys who dominated in HS don't when they get to college because their weight advantage is diminished; lots of smaller guys with great frames can put on good weight and are quicker. Again I am no expert but if you can't move, you're really at a disadvantage as an OL. Footwork and leverage are so important. I bet there are proportionately more walk-ons starting on the OL than in any other position in college football, except kickers and punters, who seldom are scholarshipped coming out of HS. Hard to predict on top of everything mentioned, PLUS what is the offensive scheme? There are very few "road graders" that also have the ability to pull lead counters, sweeps, pass pro on an Edge. Even fewer yet that can do that physically and make succinct/accurate line calls that can alter who is "hot"/uncovered to pull. If your a smash mouth, pocket passing team with an immobile QB the abilities of your OL are different than a team that runs various sets, with multiple motion, screens, draws, toss, counter influences, leaving only (5) for pass pro, moving the pocket... having multiple plays out of multiple formations that require athletic bigs to "run". My guess from the QB recruited, Gundy's past, and the OL on the roster it will be easier for OSU to become the latter. OSU OL was good this year but very very limited in what they were able to block effectively. We were big, just not very mobile. I could care less who makes the NFL. Big, strong, athletic, "flat bellied" OL that can move (and are athletically intelligent) give a team lots of options. The 270-295 guy that is mobile and fierce... like to do his job and then go head hunting at the 2nd level and beyond. A team does not have to win 1-on-1 bull rush matchups if you have a line that can make calls, use angles, and chip/turn and get to the next level. The key guy(s) in all of this... S&C staff. |
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