Pre Spring Position Reports - OL (Updated)
by John Berkowitz on Feb 27, 2009 1:00 AM PST
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PrintThe coaches at Washington see some bright spots on the roster but one area they are very concerned about is the offensive line. First off all the talent isn't tailor made for what Sarkisian is looking for. He wants lighter, faster and more athletic players at these positions and the bottom line is that type of talent will have to be recruited over the next couple of years. UW didn't get much help with this recruiting class either. JC OG Daniel Mafoe was the only offensive line recruit in the class.
Cody Habben and Ben Ossai return at tackle. Ossai is a three year starter that hasn't really gotten better. Habben had a tough year last season and spent a lot of time on his back. Both of these guys tend to get brutalized by opposing defensive lines. Scott Fancher and Mark Armelin back them up and will compete for extended playing time this season. Drew Schaeffer and Terrance Thomas who sat out last year will see their first playing time this season.
On the inside only Ryan Tolar returns. He will be most likely flanked by JC recruit Daniel Mafoe. Backing them up will be Scott Shugert, and Morgan Rosborough. Allan Carroll will also see his first action of the year. Obviously UW could use some more help here so expect two defensive linemen to be moved this spring.
Who could move over here?
Tyrone Duncan, Nick Wood, and Craig Noble are a couple of possibilities.
At center Matt Sedillo and Mykena Ikehara will fight it out for the starting job. Sedillo could figure into the rotation at guard if Ikehara ends up beating him out like I think he will. Ikehara was the best of the freshman lineman last year and if Garcia had not returned he may have played.
As far as recruiting goes Washington was not succesful when it came to recruiting offensive linemen in 2008. Daniel Mafoe who will compete for a starting job inside was the only OL in the recruiting class and he isn't a lock at this point to qualify.
One thing in Washington's favor regarding JC's in general is Coach Sarkisian will be more on top of the players academic progress before they get in than Tyrone Willingham and his staff were.
ASU's Omar Bolden is a key example of that. He wanted to come to Washington but Willingham and his staff did not want to take on the academic risk of him not qulaifying. ASU on the other hand took the risk and also took on the job of making sure he found the classes he needed at the JC level to get in to school.
Nobody thought Bolden would qualify but he did. One of Bolden's academic counselors in high school was furious with the Washington staff and said they would never advise a kid to go to Washington as long as former assistant coach Trent Miles and head coach Tyrone Willingham were working there.
What it all boils down to with the old regime is that they didn't want to take the time nesscesary to make sure kids did qualify. If a kid did qualified it was on his own and without much help from Washington. That all changes with Sarkisian in command.
Once again it comes down to the work ethic needed to change things around and Washington's old veteran staff may have been a little burnt out in that regard.
As far as the off season goes Scott Woodward told Bob Condotta last night that the offensive linemen have lost an average of 11 pounds per player so far and were responding well to Coach Lewis. I would like to see the figures without Morgan Rosborough included in the weight loss equation. A guy that big with that much to lose can skew those figures quite a bit.
So in conclusion we aren't adding much new talent per se to this unit and improvement will come sloely from improved conditioning and coaching in 2009
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Carrol
How about Allan Carrol the offensive guard. I thought he was highly recruited and regarded from last years class. I actually feel ok about our center and guard positions but both tackles were horrible last year. I got tired of hearing how good JWF was supposed to be last year he was always a day late. Our interior line should be quicker with the subtraction. Morgon hasn’t proved yet he is even worthy of a scholarship. Maybe this is the year he actuall comes to camp in shape.
Oline
Gigantic disappointment last season…no pun intended!
Washington Husky Football-1991 National Champions
I still can't believe how many people actually thought they were going to be great
In this day and age, it’s never a good thing for your starting guard to tip the scales at 368.
by discovolante on Feb 27, 2009 11:15 AM PST up reply actions
Qualifiers?
When do we start finding out if all of the JC guys are going to make it or not?
Washington Husky Football-1991 National Champions
Just an example of another time released article that went out before it was finished
SBN has a time release feature on articles I write ahead of time. IF I don’t watch it carefully the article will self publish before I finish it or proof it.
I will redo the piece later today because it is incomplete.
Word is
Sark was at a speaking engagement on Thursday morning and he reportedly made the comment that all the UW O-lineman have lost at least 10 lbs already. If true, this is an outstanding sign that our S&C program is working well and the players are buying in.
True
Another Tyee I know that works downtown Seattle emailed me about that breakfast, Sark told the audience the O-line has lost an average of 11lbs per man, he says Sark can get a crowd fired up, let’s hope that will spill over to the players.
Morgan Rosborough
I would like to see those figures without Morgan being figured in. Nothing against Morgan but he has so much weight to lose that his losses are going to skew those figures.
All in all it seems that we are developing some traction in that area for the first time in maybe a decade.
O-line
I think the offensive line is the perfect example of why Willingham failed. We have guys with enough talent to compete in the Pac10, but they were fat and lazy.
If Sark can keep these guys in the gym, there might be hope after all. The whole team needs to get stronger and needs better endurance. With guys like Ossai, Tolar and Habben, we have experience and potential, they just need to put in the time and effort to be successful. A lot of these guys were around in 2007 when the o-line was successful, so I have reason to hope that proper coaching and conditioning can turn this unit back into a strength of the team, and soon.
"Bow Down to Washington"
"Kick the tires and light the fires!"
I dont know if they had enough talent
They are awfully stiff and their lower bodies are tiny.
The coaches are very concerned about this area.
by John Berkowitz on Feb 27, 2009 11:37 AM PST up reply actions
lower bodies are tiny
Easy to fix, hit the weights. I think their is talent, just lazy talent.
"Bow Down to Washington"
"Kick the tires and light the fires!"
I wonder...
how much Denbrock being ill last spring and away from the team lead to the OL being lazy in their off season workouts.
Denbrock was ill two years ago
He was around last spring.
by John Berkowitz on Feb 27, 2009 11:37 AM PST up reply actions
Sheesh!
What was the S and C coaching doing? That is his job afterall.
by doubledeucedawg on Feb 27, 2009 4:59 PM PST up reply actions
Following Willingham's orders
It all starts with the man in charge.
by John Berkowitz on Feb 27, 2009 6:29 PM PST up reply actions
Fat Camp
Yes Sark got a late start on recruiting, and recruiting offensive linemen was severed by getting that late start. But do you want to recruit offensive linemen just to fill the need? This is arguably the most important unit in a college football program and you don’t dummy-down the efforts of recruiting the Oline. You get the very best available and if you can’t, then you don’t recruit it to fill the need.
Sark has good Oline talent right now. Yet everything you just said is teachable. Footwork, technique, leverage- all teachable. Heck you can even teach a quick first step and all of that is why our Oline struggled miserably last season. We had bad footwork, which led to horrible leverage.
Yes I agree our offensive line was out of shape and slow. I think each body up front needs to lose about 25 lbs across the board. These guys need to be flexible and have agility. The reach block is a huge block and if you are slow and out of shape you are going to fail in your assignment. The reach block is successful when you can motor into position, but if you can’t because of your girth and slow foot, you will have no choice but to reach with your hands. This is just one example of how slow and out of shape we were.
We get each guy to lose 25 lbs or more, we’ll be able to manuever around better, we’ll be able to maneuver into position to pick up the blitz or stunts much better. We’ll be able to pull block with more effectiveness.
OLine is not about girth, size, and strenth. Yes you want to have those desirable qualities, but you MUST have great footwork, leverage, agility, and technique. And since we don’t have a lot of depth in this department, our 1s will have to play more minutes. Maybe this is another reason we are trying to get leaner on the Oline. Fatigue kills out of shape O linemen. I think with the right coaching, the right fundamentals, the right technique, and the right conditioning program we should have an above average offensive line. It has to be, why else were we raving so much last season about the Oline being one of our better units? Poor coaching and teaching at the Oline killed any chance last season of moving the ball. Our offensive line will dictate how effective Locker and the offense are next season and Sark knows that all to well.
Go Fat Camp! WOOF!!!
All I saw was purple
Crap, we agree.
I agree, we have talent, they just need a really big boot in the a$$.
"Bow Down to Washington"
"Kick the tires and light the fires!"
Tolar
Of course he does, but how many other Pac 10 teams would he start for?
I think across the board you have to look at our roster and say how many of our starters would start for USC, CAL, OSU, UCLA….etc… .
Big T
That’s a double barrel question. As of last season NONE. But this season probably many. Everybody thinks you have to have this and that to be a great Olinemen. Not buying it. Because for the most part many of the necessities to be a great offensive linemen can be taught. This is one reason I don’t buy all the rivals and scouts.com crap. The reason these high school linemen were good is one, they had the perfect body type for the position. Two, they received very good coaching points from their prep coaches.
Of all the positions in football or shall I say units, the offensive line is the most teachable. As long as the kids have the body type they can become very good, if not great. On the other hand it is arguably the most challenging and difficult units to teach. Each member of the Oline has to have the fundamentals down- they’ve got to be solid in their craft. The trick is to get the entire line working as one piece of machinery. Six big bodies working together and firing together is the hard part. But it comes easier if all the pieces are fundamentally sound.
I would think out of all the units and players from last years team, the members of the Oline are the hungriest. That group took a lot of heat from the fans last year. Yeah they know they caved time and again to opposing defenses- they are sick of hearing how bad they were. I think our line may surprise some folks this upcoming season. With the right coaching anything is possible. So to answer your question about BIG T, let’s wait until this upcoming season, compare notes, and see where we are. I want to see these guys lean and cut. I’m tired of seeing us fat and sloppy and I’m willing to be they are too.
Go Fat Campers! WOOF!!!
All I saw was purple
Ability isn't static
Last year I doubt any of these guys could have subbed into the starting line of another Pac 10 team, with the exception of ASU and WSU. This isn’t because they lack the genetic talent to play at the Pac 10 level. It is because the previous coaching staff didn’t get them to develop beyond the ability they had when they left high school.
I am skeptical, but hopeful, that 8 months is sufficient time to transform these guys into a Pac 10 quality unit. If the current coaching staff’s work ethic transfers over to player development I expect several of the guys you mentioned will be in the top five of the Pac 10 at their respective positions 20 months from now, however.
20 months
I buy into 20 months. You can’t get improvement in 8 months but you can actually build a real solid foundation training wise in 20 months as far as big guys are concerned.
by John Berkowitz on Feb 27, 2009 4:39 PM PST up reply actions
Let's hope these guys...
…even under Willingham/Denbrock/Greener were at least working hard enough to build some kind of base. I mean do you think they were all just sitting on their fannies the whole time?
by doubledeucedawg on Feb 27, 2009 5:05 PM PST up reply actions
We all saw how they performed last year
That was a veteran line whose recruitment went back to Neu and Gilby.
by John Berkowitz on Feb 27, 2009 6:32 PM PST up reply actions
Yes it was...
…my point is these guys aren’t starting over. They are refining their workout program. There’s a big difference between that and starting over. I am not one who believes that Willingham had horns on his head and encouraged everyone to sit on their butts and fail.
Washington Husky Football-1991 National Champions
Horns
Willingham isn’t an evil person by any stretch of the imagination.
Mediocre to bad football coach…yes.
Just here to pick up a big paycheck…yes.
Unmotivated…yes
Unmotivating…yes
Wishing to fail…no way
by John Berkowitz on Mar 1, 2009 10:28 AM PST up reply actions
It'll Take longer then 8 months for a major transformation
But in 8 months you will see a leaner, healthier football player- even on the offensive line. Leaner and healthier is a decent foundation to start with. For one they will be able to go longer and with our depth, that is a must. Secondly with better conditioning and an attitude makeover our kids won’t be at risk for uneccessary injuries. Our kids should be developing better football muscle with a little table muscle to obsorb football collisions. Football muscle and a little table muscle (fat) is good at this position. Currently or should I say last season all we had was table muscle and we were easily pushed around.
We should see a bid difference in how our line plays next season. It won’t be dominating, but should be skilled enough and sturdy enough to score and to last the entire season, minus any freak injuries/accidents [knock on wood now].
Sark and Cozzetto will stress on blocking first level- opposing D linemen. You’ve got to get those guys blocked first before you begin to think about blocking second level (LBers). Miss the D linemen in an attempt to scrape to the LB will kill us. Coz will teach progression and he will start w/ the importance of getting the D line blocked before even thinking about 2nd level blocking technique.
Coz is THEE Man! WOOF!!!
All I saw was purple
No it won't...
…not in regards to weight training and conditioning. Unless you buy into the theory that Willingham and staff had them eating pizza and playing video games instead of hitting the weights and doing speed and conditioning work.
Washington Husky Football-1991 National Champions
I don’t know what Greener had them doing, nor what Willingham expected out of them. I don’t know if it was mostly on the players themselves, or if they were given bad instruction.
What I do know is they didn’t look like a good Pac-10 line should look from a physical perspective, and the results showed on the field. It should also be noted that what they were being asked to do from an offensive philosophy standpoint didn’t appear to match what their physiques suggested was their strong suit.
Hopefully a combination of better strength and conditioning, better motivation from the coaches, better buy-in from the players and a scheme that best utilizes the talent on-hand will result in a significant turnaround for this group next year.
Too much Chocolate Milk, Pot, and Krispy Cremes
One of the bigger problems on the team that Sarkisian is inheriting is way too many guys using the peace pipe.
by John Berkowitz on Feb 28, 2009 4:31 PM PST up reply actions
ReRead
Dawgfan I said it will take longer then 8 months to see a major transformation. Major means “dominating”. We won’t be dominating next year, but with the right coaches, with the right conditioning program, and the right frame of mind we will see tremendous improvement this next season. That means I think we have a chance to win some games and a bowl bid is not out of the possibilities. But don’t think for a minute that we will be getting an invite for the Holiday or Rose Bowls. That would call for a major transformation on the offensive line and we won’t be there quite yet. Huge improvements, but not dominating.
All I saw was purple
This is off subject but
Have you guy’s seen the safety Chris young of my hometown Auburn Washington, He’s 6’1 and 230, i’m wondering why sark hasn’t offered him yet? He’s a beast.
Maybe you should send Sark and staff an email?
Sometimes the kid himself has to be proactive and send his film, make phone calls etc.
Washington Husky Football-1991 National Champions
They are all over Young
It isn’t even March yet.
by John Berkowitz on Feb 28, 2009 4:25 PM PST up reply actions
Young
He will get an offer after he is fully evaluated. They are really going in depth and doing the homework on all their evaluations.
by John Berkowitz on Feb 27, 2009 10:46 PM PST reply actions
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