On Recruiting O-linemen

posted by David Cloninger, 2/08/2009 07:08:00 PM

“Just when I thought that I was better,
I realized that I don't know what better was.”
------------------------------ HOOBASTANK

Now that the latest issue surrounding South Carolina football has been declared dead by coach Steve Spurrier, I can finally get around to what I had originally planned to write on National Signing Day. (I wish I had gotten one of those rampant apologies this week, considering that deciphering this mess of who said what and why say that when was about as easy to solve as a map of Britney Spears’ thought processes.)

The Gamecocks signed 29 players four days ago. They filled some needs, getting linebackers and defensive backs to replace what they’ve lost and getting some others that won’t necessarily fill a need, but perhaps give a better option than what’s coming back.

But the one position where USC is the weakest – offensive line – was again a glaring absence. The Gamecocks signed three linemen.

But that’s not necessarily a bad omen. It could be a case of it was the best USC could do.

First, the signees. The Gamecocks made it official with Nick Allison, a three-star recruit out of Asheville, N.C., who’d been verbally committed for a while. Then they got two other kids from breeding ground Georgia Military College, Kevious Watkins and Steven Singleton.

Watkins and Singleton can play right away after getting a lot of experience at GMC. Allison’s got the height (6-foot-4) but his listed weight of 285 pounds may have to increase if he’s going to play next year.

There were a few posters who picked up on what I did – if offensive line was the biggest problem, why didn’t the Gamecocks get more than three? They were in the running for a fourth, all-star Quinton Washington, but he decided to go with Michigan.

They may not have had much choice. From talking with some folks over the past few weeks, recruiting offensive linemen is a far cry from recruiting other positions.

A guy I talked to said that while, of course, there are a handful of legit O-line prospects coming out of high school every year, there’s not enough sure Division I prospects so that a college coach can offer a scholarship to any big kid and expect to get A-plus results. The guy, who’s coached in high school and in college, compared O-line to right field or first base on the baseball diamond.

They’re important positions, but right field is where you’ll have the least amount of fly balls. First base, you’ll get a lot of chances, but you hardly ever have to leave that bag.

In high school, most big kids that maybe don’t run or move as well as the others are put on the offensive line. While there might be a player that really takes to it and displays enough raw talent for a college coach to nab him, it’s really a diamond-in-the-rough-type scenario.

So, the guy said, a college coach is perhaps better off recruiting defensive linemen and switching them to offensive line once they get on campus. Or just get a kid with the size who can move his feet well, bulk him up and stick him out there.

I also spoke to athletic director Eric Hyman. He agreed with that concept and pointed out that when he was at Texas Christian, future NFL MVP LaDainian Tomlinson ran behind a line of one o-lineman and four converted tight ends. Get the feet, Hyman said, and the rest takes care of itself.

USC only signed three offensive linemen. But the Gamecocks signed five defensive ends, and they’re all coming in bidding for time in the one area where USC has a surplus. If they want to play in 2009, they might get a shot at the O-line.

Obviously, USC’s offensive line problems have been around for a while, even before Spurrier got to Columbia. Sometimes it was a case of the line got better as the season went along, sometimes it regressed, sometimes it stayed the same and the other offensive players found a way to work it out anyway.

This past year, none of the offense was consistent, excepting Kenny McKinley. It’s not fair to blame all of that on the offensive line, but if it all truly begins up front, well, there was a reason John Hunt got the ol’ heave-ho a day after The Disaster in the Valley.

There’s a new line coach in town and some returning talent with which to work. Left tackle Jarriel King will be a beast by the time he leaves USC and center Garrett Anderson has steadily improved during each game of his career.

But starters Jamon Meredith and Justin Sorensen are gone. The guard positions were a revolving door all year. Of the best recruiting class Spurrier has had at USC – two years ago – only three members were offensive linemen, and two (Kyle Nunn and Quintin Richardson) have yet to stay on the field for a significant amount of time (Clifton Geathers switched to defense).

Eric Wolford and the rest of the new offensive coaches may be planning a tweaked offense to get around the standby of the dropback-and-look first and second, hand off third. They’ll play the hand they were dealt.

That’s really all they can do. They seem satisfied with who they got.

There was really no other choice.

Now they just have to make it work.

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