If there is a unit on the FB team that is the greatest cause for preseason pessimism and angstheading into the fall, it is the OL. Lots of folks on this board have indicated a fair amount of confidence in most other position groups on the team, with the exception of the LB corps, perhaps. OL might be more concerning than LB because we are only expecting to put 2 LB's on the field for the defense, 5 OL on offense.
Here's the OL personnel per cyclones.com:
Bryan Larson 6-4 285 R-Jr.
Julian Good-Jones 6-5 295 R-Fr. (Coaches have spoken glowingly of his future; will the future start now?)
Patrick Scoggins 6-1 295 R-Sr.(Expected to play meaningful minutes at C before injury last year)
Jacob Homa 6-4 292 R-Jr.(5.6 Rating)
Jaypee Philbert Jr. 6-5 310 R-Jr.(Lots of meaningful snaps)
Nick Fett 6-7 310 R-Sr.(Lots of meaningful snaps)
Ryan Glenn 6-4 301 R-Jr.(5.5 Rating)
Karson Green 6-4 290 Jr. (5.4)
Jacob Dunning 6-5 300 R-Sr. (5.4 Rating)
Jake Campos 6-8 305 R-Jr.(Lots of meaningful snaps)
Brian Seda 6-6 295 R-Sr.
Kory Kodanko 6-5 305 R-So.(5.5 Rating)
Will Windham 6-3 305 R-So. (5.3 Rating)
Bryce Meeker 6-5 305 R-Fr. (5.6 Rating)
Breion Creer 6-3 280 R-Sr.
Shawn Curtis 6-5 295 R-Jr. (5.6 Rating )
I am not close to the program at all, but here's how I see it. There are 16 dudes on this list, 13 on scholarship (I think Fett was put on). 4 of them played a lot last year, and a fifth (Scoggins) was being counted on to play a lot before getting injured. Of the 9 remaining scholarship players who have not played, they have an average Rivals Rating of 5.5 (A rating of 5.5 means that Rivals projected them, when recruited, to be players that would be solid contributors by the time their junior and senior year). 2 of them are R-Fr, 2 are R-So, 2 R-Jr, 1 Jr, and 1 R-Sr.
If Manning could get some production from the five Juniors and Seniors, that would be huge. Several of them are 4th or 5th year players, and their ratings suggested that they have reached the age when expected to contribute. If that could happen, any production from Meeker or Good-Jones would be icing on the cake. Plus don't forget potential contributions from another JUCO in Oge Udeogu (Listed at 6'4", 310lbs; 5.5 Rating) and a highly regarded Freshman Tackle, Sean Foster (Listed at 6'8", 285lbs; 5.8 Rating).
They need 8-10 guys that can play winning football. Four have played, and it seems to me there are at least 11 more who could potentially make a move to get in the 2-Deep. Two things leave me cautiously optimistic that can happen: One, more than any other unit on the field, an OL is capable of becoming greater than the sum of its individual parts. They don't need to find the five best guys, they need to find the five most cohesive guys. Two, Tom Manning was the Offensive Line Coach of the Year in 2015. If his performance is consistent with his credentials coming in, he has lots of parts - a combination of older guys whose time should be now and a few younger ones, presumably with more upside - to tinker with in order to find the winning combination. With Warren and Lanning in the backfield, I have to believe they will try to build a run-first group.
All things considered, if an effective OL is the key to a successful season, IMO there are realistic reasons to believe that a bowl trip is possible for the 2016 Cyclones.
Here's the OL personnel per cyclones.com:
Bryan Larson 6-4 285 R-Jr.
Julian Good-Jones 6-5 295 R-Fr. (Coaches have spoken glowingly of his future; will the future start now?)
Patrick Scoggins 6-1 295 R-Sr.(Expected to play meaningful minutes at C before injury last year)
Jacob Homa 6-4 292 R-Jr.(5.6 Rating)
Jaypee Philbert Jr. 6-5 310 R-Jr.(Lots of meaningful snaps)
Nick Fett 6-7 310 R-Sr.(Lots of meaningful snaps)
Ryan Glenn 6-4 301 R-Jr.(5.5 Rating)
Karson Green 6-4 290 Jr. (5.4)
Jacob Dunning 6-5 300 R-Sr. (5.4 Rating)
Jake Campos 6-8 305 R-Jr.(Lots of meaningful snaps)
Brian Seda 6-6 295 R-Sr.
Kory Kodanko 6-5 305 R-So.(5.5 Rating)
Will Windham 6-3 305 R-So. (5.3 Rating)
Bryce Meeker 6-5 305 R-Fr. (5.6 Rating)
Breion Creer 6-3 280 R-Sr.
Shawn Curtis 6-5 295 R-Jr. (5.6 Rating )
I am not close to the program at all, but here's how I see it. There are 16 dudes on this list, 13 on scholarship (I think Fett was put on). 4 of them played a lot last year, and a fifth (Scoggins) was being counted on to play a lot before getting injured. Of the 9 remaining scholarship players who have not played, they have an average Rivals Rating of 5.5 (A rating of 5.5 means that Rivals projected them, when recruited, to be players that would be solid contributors by the time their junior and senior year). 2 of them are R-Fr, 2 are R-So, 2 R-Jr, 1 Jr, and 1 R-Sr.
If Manning could get some production from the five Juniors and Seniors, that would be huge. Several of them are 4th or 5th year players, and their ratings suggested that they have reached the age when expected to contribute. If that could happen, any production from Meeker or Good-Jones would be icing on the cake. Plus don't forget potential contributions from another JUCO in Oge Udeogu (Listed at 6'4", 310lbs; 5.5 Rating) and a highly regarded Freshman Tackle, Sean Foster (Listed at 6'8", 285lbs; 5.8 Rating).
They need 8-10 guys that can play winning football. Four have played, and it seems to me there are at least 11 more who could potentially make a move to get in the 2-Deep. Two things leave me cautiously optimistic that can happen: One, more than any other unit on the field, an OL is capable of becoming greater than the sum of its individual parts. They don't need to find the five best guys, they need to find the five most cohesive guys. Two, Tom Manning was the Offensive Line Coach of the Year in 2015. If his performance is consistent with his credentials coming in, he has lots of parts - a combination of older guys whose time should be now and a few younger ones, presumably with more upside - to tinker with in order to find the winning combination. With Warren and Lanning in the backfield, I have to believe they will try to build a run-first group.
All things considered, if an effective OL is the key to a successful season, IMO there are realistic reasons to believe that a bowl trip is possible for the 2016 Cyclones.
