At least one game this year the OL was Bergeron, Ellis, Servais, Bleich, Davis.
As of today, substituting Vettorello for Servais, the starting OL would be Bergeron, 6-5, 327; Ellis, 6-6, 388; Vettorello 6-4, 299; Bleich 6-6, 335; Davis 6-5, 336. That is SEC/Big10 size.
Good thing all the QB’s are 6-4.
Add a 6-0 293 lb FB to that mix, power run game here we come.
I thought Vet was quite good at OT before he got hurt. He is probably our second best OT right now.
But Davis looked very serviceable there as well. And then you have young Cruz, who looks like a future LT for us.
And Tisdale has played a fair amount of RT (and OG). He struggled greatly last season but I saw him limping pretty badly. Think he was playing hurt and is capable of a lot more than he showed in 2021.
I would say we are in good shape with possible OTs. As mentioned, we have 3 solid OGs.
To me, the central question regarding this very experienced group of OL is who plays center. No pun intended.
Vet is the obvious guy. He has started there for many games. But he did not play well there and appears better suited to play OT.
But did he struggle at C so much because he was forced to play there very early in his career, before he was physically ready? Or is he just not physically capable of handling the position?
We have 3 OGs who should are experienced and should be solid players. One is probably going to be moved.
My guess is that we start things out with this lineup:
LT Bergeron
LG Ellis
C Vetterello
RG Bleich
RT Davis
If Vet is not the answer at center, there are a bunch of options.
Ilaoa got a few snaps there last season. Yes, they were epically painful but he was playing before he was ready and maybe he is more ready this season.
Froumy is, I think, the strongest of the candidates and while he has played little in games, he has been practicing at center for a long time. Is his knee healthy? This spring will answer that question.
Anthony Red has been a backup OT for a while but has been unable to crack the two deep there. I believe they played him some at center last season in practices. Center this spring could be his best chance to win a starting position.
Let's not forget young Wes Hoeh, who I also believe has taken some reps at center. He has the least experience but might be the most athletic of the bunch. Probably a year away but you never know. Eliis was a true frosh and started 5 games last season.
Speaking of Ellis, let's talk about possibly moving one of the OGs to center. I think Schmidt's philosophy is to put his 5 best OL on the field. If Bleich, Davis and Ellis are all in that top 5, and the feeling is Vet is better suited to OT, one option is to convert one of the OGs to center.
Thinking Bleich is out here. Playing center would surely put more stress on his hips than staying at OG. I doubt he moves.
I thought I might have heard Ellis took a few snaps at center last season in practice. Thinking he might be best suited to this, especially if he really is up to almost 400 pounds.
The best thing about this group is there are a bunch of OL ready or almost ready to play. We should be able to find one serviceable center and right tackle in the group. Heck, I thought Vet was serviceable at RT last season. When he got hurt, our line was never the same.
This position group is the one I most look forward to monitoring during the spring. Followed closely by the safety candidates in the secondary.