The offensive line
Posted on May 29, 2008
With ten seniors and juniors on the offensive line depth chart for 2008 this group could be one of the more experienced lines in almost a decade. Combine that with good size across the board and being led by Rimington candidate Blake Schlueter and Junior Marshall Newhouse, expect this group to be a solid anchor for the offense.
LT
70 Marshall Newhouse 6-3 317 Jr.-starter since his freshman season, they don’t come much better than Newhouse.
63 Heath Raetz 6-5 315 Sr.-Injuries have been a problem, but a very good player when healthy. Could move to starting RT.
6-5 315 66 Robert Clark 6-6 255 Sr.-tough competitor and shows well for his size. was backup to Newhouse all last season.
LG
60 Preston Phillips 6-6 293 Sr.-became starter when Matty Lindner was injured last season.
78 Josh Vernon 6-2 295 So.-former center saw some PT in 2007 and is expected to compete for a lot more time in 2008.
77 Spencer Thompson 6-4 270 RFr.-another converted center and has developed quickly. Needs to add some bulk but had a good spring.
C
75 Blake Schlueter 6-3 272 Sr.-Potential All-American and second to Newhouse in knockdowns and overall grading in 2007.
50 Tyler Marrou 6-5 268 Jr.-Former TE from Calallen and tough competitor.
76 Jake Kirkpatrick 6-3 273 So.-only 3rd season playing football last year and continues to develop. Great overall athlete and should take over the spot once Schlueter leaves.
RG
65 Giles Montgomery 6-5 295 Sr.-Fiery competitor and drives well. Has developed into a solid OL.
73 Josh Karlin 6-4 280 Jr.-Walk-on from kansas and saw PT behind Montgomery last season.
72 Kyle Dooley 6-3, 310, Fr., RS-another walk-on from Nebraska and expected to push hard for PT.
RT
79 Nic Richmond 6-8 298 Jr.-Very good athlete and great size. Saw limited action last season and is in a battle with Cannon for PT.
61 Marcus Cannon 6-5 319 So-Had a good spring and will push Richmond hard.
Zach Roth 6-5 298 Jr.-JUCO transfer and is expected to compete right away.
Others:
62 Jeff Olson OT 6-4 253 RFr-Former TE and needs to add bulk, but a great compeitor and may move quickly into the depth chart in 2008.
53 Ryan Wyatt OG 6-3 286 Jr.-walk-on from Smithson Valley
71 Austin Sulak OL 6-1 290 Fr.-walk on from Cameron.
Incoming Class:
Needs for the class of 2009:
Losing 5 & 5 juniors off the depth chart the next 2 saesons and have 4 incoming freshman and one additional signee developing so the demands are there for a decent size class in 2009 and getting early commits from Ty Horn and John Woolridge have definitely been a good start. At least one JUCO would help a lot with experienced depth.
Commits:
- OT Ty Horn 6-5/265 Waco, TX (Midway) First team all district player drawing heavy interest from TAMU & UH also. named as the top CenTex recruit for 2009 by the Waco Tribune.
- OL John Wooldridge 6-5/285 Bellaire, TX (Episcopal)
Offers:
- OG Anthony Mackey 6-3/275 Copperas Cove, TX All-State 4A, had 75 pancake blocks and 54 decleats, and no sacks allowed, recently won Five Hills power lifting invitational and beat Logan Brock by a foot to win all-district discus championship.
- OG Nick Ash 6-5/270/5.3 Keller, TX Scout Inc. evaluation:Ash is an offensive tackle that will need to work on the technical part of the game. He looks the part at 6′5″ and 270 pounds and carries his weight well. Displays quickness off the ball and has good initial leg drive; needs to keep churning the legs and stay after the defender till the whistle blows. Comes off the ball too high most of the time; legs come together and is often face mask to face mask with the defensive man instead of mask in the frame of the body. Must become a better knee bender and sink his hips. Could be more powerful with the hands. Often times absorbs the defender instead of delivering a punch with the hands; needs to lock on to the defensive lineman. Should do the same on pass protection; accepts the pass rusher instead of violently giving a solid first blow delivery. Fits into double team quickly but is too tall and shoulders aren’t always square but does get good movement due to size and leg drive. Cutoff blocking is decent; but should get his head across the defensive man. Demonstrates ability to get to level two but needs to lock on to and sustain downfield blocks. Sometimes takes a false step or oversteps when blocking; loses position on reach block and defender often gets into body. Ash is a big, good looking athlete that needs to play with more consistency. He must use his hands more and play with better leverage. He has decent mobility but needs to continue to work on foot agility.
- OG Carneal Ainsworth 6-4/300/5.1 Baton Rouge, LA (Parkview Baptist) ESPN150 Watch List, DandyDon #6 player in LA and former teammate of Clay Spencer & Jordan Free who TCU offered from the class of 2008. Attended LSU Junior Day and was expected to commit but didn’t get the offer. High Interest in LSU and Alabama, From Scout Inc: Ainsworth is a physical lineman that is a productive offensive guard. Even though he’s big enough in terms of weight, his height limits him to the guard position. Really is a good technician. Good short step rarely gets him out of position on the drive block. Comes out low with good leverage and power angles. Only weakness in base blocking is tendency to not strike more with the hands. Likes to block with the chest; this will not work at the next level. Nice leg drive once contact is made and really stays after the defender. Pulls and traps with authority and does a good job of driving legs on contact; good finisher. Shows effort getting downfield even though mobility isn’t the greatest; makes up for lack of foot speed by hustling and going till whistle blows. Gets a little angular on the double team; needs to fit into block and get hip to hip with teammate to make the block more effective in driving the defensive lineman off the football. Pass setting is solid, gets back quick in good relationship to pass rusher. Needs to really work on hands and keep chest away from defender. Must sit back and show some patience in order to not get over-extended. Ainsworth is a very solid offensive guard that has the attitude and work ethic to be a valuable collegiate offensive lineman.
- JUCO OT Anthony Morgan 6-4/325/5.3 Corsicana, TX (Navarro) Originally out of Lancaster and was Honorable Mention All-SWJCFC his freshman year at Navarro.
Others:
- OG Riley Spencer 6-6/263 Hesston, KS Offers include Miami. From Scout, Inc: Spencer is a raw talent at the offensive tackle position that will probably play guard at he next level. He has great height but is a little light in the pants at this point. Shouldn’t have any trouble putting on some pounds by his freshmen year of college. Comes off the ball low and hard but needs to improve the technical part of drive blocking. Puts too much weight on his toes while in stance. This causes two major problems. First of all, he can’t get his legs and hips underneath on the fire out losing both power and balance. Secondly, it becomes difficult to block a defensive man that moves. Not afraid of contact but sometimes delivers with shoulders instead of hands resulting in a loss of leverage and body control. Needs to concentrate on the snap count; is sometimes a half a count slow off the football. Runs pretty well and is a good puller. Turns upfield to find defender but again loses balance at times. Gets movement in short yardage situations because he can “root hog” the defensive linemen off the line of scrimmage. Pass protection is an issue until he sits back more in his stance in order to pass set with quickness and at proper angle. Cannot lunge at pass rusher and needs to use hands as a weapon, not absorb the defender. Spencer has some athletic talent and has a great attitude. Gives effort and always hustles. Should get stronger in the lower body while continuing to work on the technical part of the game.
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUHTg_kFanI
- Ben Hughes C 6-5/260/4.9 Fort Bend, TX (Austin) Son of former Baylor All-American Michael Hughes and has added 20 lbs since end of 2007. Heady player and coaches tripped to his spring game to get a much closer look at him and will possibly bring him in for an offer soon.
- Patrick Leonard 6-7/270 Midland, TX (Midland)
- Daniel Moore, Lexington, 6-6, 302 (1st team all-state 2A)
- Tobyn Large 6-2/275/5.10 Montgomery, TX
- Ryan Lee OT 6-6/240 Hamilton, TX
- Stavion Lowe 6-5/294/5.2 Brownwood, TX
- Jermaine Roberts C 6-4/305 Garland, TX (South) hard working and highly rated. DFW area Top 50, can play either side of the line. Another great South Garland athlete. Scout, Inc 150 Watch list. their notes on him:Roberts is a prospect to keep an eye on as his possesses some nice upside. He is a big defensive tackle who can clog up run lanes and cause some problems. On paper he is big and on film he looks even bigger than his listed measurable. He reminds us some of a baby Steve Entman who was a excellent defensive tackle for the Washington Huskies at one time. While Entman terrorized offenses it looks like Roberts may be better suited for a position change in college and move to gaurd. On defense you love his motor and he is a tough dude to try and move off the ball. He does a good job versus double teams of not only holding his ground, but of also being able to get low and split them. He has a solid get-off and when he comes off the ball low and gets into a blocker he has little trouble of pushing his opponent into the back-field. He is good with his hands and does a solid job of being able to shed. He can get some penetration if he can get on shoulder of a blocker and push his way up-field, but is not a kid that will blow by blockers. You are impressed by how well he runs for a big guy when you see him huff it to the perimeter in puruit. He can bull rush in passing situations, but if he does not get his man moving backwards he struggles to get free and pressure the quarterback. Roberts has some merit as a big two-gapping defensive tackle, but his best chance to get the most out of his ability will likely be on offense in college. He is physical enough to get into blockers and if he can keep his pads down consistently just blow defenders off the ball in run game. You could see him pulling and trapping and even doing a good job of climbing up to the second level. As a pass blocer he will likely need some more time to adjust, but should be able to lock onto and mirror a rusher in the short area. Roberts is a good prospect with some versatility. He may get some looks on defense, but we would not be surprised to see him enter college as a guard.
- Trent Schuchart OC 6-2/265/5.5 Pleasanton, TX
- Jacob Smith Crowley, TX
- LaAdrian Waddle 6-5/315 Colombus, TX Scout, Inc Top 150 watch list, their notes on him:Waddle is a mountain of a man at offensive tackle. Over three hundred fifteen pounds with good height he looks massive in pads. Must be careful not to gain anymore weight until his foot agility improves. Is usually fairly quick off the ball but often takes a false step or understeps. Completely smothers smaller defensive linemen once in to them. Extremely powerful due to size and follows the initial contact with good leg drive. Sometimes gets beat underneath due to improper first step. Wipes out his side of the line of scrimmage on the down block. Comes off to second level with some authority and gets into linebacker but often can’t sustain block due to being too high. Tends to lose some body control when his legs straighten out. Mauls opponent on the double team block with power and leg drive. Decent at pulling but needs to move quicker and lower. Usually gets turned upfield but often misses block due to loss of body control. Effective on the trap block even though plays too high. Pass protection can only be accomplished from a “two” point stance where setting is quicker. Defenders have trouble getting around such a huge specimen and the long arms are effective in keeping pass rusher away from body. Must be careful to not be beaten underneath. Waddle has real potential because he moves well for such a big player. If he works on trimming down and improve foot quickness and technique he will be a highly sought after lineman.
- Jerrell Watkins 6-3/250 Channelview, TX
- Brock Wempa 6-3/275 Royce City, TX (all-state as Soph) DFW area Top 50
- Joseph Williams 6-2/270/4.96 Houston, TX Strake Jesuit
As mentioned Horn & Woolridge are a solid start to the class. Of the offers all will be tough to land and the rest of the class seems to be uncertain. Ben hughes get little attention but may be the next in line along with Spencer. Stavion Lowe is a teammate of Casey Pachall at Brownwood and highly rated, but unsure if he gets an offer.
Comments
Leave a Comment for Feisty
Feisty loves comments--leave him one!
Great to see you posting again!!
Thanks. A lot of work but enjoy it. Wish I had more time to spend with it.