We close down our look at the offensive side of the football with the biggest question mark, the offensive line.
The unit has undergone a complete overhaul following an offseason of heavy departures that led to a sizable haul in the transfer portal. The unit will have four new starters, including three who could be from the portal.
Senior Willie Lampkin, the lone starter that returns, might have been the team’s best lineman last year. He graded out as the team’s best run blocker (77.3), pass blocker (83.9) and overall blocker (76.2) according to PFF and there is no reason to think he won’t be able to produce similar or better numbers this season. He is also stepped up as the leader of the group this offseason, demanding excellence from his teammates while leading by example.
Another guy who has emerged as a leader this spring is Georgia transfer Austin Blaske. While he may not have started a single game in the first four years of his college career, he almost immediately claimed the starting job at center back in the spring. His numbers (68.6 run block, 70.4 pass pro, 71.2 overall) are very promising and the move inside to center could allow him to carry these types of numbers over a season as a starter.
He isn’t the only transfer who shined this spring. Sophomore Howard Sampson was the most talked about offensive lineman by the staff back in April and looks to have locked up his spot at left tackle. He’ll have to improve in pass protection after giving up two sacks and five quarterback pressures in his two games last year for North Texas, but there is a lot of potential here.
The other two starting jobs will be up for grabs as fall camp opens. At left guard, junior Malik McGowan had a very strong spring and has positioned himself well to be the starter against Minnesota. He has to build off of what he did back in April, but if he can be as consistent as he was then, he shouldn’t have any issues holding on to that job.
Senior Zach Greenberg, the D3 transfer who joins the team for fall camp, is the only real threat to take the job away from McGowan. The staff has talked very highly of him and expect him to come in and compete right away for the starting job, but there is going to be a learning curve that he’ll have to navigate quickly to overtake him. Even if he can’t, there is a good chance he can be a part of the rotation up front.
The battle at right tackle is more of a toss up. Sophomore Trevyon Green held the role in the spring and was finally able to stay healthy so the staff could evaluate him. It doesn’t feel like we heard nearly as much fanfare from the staff as we did with the other starters. He has the opportunity to hold on to the job in the fall, but it feels like the reps will be split 50/50.
Georgia Tech transfer Jakiah Leftwich, who joined the team this summer, is the guy who sharing the reps with Green. Leftwich is an experienced option who played in 17 games and started eight during his time in Atlanta and is hungry to start again after losing the job for the Yellow Jackets in the middle of last season. His PFF grades are concerning (50.6 run block, 53.3 pass pro, 50.6 overall) and he has to be a better pass protector (28 quarterback pressures in 381 pass pro reps), but he will have a shot to win this job when camp starts.
Senior Jonathan Adorno is another guy that the staff seems to trust if he is needed in a starting role, but he does not appear to be a part of the race for the left guard spot. He has played in 41 games in his career and over 100 snaps in each of the last two seasons, stepping up when needed. He is limited in what he brings to the table, as he showed last year when he played 56 snaps in the opener, but he is someone who can hold his own if he is needed in a pinch.
Those are the eight it feels like the staff trusts as we head into fall camp. The challenge will be to add to this group and get as close to a two-deep that they can trust once the season starts.
Sophomore Zach Rice is the guy that is probably the closest to joining this group. He has an off-the-field situation that he will have to get ironed out at some point this season, but on the field, this is setting up as a make-or-break type of year for him. We didn’t hear a lot about him in the spring and he wasn’t great in the spring game, so he needs to take that leap in the fall and prove that he can play if needed and be a part of the future of this offensive line.
Junior Eli Sutton is another play who is entering a make-or-break season for himself. He was a part of the two deep in the spring, but now that more reinforcements have arrived, he has to prove that he can be a part of the group that can be trusted if he is needed.
True freshman Aidan Banfield was raved about by the staff back in the spring and has an opportunity to build off of that next month. If he shows the staff that he is ready to be a part of the rotation, he could replace Rice on the two deep if he doesn’t step up. At the least, he has a great shot to be a key member of the special teams line.
Fellow true freshman Andrew Rosinski has an opportunity for himself at center. While Lampkin would likely kick over from right guard if something was to happen to Blaske, a good fall camp from Rosinski would signify to the staff that they have their future set at the position.
Jani Norwood, Desmond Jackson and Luke Masterson are the other three true freshman scholarship players that will be a part of the unit this season. Norwood was a part of the two deep in the spring, but with Leftwich coming in, he will almost certainly drop to the third unit where Jackson spent most of his time in the spring. Masterson will also be a part of that third unit after joining the team in the summer. All three will be entering fall camp hoping to at least earn a role on one of the special teams units this season.
Junior Carter Kulka, sophomores Bo Burkes and Jarvis Hicks and true freshmen Zach Gluckman, Jason Smith and Hayes Galloway will be the walk-ons for this room this season.
Projected Depth Chart
LT
#79 Howard Sampson, So.
#73 Eli Sutton, Jr.
#69 Jarvis Hicks, So.
#54 Zach Gluckman, Fr.LG
#64 Malik McGowan, Jr.
#63 Zach Greenberg, Sr.
#74 Desmond Jackson, Fr.
#57 Bo Burkes, So.
C
#58 Austin Blaske, Sr.
#52 Jonathan Adorno, Sr.
#65 Andrew Rosinski, Fr.
#67 Jason Smith, Fr.
RG
#53 Willie Lampkin, Sr.
#55 Zach Rice, So.
#68 Aidan Banfield, Fr.
#77 Hayes Galloway, Fr
RT
#75 Jakiah Leftwich, Jr.
#78 Trevyon Green, So.
#71 Luke Masterson, Fr.
#60 Carter Kulka, Jr.
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