Who will emerge from spring ball....

Donate To GopherHole
S

Sumtimegophs

Member
Joined
Nov 20, 2008
Messages
497
Reaction score
0
Points
16
as the starters on the offensive line?

My son played center in high school so I have to admit my eyes are always drawn to the offensive line when the Gophers have the ball. I have been disappointed with the OL the past two seasons but with graduation Kill has an opportunity to do some rebuilding with a very youthful group; 3-Sr, 1-Jr, 4-So, 4-RFr, 5-TFr and then there is Campion. I don't know what year he will be and the roster lists his year as Unk.

My guess is the left side will be veteran with Olson at LT and Bunders at LG.

It is most probable that Wynn will be RG and I am guessing the RT will be Gjere but what about Ragoo and Michel?

Could Wynn be moved to center? If not, who? Campion has some post-high school experience and has really bulked up, it is possible he could be in the mix early? How about Lenkiewicz?
 

Campion is a True Freshman and will have four years left.

Left to Right.

I think Ed Olson will be LT and Gjere and Tom Olson the guards. Not sure of Center and RT. You want your smartest kid at center possibly, so I'm sure that will be Kill's major decision this spring.
 

Ed Olson Jr. at Left tackle, Orton at left Guard, Wynn at Center, Campion at right Guard and Gjere at Right Tackle. This may shake up a litte with Olson arriving in the fall.
 

The only sure things are E. Olson at LT and Bunders at LG.

My guess is that Gjere will start at RT (pushed by Michel if healthy) and Campion at RG. Orton could start at RG, but it would be nice to have him as a backup to all the interior positions.

The most interesting battle will be at C between Wynn and T. Olson.
 

Come the fall and the arrival of Tommy Olson, there maybe some shake up in the Offensive Line. I hope not. But you could see three center candidates. Olson, Campion, and Wynn. I don't think Olson will dislodge Orton to play left guard next to his brother, but he could be in the mix to make the field as a freshman in a backup role.
 


husker70 said:
Come the fall and the arrival of Tommy Olson, there maybe some shake up in the Offensive Line. I hope not. But you could see three center candidates. Olson, Campion, and Wynn. I don't think Olson will dislodge Orton to play left guard next to his brother, but he could be in the mix to make the field as a freshman in a backup role.
Click to expand...

Why are you anointing Orton at LG over a 2-year starter who will be a senior?
 

I'd hate to see us burn one of Tommy's years if he does not come out of fall camp having earned a spot. Now if injuries happen during the year and he happens to be next man up, so be it. But it seems like we have 3 Sr's and bodies like E Olson, Campion, Gjere, Michel, etc who could be just as effective as a true frosh w/o any spring ball behind them. I feel like we may be to early in assuming TO with be a starter. The kid is awesome but OL is just such a tough position for a true Frosh. Coming out of Spring I see:

LT: E. Olson/Michel
LG: Bunders/Orton
C: Wynn
RG: Campion/Orton
RT: Gjere/Michel


We will just have to see if guys like Epping, Eggen, Lienkewicz(?), Ragoo progressed enough to add legit depth to the chart.
 

I don't think we should use TO's redshirt unless he is head and sholders above the rest. On a whole there are very few true fr. linemen in the country that can compete with 3-4-5th yr. developed men on the line of scrimage. We have to get these young kids developed so we can compete with men against men and not boys against men.. I think Kill thinks the same way. But he will play the best kids.
 

The interesting thing about Campion is that he was originally recruited as a center. He also played center last year for Fork Union and was also their long snapper. In addition, Kill has mentioned more than once that Campion has a good chance to play this year.
 



littlebigboy said:
I don't think we should use TO's redshirt unless he is head and sholders above the rest. On a whole there are very few true fr. linemen in the country that can compete with 3-4-5th yr. developed men on the line of scrimage. We have to get these young kids developed so we can compete with men against men and not boys against men.. I think Kill thinks the same way. But he will play the best kids.
Click to expand...

TO is 295 pounds and, as I recall, benches over 400 lbs., squats over 600 lbs. and cleans over 300 lbs. Not a typical HS senior.
 

I have had a former gopher tell me they think Bjorklund will surprise and rise to playing time this year. I am not necessarily in agreement there but I just thought I would mention it.
 


Wins are really critical to future recruiting. I would expect TO & Campion to break into the starting lineup. My feeling is that Coach Kill truly will have every starting position opened up for battle, and will not be afraid to put the best product possible out on the playing field. I can't wait to see which offensive and defensive recruits will start instead of red shirting. I expect to see a real battle at starting QB between Gray and Shortell. I'd be interested to see how JD Pride & Alipate will do. Will any of the QBs convert to WR or other positions? I can't recall this much anticipation for Spring Ball which is a good sign. Having a good first half of the season with three to four wins is critical with games agains USC, NM State, Miami O, NDSU, Michigan, and Purdue. The second half of their schedule is very tough, but not insurmountable. They play NU, Iowa, MSU, Wisky, NW, an then Illinois. Hopefully, they can eke out three victories in the second half with a potential post season bowl appearance. This is on the optimistic side barring any key injuries or other obstacles.
 



harrys ghost said:
TO is 295 pounds and, as I recall, benches over 400 lbs., squats over 600 lbs. and cleans over 300 lbs. Not a typical HS senior.
Click to expand...

While I will admit those are some impressive numbers (more than likely inflated) going against 23 year old grown men will still put him at a severe disadvantage.

The smart thing to do is red shirt all of the freshmen. They will be needed in years 4 and 5 (contract year).
 

I hadn't really thought about Tommy Olson coming in and starting, but I do think Campion has a chance given he is two years older and has put on about 30+lbs since graduating.

While I agree it is tough for a TFr to crack the OL let's not forget Eslinger did it while developing his skills against inferior talent in ND and the OL's back in those days were a much more formidable group. Maybe Olson is that good, I don't know, but I do know there isn't a lot of experience ahead of him for the most part.

Good discussion guys, I appreciate it, makes me want spring to come soon.
 

Greg Eslinger and Mark Setterstrom

littlebigboy said:
I don't think we should use TO's redshirt unless he is head and sholders above the rest. On a whole there are very few true fr. linemen in the country that can compete with 3-4-5th yr. developed men on the line of scrimage. We have to get these young kids developed so we can compete with men against men and not boys against men.. I think Kill thinks the same way. But he will play the best kids.
Click to expand...

Greg Eslinger and Mark Setterstrom,a couple of unknown, unheralded two star recruits, both started as true freshman in 2002. Eslinger was from Bismarck, North Dakota, had a scrawny neck and was generously listed at 260 pounds as a freshman, apparently with rocks in his jock strap. Setterstrom was from that football powerhouse in Northfield, Minnesota, and weighed about 275 as a freshman. I don't believe that either one did much weightlifting in high school. Both of them went on to become All-Americans, and I believe that Eslinger won the Remington award as the best center in college football as a senior. Football commentators raved about these guys as freshmen starters.

Tommy Olson makes these guys look like midgets. Who can really say if he will be ready to start as a true freshman. Certainly none of us.

GO GOPHERS!
 

Tommy Olson may be the most heralded recruit of the class....but if I had to place a bet, I would put money on someone in the field having a better career than him.
 


He's taking "the field" and saying someone from any position - any of the other ten positions. I'd take that bet too...
 

JOHN4254 said:
At what position?
Click to expand...

I am talking just O-line.
I am not saying he won't be the best. I am saying I would say there is at least a 50.1% chance that someone else might end up being as good or better.

"The Field" referring to all the other freshmen O-linemen from this year.
 

Sportsfan24 said:
While I will admit those are some impressive numbers (more than likely inflated) going against 23 year old grown men will still put him at a severe disadvantage.

The smart thing to do is red shirt all of the freshmen. They will be needed in years 4 and 5 (contract year).
Click to expand...

harrys ghost said:
TO is 295 pounds and, as I recall, benches over 400 lbs., squats over 600 lbs. and cleans over 300 lbs. Not a typical HS senior.
Click to expand...

One thing that is too often left out of the equation is technique. Freshmen coming in may be as big and strong as their 3,4 or 5th year counterpart, but the upperclassman's 3+ years of D1 coaching improves his technique to a point where he can out play the freshmen. An experienced DL, well coached in proper technique, can get an OL still learning D1 technique off balance and then use the OL size against him. Also, using poor technique forces a player to compensate by using just strength, which often leads to muscle strains or worse. This puts the player on the sideline not only for games, but keeps him out of practice and the weight room setting him back on his overall development for his 2nd year.

I'm not saying TO can't play as a freshman, I know nothing about his technique/footwork skills, but expectations for all freshman need to be tempered.
 

I can't speak to football smarts, but academically Wynn is a smart kid.
 

I agree with Dpo....

The real question is "who is going to start besides Bunders and Olson?". Bunders is a lock to start and IMO will be our best OL next season.

LT: Olson
LG: Bunders
C: Wynn - (He is a SR and he will be at spring ball, so we'll let Tommy focus on just playing guard next season and let Wynn worry about calling the protection/blocking assignments. He is a smart kid and he will have more time to get those nuances down).
RG: Olson/Campion/Orton
RT: Michel / Gjere

It's hard for me to make a prediction on who is going to win out at RG and RT. I think it will probably be Olson and Michel, but we'll see. I do think Tommy will eventually be our C, but I think they will start him at G next season.
 

anybody else?

I can't be the only person who heard Coach Kill say on different occasions that Tommy Olson would play as a freshman. Am I?
 

60's Guy said:
I can't be the only person who heard Coach Kill say on different occasions that Tommy Olson would play as a freshman. Am I?
Click to expand...

I don't remember him saying that specifically. I did hear him say 2 of the incoming O-linemen would HAVE to play, as if he didn't want to play them but for depth reasons would have to. A lot of people assumed that meant Olson would be one of the two. I read that Limegrover said Campion would play because he is a 20yr old freshman and will have spring ball under his belt. They both said Olson is very physical.

If Olson is not a starter, even if he is the 2nd best player at a position, I would think they would try to redshirt him. You don't want to burn a year with him only playing 15-20 plays a game as a back up. If the starter gets hurt or Olson progresses fast enough to become the starter you can take the redshirt off.
 

60's Guy said:
I can't be the only person who heard Coach Kill say on different occasions that Tommy Olson would play as a freshman. Am I?
Click to expand...

I think most people seem to have him in their starting lineups or fighting for a job.
 

can't figure out how to delete my attempt to fix the link...sorry
 


Brewster failed to recruit a single OL in 2008. One would think that he learned from Mason's horrible OL recruiting in 2004 & 2005. Plus Trey Davis quit the squad to focus on track & field. Major reasons why there is a glaring gap between experienced OL and a bunch of unproven players.

The Daily did not mention Leinkewitz who I assume is on the squad.

My uninformed opinion is: Olson, Bunders/Wynn/Campion/Gjere with Orton being the swingman.
 

I think the only guy who is close to a sure thing is E Olson. The upper classmen have to play better than the underclassmen if they want to start. Bunders may start, but he started under the last regime, and they had a different phlosophy than this group does. That does not mean he can't, it just means he isn't a lock just because he is a returning senior. With Campion, Lenkewiecz, Gjere, and TO out there, the upper classemen will have to work to hold on to a starting job, by year end.
Experience still helps, but when the system changes, a lot of things change.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom