Adam Rittenberg blog: Big Ten position rankings: Offensive line (Minn #11)

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BleedGopher

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"11. Minnesota: The Gophers boast a mix of veterans and youth, and it'll be interesting to see whether the group comes together this fall. Hopes are high for young tackles Eric Olson and Jimmy Gjere, but they'll need help from seniors like Ryan Wynn and Chris Bunders on the interior. Minnesota needs to regain its swagger as an elite rushing offense, and it starts up front this fall. This is a group that certainly has a chance to make strides."

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/28404/big-ten-position-rankings-offensive-line-3

Go Gophers!!
 

BleedGopher said:
"11. Minnesota: The Gophers boast a mix of veterans and youth, and it'll be interesting to see whether the group comes together this fall. Hopes are high for young tackles Eric Olson and Jimmy Gjere, but they'll need help from seniors like Ryan Wynn and Chris Bunders on the interior. Minnesota needs to regain its swagger as an elite rushing offense, and it starts up front this fall. This is a group that certainly has a chance to make strides."

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/28404/big-ten-position-rankings-offensive-line-3

Go Gophers!!
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It would make one feel a little better if they could at least get the names right.
 

Adam Rittenberg said:
The Badgers lose All-Americans Carimi and John Moffitt, plus the versatile Bill Nagy, and they still shouldn't take any steps backward.
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I keep hearing some variation of this from Badger fans, and it's a ridiculous take. I don't care who you are - you don't lose three NFL draft picks (all 5th-year seniors, btw) from your offensive line and just keep right on trucking. Not even schools like Texas, USC, and Alabama could do that without at least some drop-off.
 

dpodoll68 said:
I keep hearing some variation of this from Badger fans, and it's a ridiculous take. I don't care who you are - you don't lose three NFL draft picks (all 5th-year seniors, btw) from your offensive line and just keep right on trucking. Not even schools like Texas, USC, and Alabama could do that without at least some drop-off.
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I agree with you in principle, although this year is a bit different for Wisconsin in that we get back two starters from two seasons ago who were either injured or redshirted last year because of our depth.

LT- Ricky Wagner- started at RT last season, has played in 24 games, has 10 starts. Our coaches have him as the highest rated lineman since Joe Thomas.

LG- Travis Frederick- started four games as a true freshman the season before last (two at LG and two at C). Is the only player in team history to start at center as a true freshman in the season opener. Redshirted last year due to depth. Was also named #2 on Feldman's workout warriors. Squats over 700 pounds.

C- Peter Konz- Ranked as the top center in his draft class, Two year starter at center, 21 career starts. Third team All Big Ten last season. http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/dsprofile.php?pyid=83386&draftyear=2013&genpos=C

RG- Kevin Zeiliter- returns on the interior from last season. 3V letters, 2 year starter, 22 games started. Preseason 1st/2nd All Big Ten by several sites.

RT- Josh Ogelsby- Has started at least two games each of the past three years. 15 career starts. Coming off ACL injury. High school 5*. Projected as the #4 Tackle in his draft class before his injury. Casey Dehn is also a possibility here (played in all 12 games last year, started 1).



It's odd, but due to injuries and a lot of depth, all but one of our projected starters have started at least 10 games despite losing three o-lineman to the draft. I'm not saying there won't be a drop off. There very well could be. In fact, I think that there will be a small drop off. However, there is also a possbility that this line could be better than last year's; it is unlikely, but it is a real possibility. All five starters are projected to be drafted.
 



And is Iowa's line really that strong?? I guess I only watched them against us and they didn't look too impressive.
 

sonnygarcia said:
You mean drafted at some point, or drafted after next year? Are they all Sr's or will some leave early?
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I assume that he means at some point.
Wagner RS Jr
Frederick RS So
Konz RS Jr
Zeitler RS Sr
Oglesby RS Sr
(Dehn RS So)

Konz and Wagner are the two best pro prospects from the line. Bielema also said that at the end of last year Frederick was playing the best out of any interior lineman on the roster but did not want to burn the RS that they had him take because of a RS Sr (Moffit) and RS Jr ahead of him (Zeitler).

Also the losing three guys to the draft is also misleading because while Nagy was good, he wasn't even a starter last year.
 


iksnimak said:
while Nagy was good, he wasn't even a starter last year
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False.

You would think a Badger fan would know this.

I despise the Badgers with every fiber of my being, and even I know this.
 



dpodoll68 said:
False.

You would think a Badger fan would know this.

I despise the Badgers with every fiber of my being, and even I know this.
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He started two games for an injured Konz and four for Zeitler. When everyone was healthy he was probably the 7th best OL last year.
 

iksnimak said:
He started two games for an injured Konz. When everyone was healthy he was probably the 7th best OL last year.
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Played in all 13 games, started 8. Directly from the Badgers' official website. And yes, I know he started some games as a jumbo TE. But he was still a starter more often than not. Also, your post directly contradicted your previous post.
 


dpodoll68

dpodoll68 said:
Played in all 13 games, started 8. Directly from the Badgers' official website. And yes, I know he started some games as a jumbo TE. But he was still a starter more often than not. Also, your post directly contradicted your previous post.
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There you go again! You must not be a very creative person because anytime somebody tries to do a little creative writing you criticize them. You are just like Jack Webb on Dragnet, “Just the facts Ma’am.” I guess I will just have some where else to read fiction.
 



can anyone please tell me how Matt Carufel is doing or his progress with the team? He came in with a lot of confidence and hype, haven't heard much since!
 

dpodoll68 said:
Played in all 13 games, started 8. Directly from the Badgers' official website. And yes, I know he started some games as a jumbo TE. But he was still a starter more often than not. Also, your post directly contradicted your previous post.
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When everyone was healthy, I would say he definitely was not a top 6 line man. Konz, Zeilter, Moffit, Carimi, Wagner, and Oglesby were all clearly better than him when healthy. Travis Frederick was probably also better, but he was redshirting because of depth, despite starting several games the year before.

He was a great filler lineman, very versatile, but to say he was a starting offensive lineman, while technically true, is misleading. He started game as an offensive lineman because of injuries; his starts at TE are not categorized as offensive line starts, thus they are irrelevant to this discussion.
 


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