Offensive line starting Five?

[gopherdudepart2]

If Mark Lenkiewicz and Ed Olsen are really neck and nect at left tackle or almost equal as a 1 and 1A is there any chance
they would move Campion to right or left guard and start Olsen at Right tackle if Lenkiewicz remains the starter at left tackle. Campion has played guard and has position flexibility. Looks to me like Christiansen is locked in at center, so you would be displacing Bak if you moved Campion to guard. Has either Lenkiewicz or Olson played right tackle.
If the coaches think both are playing that well at Left tackle, you would have to think it is in the realm of possibility
that one could play and start at right guard and that Campion as strong as he is could be an effective right guard.
With all of the injury's along the line the last two years any of this discussion may be a moot point, and ultimately
we may end up using two left tackles in the long run anyways. Not sure you want a left tackle that has played as many
snaps as Ed Olsen sitting on the sidelines though, that's a big kid that can really block the run sitting on the sidelines if
you have him at back up left tackle.

 

[drinks at Northpoint]

One of the Big Ten Network guys tweeted that Campion was our best lineman. They may not want to mess with a position of strength.

 

[short ornery norwegian]

I would think that for purposes of cohesion, you would not want to have quys switching positions. After the experience last year with injuries, my impression is that people will stay at their primary position. If a LT gets hurt, you want someone who's been practicing at that position to take over. I wouldn't expect to see position switches unless the injuries really become dire. that's the whole reason for building up depth- you don't want to run the risk of hurting two positions by moving someone from their primary position to a position they haven't practiced at.

 

[Gopherlovin]

I agree. Keep everyone where they've been practicing to continue with the cohesion. It's definitely not a bad thing to have a backup that is performing just as good as the starter (as long as the starter is playing well, of course). Kill is all about wearing teams down throughout the game, so if we have a second unit that is essentially equivalent to the first unit, we can rotate people in and out and keep them fresh for the end of the game.

 

[corcoran1]

In the first place, Campion and Epping are the two most consistent o-linemen and the only two to stay healthy most of last season. I don't think they will move either unless someone else gets injured. Bak and Christenson are two of the smartest kids on the team, and they work hard. Smart really helps on the o-line and Christenson is not moving. Finally both EO and ML are built like left tackles, not guards or even right tackles. I think ML in particular would be less effective at OG or RT than about 5 or more other players on the team. So I think that leaves the two of them fighting for Left Tackle, which is great. Having two competent guys at LT is two more than we had most of last season. I like it.
I hope Hayes, TO, Bush, Lauer, and Pirsig push the rest of the starters every day.

 

[EE_Gopher]

Interesting to hear that Lenkiewicz is up to 305 lbs. It has really taken him a lot more time to put that weight on than some of the other linemen. Since he allegedly played at 281 lbs last year, this is the 1st year he'll be playing at a good weight at left tackle. Left tackles do tend to weigh less than guards or right tackles, but 281 was still undersize for the position.

 

[ncgo4]

It's Kill's philosophy to run replacements in continuously to keep people fresh for crunch time at the end of the game. That two players are very good and even at what is arguably the most important position on the O line is a problem most coaches dream about. Neither will switch barring injuries. I'm of the opinion that moving from guard to tackle and from left to right had some contribution to the numbers of injuries last year.

 

[Costa Rican Gopher]

I'd bet money Ed Olson is the starter at LT. Lenk will play if/when Eddie gets injured & he's got next year to be the starter as a Sr.

Kill likes to create a sense of urgency via competition. Often times it seems he creates competition when it doesn't really exist, just to light a fire under the guy who will eventually start.

Did anyone really think Leidner was going to start over Phil Nelson?

Does anyone think Jack Lynn is going to get the nod over Damien Wilson?

To a lesser extent I think De'Vondre Campbell will find himself behind James Manuel when push comes to shove as well.

 

[Costa Rican Gopher]

Also very exciting to look ahead at next year's projected depth chart. I just love to see 4th year Jr's & 5th year Sr's on the OL.

1st unit....
LT- Marek Lenkiewicz (R-Sr)
LG- Zach Epping (R-Sr)
C- Jon Christenson (R-Jr)
RG- Caleb Bak (R-Sr)
RT- Josh Campion (R-Jr)

2nd unit...
LT- Ben Lauer (R-So)
LG- Joe Bjorklund (R-Jr)
C- Tommy Olson (Sr)
RG- Isaac Hayes (R-So)
RT- Jonah Pirsig (R-So)