Who will be the starting offensive linemen in 2010

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Rickman55

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Just curious who you think will be starting. In order to be better in 2010 we need better o-linemen. How about two Redshirt Freshmen in Olson and Michel?
 

Rickman55 said:
Just curious who you think will be starting. In order to be better in 2010 we need better o-linemen. How about two Redshirt Freshmen in Olson and Michel?
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I just don't know how ready a RS Freshman is going to be. We've see how they handle a Big Ten season, we played 4 of them last year. Michel would seem to be the better suited of the two, his size is already good and his weightroom numbers are the best of the freshmen.

I would venture, Orton, Bunders, Davis, Careful, Wills with Wynn pushing for spots at LT, LG, or C.
We shall see. This is why SH or Gayden would be so coveted for this year's recruiting class.
The main hope is that all of the mentioned players above vastly improve with another season and offseason.
 

I highly doubt Wills keeps his job between Michel/Wynn/Olsen
 

Please NOT Wills. I've heard they time his 40 yd dash on a sundial. The Gophers need to have at least 3 guys starting next year who aren't starting now. The underclassmen need to be ready next year. Offensive Linemen usually take a year to get ready to play. That said, maybe to go the redshirts a guy like Jimmy Gjere (or, do I dare hope, Seantrel H will be ready the way Greg Eslinger was ready his freshmen year).
 

FiveStarFan said:
I highly doubt Wills keeps his job between Michel/Wynn/Olsen
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I wouldn't be so sure, Wills should have been redshirted to allow him to lose that weight and gain strength and speed needed to play well in the Big Ten. We really didn't have any great options, so he played this year. Another 30 lbs off and another year of conditioning will do him well, with his size he can matchup better than a freshmen would, and Wynn was worse than Wills at RT last year IMO.

Like I said, Michel intrigues me because he's already big enough and by all accounts he's the strongest of the freshmen. I still like a year 4 or 5 guy in the trench before a year 1 or 2 guy though.
 


Ole said:
Another 30 lbs off and another year of conditioning will do him well, with his size he can matchup better than a freshmen would, and Wynn was worse than Wills at RT last year IMO.
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The problem with Wills is, for being however many hundreds of pounds he currently is, defenders not only beat him on the edge with quickness, but others blow right through him. The former would be forgivable if the latter weren't true.

Granted, I'm not saying 2008 Wynn was better than 2009 Wills or vice versa, I'm just saying neither is at the level you need a tackle at to compete.
 

Do you guys watch Wills every play? He isn't as bad as most people say. He's had a better year than Weber
 

This isn't a very popular answer, but probably the same 5 guys as it is now. The only difference are going to be some red-shirt freshman, and I just don't see them beating out seniors with a full season + of experience. Hopefully Tim Davis is the coach he was billed as.
 

Parkinglot ~ I do agree that Wills has been beat by speed rushing and by bull rushing this year, but a lot of that is still from his lack of footwork. Wills has the strength and the size to compete against anyone in college football. The reason why defensive ends are able to surge right through him is that he is slow off the ball and because he is so out of shape is footwork is atrocious. If he could lose 30 lbs and get lighter on his feet, it would actually help him in scenarios where defenders are trying to bull right through him.

I predict our starting line will be:

LT: Wynn
LG: Carufel
C: Davis
RG: Bunders
RT: Wills

I really think the RG and the LT are up completely for grabs. The RT position I believe will be Wills to lose. He will have competition from Michel and Alford. I actually think Ed Olsen will be playing guard, and he will see significant playing time next season. The guy is just a better athlete than most of our guards. I do think that if Wills loses his job to Michel, that they will move Carufel to play alongside Michel.
 



I agree. It will be the same starting five that finished the season with Davis getting the shot at center. I'm not saying they'll finish the season as the starters, but will begin the season the way they finish this one.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
I predict our starting line will be:

LT: Wynn
LG: Carufel
C: Davis
RG: Bunders
RT: Wills

I really think the RG and the LT are up completely for grabs. The RT position I believe will be Wills to lose. He will have competition from Michel and Alford. I actually think Ed Olsen will be playing guard, and he will see significant playing time next season. The guy is just a better athlete than most of our guards. I do think that if Wills loses his job to Michel, that they will move Carufel to play alongside Michel.
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Isn't Bunders already the LG and Carufel the RG?
 

Yeah, but I think they will switch them next season. I do not think they will put Carufel next to Wills. My reasoning is that if Wills is a starter, I am assuming that he will come in around 345-335 next season, and that he will be lighter on his feet. Bunders is a bigger man than Carufel. Carufel is taller, a bit leaner, and about 20 lbs less than Bunders. I think they had to play a more athletic guard (Carufel) next to Wills this year because he was so awkward. If Wills is less awkward next season, I think it makes more sense to put Wills next to a pretty big guard in Bunders, and have our left side be a bit more athletic. That's just my two cents.
 

Most of you obviously don't watch Wills from play to play. He's actually doing one of the best jobs on the line. It seems as if everyone notices him only when he gets beat (which has been rare). Stommes and Alford has been beat much more than Wills - which is why Stommes has been benched. Anyone who thinks a RS Freshman is going to beat out Wills is crazy. I've been watching the line and I really like him - another year of conditioning and we'll be talking about his draft round...
 



Ole said:
I just don't know how ready a RS Freshman is going to be. We've see how they handle a Big Ten season, we played 4 of them last year. Michel would seem to be the better suited of the two, his size is already good and his weightroom numbers are the best of the freshmen.

I would venture, Orton, Bunders, Davis, Careful, Wills with Wynn pushing for spots at LT, LG, or C.
We shall see. This is why SH or Gayden would be so coveted for this year's recruiting class.
The main hope is that all of the mentioned players above vastly improve with another season and offseason.
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Agree for the most part except that Orton will probably win the RT position and either SH or Gayden at the LT position if not Wynn if we do not get the other two. I think they are going to float freshmen in from time to time but they are not going to get prime time play for the most part.
 

upchurch said:
Do you guys watch Wills every play? He isn't as bad as most people say. He's had a better year than Weber
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Did you watch the last series against Wisconsin? I'm not judging his whole year based on it, but he is the reason that drive died. His man was rushed essentially untouched 3 straight plays. And Weber wouldn't be having such a bad year if the line was doing their job. I know it's on Weber too, but he's lacking a run game to support him and protection when he does pass.
 

Wasn't Ryan Wynn the starting center this year until his back flared up?''

How about SH for left tackle? He's the only freshman or redshirt I see making the jump to starting - and that even be ..... just dreamin' Can't a fellow dream?

I thing the gg's will improve next year if they can hang on to their OC and DC. Let's not forget that the Gophers are playing against guys that have played in the same system their entire college careers, while the Gopher offense is in a brand new system and the defense has had a different coordinator something like 9 of the last 10 years.
 

FreakyDeke said:
Did you watch the last series against Wisconsin? I'm not judging his whole year based on it, but he is the reason that drive died. His man was rushed essentially untouched 3 straight plays. And Weber wouldn't be having such a bad year if the line was doing their job. I know it's on Weber too, but he's lacking a run game to support him and protection when he does pass.
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I agree the last series was terrible but Wills was almost perfect the rest of the game - The Weber sack didn't even come from his side. It proves the point that people only notice O-Linemen when they're doing a bad job. I don't think Wills deserves people calling for his head.
 


Ole said:
I wouldn't be so sure, Wills should have been redshirted to allow him to lose that weight and gain strength and speed needed to play well in the Big Ten. We really didn't have any great options, so he played this year. Another 30 lbs off and another year of conditioning will do him well, with his size he can matchup better than a freshmen would, and Wynn was worse than Wills at RT last year IMO.

Like I said, Michel intrigues me because he's already big enough and by all accounts he's the strongest of the freshmen. I still like a year 4 or 5 guy in the trench before a year 1 or 2 guy though.
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You are assuming that he will be able to lose that weight, which I question.
 


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