Do you expect our O-Line to improve this season?

#77
#77
gunner said:
I would agree that was a pathetic offensive line, but they did manage to beat Kentucky, Vanderbilt and SC some the 2017 team couldn't do.
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Those wins all had Dobbs in common.
 
#78
#78
This is pretty much a Ron Swanson type question but has anyone heard of any possible Grad Transfer O-lineman outside the kid from Rice? Better coaching and technique will help but outside of Trey Smith our O-line was outmanned against opponents defensive lines last year. There are definitely issues with strength and speed that you can’t make up for in one offseason.
 
#79
#79
Yes I do. A great strength program and solid coaching can do wonders. The real problem will be depth.
 
#80
#80
butchna said:
Those wins all had Dobbs in common.
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Agreed. Dobbs was a diffence maker and if he were the QB in 2017 Butch would still be the head coach at UT. But, he wasn't on the team and they went winless in the SEC because of a terrible offensive line, probably the worst ever.
 
#82
#82
MyBloodRunnethOrange said:
Yep! Dobbs was able to cover up for the deficiencies of a horrible OL.
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... AND historically poor player development for the whole team. When the NFL scout reported before the season began the UT team was "soft" few of us actually believed that (self included) and worse still understood just how overall soft we were. Winless in the SEC soft was not in any of the fans heads before the 2017 season started. Whoever that scout was, knew and knows WTH he talks about IMO.
 
#83
#83
Remy said:
... AND historically poor player development for the whole team. When the NFL scout reported before the season began the UT team was "soft" few of us actually believed that (self included) and worse still understood just how overall soft we were. Winless in the SEC soft was not in any of the fans heads before the 2017 season started. Whoever that scout was, knew and knows WTH he talks about IMO.
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I guess that I missed that report, all that I recall is the hype surrounding the new S&C coach and how his influence who greatly improve the team.
 
#84
#84
VolFreakJosh said:
Yes or no?

Last year, it seems like our O-Line could not hold
their blocks very well outside of Trey Smith.

JG & Dormady were under constant pressure resulting in underthrown balls or sacks.

Our O-Line has been one of the main issues since Butch first stepped on campus and I’m hoping it finally gets sorted out.

I expect to see a lot of struggles again this season if the O-Line doesn’t hold up.

So tired of opposing Defensive Lineman swarming to our QBs due to piss poor blocking.
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I sure do hope so... That being said, I really believe Pruitt could've done a little better than Will Friend. Doesn't matter now, let's just hope they improve.
 
#86
#86
Other than Coach Friend being Pruitt's former college Roommate and buddy..I did not understand how he fits in Knoxville. Will Friend has evolved from Bama OL to a Richtian/Bobo philosophy of line play. If you like dominant OL play you may be frustrated, as I was since Neil Callaway left UGA.and we went into OJT for OL coaches. Coach Friend will have the kids playing hard.. but he has not proven himself to be a standout recruiter.. So you probably get one or two of the projects that might develop in every class. That gets tiresome when you play the physical teams on the schedule.
 
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#87
#87
They’re multiplying. :boredom:
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#88
#88
I expect them to improve at least a little bit. Maybe wishful thinking but surely this coach can get somewhat consistant play and health out of them.
 
#89
#89
HunkerDown said:
Other than Coach Friend being Pruitt's former college Roommate and buddy..I did not understand how he fits in Knoxville. Will Friend has evolved from Bama OL to a Richtian/Bobo philosophy of line play. If you like dominant OL play you may be frustrated, as I was since Neil Callaway left UGA.and we went into OJT for OL coaches. Coach Friend will have the kids playing hard.. but he has not proven himself to be a standout recruiter.. So you probably get one or two of the projects that might develop in every class. That gets tiresome when you play the physical teams on the schedule.
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We have recruiters. If he can coach, we will have a better OL this year.
 
#92
#92
fade route said:
We haven’t had a really good Oline in over a decade
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It's not been quite a decade.

The OL in 2012 was pretty damn good. It allowed eight sacks through 12 games, which was good for fifth in the NCAA. Bray threw for more than 3500 yards that season, and I think four guys from that OL ended up in the NFL. (Disclaimer: Obviously some credit for Bray's numbers goes to Chaney's system.) It wasn't the best run-blocking group, but as a whole it was the closest thing we've had to "really good."
 
#93
#93
VOLINVONORE said:
We have recruiters. If he can coach, we will have a better OL this year.
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CWF had plenty of recruiters around him in Athens..that was never the problem. We shall see. CWF is a great guy and will give his all.. but if the question is about evolution of OL going forward... That has to be part of the expectations.
 
#94
#94
Yes. However, I am an optimist. Improvement Absolutely. High-end no not yet, at least not to this staffs standards. It's going to take some time to recruit and train.

Not to say that they will not be good. We are going to find out how poorly the lines on both side of the ball were coached. How they never embraced Jones' concept of an OL/DL because he had none.

Our trenches have been working on just natural talent and nothing was added to their skill set. Our previous staff did not have the ability to take talent and raise the bar most of the improvement was because players chose to do so themselves.

The trench warfare we have seen with a few exceptions has been atrocious at best. Not because of the players but because of the coaches.

We don't have the depth needed and hopefully we can limp through this season to achieve better results than most anticipate. Our depth is a major concern and CJP has tried to address immediately.
 
#95
#95
If Smith is not able to play, then I expect yet another poor year of OL play. He is basically the only real good OL we have.
 
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#97
#97
There should be improvements, maybe not to the levels we would we like to see, but improvements. Hopefully, as the season progresses, we will see continuing improvements. Something we haven't seen over the past few seasons. There will be a couple of hiccups, Alabama and Georgia, but overall improvements and continuing improvements should be seen. If not, then we are worse off then we thought.
 
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