OL Grades - 2025 SDSU

[VimSince03]

Before I get into grades and breakdowns, just wanted to throw out some context that the Bobcat OL has put up historical rushing figures for a decade now and before that we had guys like Cody Kirk and Ryan Johnson who are all-time rushing leaders. You also can go back to 2000 when Brent Swaggert was recruited to MSU and find an incredible LT lineage that's about as impressive as any college football team in the FCS and even G4 conferences. We've always seemed to figure it out on the OL and a lot of that has to do with great coaches for the past 25 years. I'm dating most of this context back to 2000 but there's of course all-time great OLs and individuals in our entire history. Anyway, there is a high standard inherently built into playing OL for MSU and don't let any UM fan tell you otherwise.

When Tommy started playing QB in 2021, the OL had veteran experience mixed with a few younger faces pushing us to the title game. So when 2022 spring came along everyone thought we would take a step back but a group of hungry talent had other plans. By fall, the 2022 OL went:

LT - Rush Reimer (so), LG - JT Reed (so), C - Justus Perkins (so), RG - Omar Aigbedion (fr)/Cole Sain (jr), RT - Marcus Wehr (so)

Jacob Kettels (so) finished the year at RT after Marcus went out for the season against UNC and Sain also got dinged up so the final group when we went to the semifinals against SDSU in Brookings was three sophomores and two freshman but each also had an extra COVID year of development. I think Tom wrote about it but even though the unit was "roster" young, they were all two-four years in the program. They also saw a standard in front of them and rose to the occasion. Rush and JT were prized recruits in that legendary 2020 spring class while Marcus, Justus, and Jacob all were part of the 2019 class. Omar came in as transfers. Overall, you had a group that would grow together but this was also the group that saw TJ Sessions leave them for Cal after spring ball in 2022. Famously, this was the class Brent Vigen said they may be better than our 2021 title game OL...and he was correct.

The 2023 OL saw JT Reed and Cole Sain be lost for the year but still kick out this starting unit for Gold Rush:

LT - Conner Moore (Rfr), LG - Rush Reimer (jr), C - Justus Perkins (so), RG - Omar Aigbedion (fr), RT - Marcus Wehr (jr)

I think we set the single season Yard Per Carry record this year but lost to NDSU in the 2nd round in that infamous blocked field goal game. Rush Reimer got hurt in the Cat/Griz game in Missoula so Omar shifted to LG, Marcus moved inside to RG, and Jacob Kettels played RT. We ran for 279 yards in that game with Tommy and Scottre accouning for 29 carries for 236 yards and three touchdowns (each was at or over 8 ypc). On that day, we outgained NDSU 509-374 but made one or two less plays than NDSU to show a W on the scoreboard. Regardless, we had attrition/injuries, we shifted OLs, and still almost got the NDSU monkey off our back.

The 2024 OL turned out to be another championship group. Left to right:

LT - Conner Moore (so), LG - Burke Mastel (fr)/JT Reed (jr), C - Cole Sain (sr), RG - Marcus Wehr (sr), RT - Titan Fleischmann (so)

This was a group that saw Rush, Omar, and key backup Jacob transfer to FBS schools and dealt with a fall camp season ender to Justus Perkins at center. Regardless, this group simply played as one and it was a pleasure to grade them multiple times last year. Unfortunately, one of their worst games was against NDSU in the title game which was almost the same NDSU defense they faced a year prior and rushed for nearly 300 yards against. You have to rise to the occasion and collectively the group didn't get the job done in Frisco. Sometimes you just have bad games as a group. Which now leads me to the 2025 OL.

This was the fall camp unit right before the Oregon game week:

LT - Cedric Jefferson (so), LG - JT Reed (sr), C - Burke Mastel (so), RG - Everett Carr (so), RT - Titan Fleischmann (jr)

This group has three starters who played the entire season for our 2024 OL and Cedric started the first two games at LT to being that season. Everett Carr was the only new starter listed and we also heard Braden Zimmer was our 6th guy who could push for time at LT. Burke than dings up his snapping hand and we have to shift literally every spot. Not only that, we have to play two incredibly sound defenses at all three levels to start the year so good luck to the young guys easing into new roles.

Here is how the South Dakota State game graded out (Overall/Pass/Run):

LT - Braden Zimmer (83/93/71); Pass/Run - 1st Half (89/67) & 2nd Half (97/74)
LG - Everett Carr (79/79/79); Pass/Run - 1st Half (78/58) & 2nd Half (81/90)
C - JT Reed (86/83/89); Pass/Run - 1st Half (75/88) & 2nd Half (92/90)
RG - Titan Fleischmann (86/90/80); Pass/Run - 1st Half (83/88) & 2nd Half (97/76)
RT - Cedric Jefferson (90/96/83); Pass/Run - 1st Half (92/71) & 2nd Half (100/90)

Braden Zimmer - We open up the game with three straight passes and the first pass block of the game Braden puts his guy in the dirt. For a redshirt freshman, the reason why Braden will get poached by P4 schools is because he has next level pass blocking chops. He's incredibly gifted both in size and technique already as a left tackle so the future is super bright. However, what is currently holding him back is the run blocking element which is something Conner Moore was top notch in right out of the gate. Its not like he gets pushed around, he just is swimming on getting to his spots in the zone blocking scheme. He did improve slightly in the second half from a poor first half and we ran the ball more in the 2nd so that's encouraging. I like his demeanor on the field as he plays hard and doesn't get too flustered after missed blocks. Its just crazy his feet are so composed in pass blocking sets but when he gets out in the run game its like a giraffe learning how to walk for the first time...at times. Biggest issue was blocking at the 2nd level and SDSU took advantage.

Everett Carr - Mr. Carr has received a lot of public criticism from fans on his performance in these first two games and his first half was not proving any doubters wrong. He had the 2nd lowest pass blocking grade at about a C+ and received the lowest run blocking grade I've ever tracked at 58 which is a flat F. This means Carr only made just over half of his run blocks effectively. Okay...that's the last I'll lump on the kid because Everett sucked it up and turned in a solid performance in the 2nd half where he rose his run blocking grade from a 58 to 90 to finish out at 79 on the night. And this proves true for me when I watch him because Everett has some innate gifts as a run blocker. He has a thick lower body that shows good leverage when engaged. Everett shoots his hands hard and knows he needs to knock some dudes off their spot to have a chance in pass pro. Speaking of pass pro, the feet just aren't there yet. Nearly every time he got beat, it was either bad technique or slow feet. The pass pro in the 2nd half was collectively excellent as a group as Justin had plenty of time to make plays (which made the 2nd half passing attack even more frustrating) but Everett was the only player without an A/A- grade as he settled at a low B- in that half in pass pro. It also should be noted Everett WON the RG job in camp and then was told he had to go play on the left side to start the season. In my opinion, he is a power RG in a zone scheme and overall is a much better fit in a gap scheme. We run a little bit of both so Everett has a spot on this OL but right now he has a tall task ahead of him if he's going to stay on the left side. A lot of fans are asking why no Dylan Rollins at LG but Vigen keeps saying we have six who can start so obviously Dylan is not ready for primetime. Overall, the biggest issue for our left side in the run game is getting to our spots in the zone scheme. There were times where both Braden and Everett just ran by guys thinking their guy was the next one down or at the 2nd level. It'll get there but right now its a work in progress.

JT Reed - JT has been around a lot of football with our OL for the last five-six years. He was an All-Big Sky left guard as a sophomore in 2022, gets hurt in 2023, kind of recovers in 2024 but Burke is the starter, and now is tasked to play center to start his final season. I was very impressed with his first game as no bad snaps is a great start for a new center against a team like Oregon. However, snapping was more erratic in this one and it impacted the timing of several runs in both halves. However, JT is doing a great job of filling in and possibly earning more time at center due to his run blocking ability. Our guards are a work in progress on their double teams but JT just has that ability to get to his spot with great technique and play strength. When runs pop, JT is usually the catalyst in the middle. In the pass pro department, its mostly the same issues he had as a guard where speed gets him too much which is odd because JT has quick feet. Sometimes dudes are just better at one versus the other (see Braden). JT actually had my worst pass pro grade of the first half at 78 but rose up to 92 in the second and was one of two players to have 90+ grades in both the run and pass in the 2nd half. This happened because JT is a veteran and he knows how to rebound. Playing center is not easy and its even harder now that Tommy isn't behind center where we run like 6 of the same concepts in the run and passing game and you block left or right without really thinking too much. Sterbick is putting a little more into this offense than past OCs and that actually may be the problem right now. Regardless, as fans we should be very happy JT Reed gave MSU one more year of his football career to go to battle as an interior lineman. If Burke comes back at center and shifts JT back to LG, great. If Burke comes back at LG and keeps JT at center, that's fine too because I think he'll keep getting better as his guards get better.

Titan Fleischmann - I'm just going to say it, Titan is not an offensive guard. He is playing the position right now because he's a competitor and arguably our best OL in the entire group. Also, guys like Conner Moore and Marcus Wehr shifted inside with ease so why not Titan right? Well its hurting us in the run game early on because he too is struggling to get to his spots. I like his climbing ability at the 2nd level better than our left side as Titan has a feel for the technique and spacing. However, still too many missed blocks in the run game for a veteran starter and, to me, it has to do with the move inside. Pass pro was a bit of a journey. In the first half, JT and Titan doubled their tackles and way too often was their double team still allowing a bull rush of the pocket which should not happen with their play strength. In one on ones, Titan was also giving up rushes where defenders were electing to go right through him. In the 2nd half, Titan rose his game to another level in pass pro and you saw those bull rushes get almost eliminated with better technique and play strength (i.e. Titan got mad and played meaner). SDSU also executed way too many twists in the first half against our right side's pass pro and JT. That also got corrected by those three in the 2nd half. Titan did regress in the run game in the 2nd half but we also ran the ball better overall in that half. JT and Cedric played great in the run game in the 2nd as well so Titan's misses weren't as magnified. One play exemplified who Titan is as an OL. On the third series for MSU, its third and 8 and they do a simple stunt with their DTs against our three interior lineman. Carr completely falls for it and allows #51 to rush Lamson. Justin has to go backwards which almost leads him right into both Zimmer and Cedric's DEs (both executed their pocket though so not really on them). Titan Fleischmann puts on teach tape for pass pro lineman on not giving up and pancakes #51 who almost had Justin sacked before Titan eviscerated him. Lamson then picks up the first down on a great scramble. You want to go to battle with Titan on the OL so wherever he plays this year, he knows the standard and we'll be in good hands.

Cedric Jefferson - Cedric had the highest overall grade on our OL, highest pass blocking grade, and the 2nd best run blocking grade. Now the overall run blocking grades were low compared to where we need them to be but Cedric is performing at a high level on this unit right now and, again, we asked him to move to the right side after being on the left side for his first two years and this year up until the week before the Oregon game. He still isn't there in the run game on a consistency basis but he's definitely improving. He put up a 71 run grade in the first half but, like Everett, rose it to a 90 in the 2nd and made some great second level blocks. When Cedric gets that wide frame underneath you, he's winning every time and it really shows in pass pro. He's not as long as Braden but the lower body is better at pass pro than run blocking right now. His hand placement also gives him a leg up in one on ones. There is just a lot to like and #99 was no slouch for SDSU. On pure drop backs where Cedric went one on one with their ends, he might of only gave up ground like three times? This is why I would not be opposed to moving Cedric back to LT when Burke comes back and getting Everett back to RG and Titan back to RT. You have to like what your seeing from Cedric so far this season if you are Brent Vigen and Matt Smith.

Run Game Assessment - We have not found our groove yet in any real concept. We found some big gains in split zone out of twin TEs (lined up off of each tackle) which was a staple of the Tommy rushing attacks. Outside zone concepts have been a dud so far. We've done some power stuff concepts but our guard play hasn't been good enough to make these hit consistently. We mostly just aren't getting hats on hats (sorry Rob Ash haters but its a legitimate solution). There was one play in the 1st half that defined the clunkiness of our run game so far this season. Its 3rd and 3 on our 2nd series in SDSU territory. We come out in 12 personnel out of pistol with TEs stacked on right side and receivers split out on both sides. Effectively, 7 blockers at LOS. SDSU has their 4-man front with outside defenders on the edge, their MLB over RG, and both safeties close to the box so kind of working with a 9 man box but the safeties had pass responsibility. We really have 7 on 7 to get three yards for a first. We run split zone so lineman are going to down block to the right and the H-back behind the RT and TE is going to split back across the line and pick up the right-side end lined up over Zimmer. Edge defender outside of the right-side end should really be out of the play if the H-back kicks out that end on the inside. Well...here is what happens. Zimmer down blocks as he expects our H-back to get the DE over him but our H-back (Rocky) takes the outside edge rusher instead, Zimmer leaves the DE to go right into the backfield finding himself not blocking anyone at all, Carr whiffs on his DT who helps stick Davis in the backfield, Reed & Titan combo block the nose but you'd hope this gets to the backer but play was dead before that had a chance, Cedric's DE beats him bad inside and also parties on the pile, and Hunter Provience gets his block which is just a kickout. A screen shot can capture an image of our LT to RG all blocking or touching the 1-tech DT and three SDSU defenders tackling Julius in the backfield. Its a very unpleasant site for a person who has watched so much great OL tape out of MSU for the past several years. Two possessions in, our pass blocking had been solid and Lamson had more time than expected but our run game had been atrocious with guys either getting beat, not blocking the right guy, or blocking no one. It got somewhat better as the game went on as the guys kept playing hard and popping pads but a whole lot of mistakes by the 1st team unit. Overall just a lack of flow so some of this is on Sterbick as well. I swear if I see one more outside zone to the short side of the field! Anyway, Julius played better than Adam but we also ran our QB way too much. It wasn't all scrambles as Justin either elected to keep on some reads and was called for designed runs. Our run game with Lamson should be more about efficiency than volume as I like his feel for getting that final yard in short yardage situations. Hell he 100% should've scored the game tying touchdown on the final 4th down stop as it was only him and the outside corner. Adam Jones needs to take a breather and watch some tape on his opportunities to bounce runs or feel cut back lanes. When the zone game hits, those cut back runs are dangerous for defenses. I think we'll get there. We were getting partly pushed around in the first half but that changed in the 2nd half so again just a lot of encouraging things in the run game after a C- grade in the first half as a unit.

Passing Game Assessment - I'll keep it short and simple...which is what I thought our passing game was going to be. Way too much intermediate stuff against SDSU. I'm all for hitting chunk gains but down and distance is so important in those games and you are giving away to opportunities for a good defense to pin their ears back against a young OL. Now I thought our tackles answered the call and then some in the pass pro department. They played great all night. Our interior was awful in the first half and Lamson got hit and scrambled a lot because of that interior pressure. But I'm not seeing our play calling helping out our OL at all right now. Way too many straight drop backs when our strength is in making defenses suck into our run game. This was a staple of those Tommy/Sean offenses where you would lull defenses to sleep running zone concepts at them and then you pop Derryk Snell or Rohan Jones on those roll outs or find receivers on drags down field. We saw some wins on several throws but I like what I saw from the Oregon game more. No Chris Long hurt the overall unit. Ryan King...I'm not sure I know what else to say other than we ran a max protect in the first half which allowed Ryan to have a one on one 30 yards down the field near the goal line and Justin had all day to throw up a 50/50...and he elected to take a sack. Not sure if that's a Ryan problem or Justin problem but our QB needs to be confident to make that throw so if Ryan isn't that receiver, we need to play the other guy. I just don't know what our passing game is at this point and I kind of know what our run game is.

Tight Ends Assessment - Okay so this is a group that looks the part but a lot of our runs that got stuffed were direct causes of Rylan, Hunter, and Rocky not getting the job done. Like the OL standard, we also have a great TE history and its been a major part of our success in the Choate/Vigen era. This group can be great in the pass game and I've seen positives from all three in the run game but if you compare this trio to the Snell/Pickering/Lonergan trio of two years ago...we have a long ways to go. They are only sophomores and freshman so, much like the OL, reps will allow for more confidence but if we want to return to the natty AND bring that run game back to standard (which I think is over 6 ypc), these three will either make or break us because I do believe the OL will get there.

Alright enough of that SDSU stuff until the playoffs. This is a good football team that is still finding itself. Patience will be needed but losing is not an option from here on out. As Vigen said, playing with urgency needs to be increased which doesn't mean playing panicked. Urgency means tremendous effort and attention to detail. Our defense is damn near already there if you want a championship level unit. Our offense needs to simply find itself.

[Cataholic]

Thanks for writing this up. It just goes to show how little I understand with the offensive line. I thought our right side was going to be scored lowest.

[91catAlum]

Good stuff, Vim, thanks! It's interesting you say basically everybody played better in the 2nd half, yet the offense got shut out in the 2nd.

[kwcat]

Good stuff, Vim, thanks! It's interesting you say basically everybody played better in the 2nd half, yet the offense got shut out in the 2nd.

I think the grades say that the offensive line played better. There’s still a lot of other moving parts. Such as the tight ends. Trying to remember, did we have a fumble in the second half?

[VimSince03]

Good stuff, Vim, thanks! It's interesting you say basically everybody played better in the 2nd half, yet the offense got shut out in the 2nd.

I think the grades say that the offensive line played better. There’s still a lot of other moving parts. Such as the tight ends. Trying to remember, did we have a fumble in the second half?

OL 100% player their butts off in the 2nd half. The rest of the offense and the play caller? Left a lot to be desired.

1st half OL, specifically in the run game, was one of the worst collective grades I've given an MSU OL since I started grading as a hobb. So nowhere to go but up after that performance in the first 24 minutes.

[HelenaCat95]

Vim, Thanks for pulling this together and helping us put a little thoughtful perspective on it.

I have not watched the film, but my reaction watching it live from the stands was:
1- We really struggled in pass protection. It appeared to me that SDSU was getting a good rush with only 4 rushers, using simple twists. Maybe it wasn't as bad as I thought at the time, but any time a Defense can pressure the QB with only 4, thats a big win for the D.
2- Your thoughts, and BBT's thoughts on run game design I think are spot on. We are not getting angles in the design of the schemes. In my opinion, a big reason for this is we don't have the same style of QB that we've had for the past several years. With Tommy (and Troy) and even with Chambers/Murray, the Defense had to account for the speed/agility of the QB on every single play. This naturally puts some defenders out of position. This frees up gaps/holes that help the Oline get blocking angles and vacates 2nd level defenders. When the defense plays the RB, then the QB has more space. When the defense plays the QB, it frees up space for the RB.

Anyway, just my thoughts after watching it live from the stands. I'm sure my opinion would change a bit if I watched the film.

[TomCat88]

The OL got moved around in 2024 right before the first game. They played two new starters at the tackle spots and moved their tackles to guard and moved a guard to center.

The OL got moved around in 2025 right before the first game. They played two new starters at the tackle spots (one with the experience of doing the exact same thing in 2024; Jefferson but he didn't start every game the rest of the season, so he's still new) and moved one tackle to guard and moved a guard to center.

These are two less than ideal situations. The 2024 team went out and got 567 yards and 35 points in its first game and has needed two games to get to that number in 2025.

But back up to who the two teams played in their first two games. The difference between Oregon and New Mexico seems small compared to the difference between SDSU and Utah Tech, yet it's still HUGE.

Did MSU's OL gel that fast in 2024 or did it take a while? Take a look at the Utah Tech game. I think there were three holding calls in the first quarter. MSU needed 83 plays to get 491 yards (5.9 per play vs their 2024 average of 7.3!; MSU got 6.3 vs NDSU) against a team that went 1-11. That's good, but well below what MSU was getting against teams like UT.

Only three teams scored less points on UT than MSU. That game was MSU's second lowest scoring output (31) of the season. Only UC Davis held MSU to less points (30) and USD allowed the same (31). MSU literally looked worse on offense vs Utah Tech than it has in either of these first two games.

My point is that moving a bunch of guys around at the last minute probably has more to do with MSU not performing well than anything right now. Add to that the strength of their opponents and it's usually a recipe for disaster. Maybe the OL isn't as good as previous years, but I don't think it has taken a huge step back based on these two games. It's going to take an off showing vs San Diego to get me to think that, not that I think a good showing in this game means they're going to be elite. We have two data points so far and they're not much different from the first two data points last year considering the strength of the opponents.

[VimSince03]

Vim, Thanks for pulling this together and helping us put a little thoughtful perspective on it.

I have not watched the film, but my reaction watching it live from the stands was:
1- We really struggled in pass protection. It appeared to me that SDSU was getting a good rush with only 4 rushers, using simple twists. Maybe it wasn't as bad as I thought at the time, but any time a Defense can pressure the QB with only 4, thats a big win for the D.
2- Your thoughts, and BBT's thoughts on run game design I think are spot on. We are not getting angles in the design of the schemes. In my opinion, a big reason for this is we don't have the same style of QB that we've had for the past several years. With Tommy (and Troy) and even with Chambers/Murray, the Defense had to account for the speed/agility of the QB on every single play. This naturally puts some defenders out of position. This frees up gaps/holes that help the Oline get blocking angles and vacates 2nd level defenders. When the defense plays the RB, then the QB has more space. When the defense plays the QB, it frees up space for the RB.

Anyway, just my thoughts after watching it live from the stands. I'm sure my opinion would change a bit if I watched the film.

Pass pro definitely wasn't great in the first half as the group had a collective score of 83. We specifically struggled on the interior as those three averaged a collective 78 which is a recipe for disaster for drop back QBs. But we started to move the pocket and change things up as the game went along. However, our tackles pass protected great all night.

You are spot on in the run game comments. Some of these runs just aren't "hitting" because of timing, lack of chemistry, and not getting to spots. When they do it looks great so we have that going for us...which is nice. But the first half was bad bad bad in the run blocking department.

[TomCat88]

I know he didn't play, so you haven't seen him this year, but based on memory from last year, where do you put Mastel grade-wise? I don't expect him back until at least EWU, but what's the line look like if/when he returns?

[VimSince03]

I know he didn't play, so you haven't seen him this year, but based on memory from last year, where do you put Mastel grade-wise? I don't expect him back until at least EWU, but what's the line look like if/when he returns?

Gradually improved throughout the year. Was in the low 80s but strong in the run game. Had a great title game.

[TomCat88]

I know he didn't play, so you haven't seen him this year, but based on memory from last year, where do you put Mastel grade-wise? I don't expect him back until at least EWU, but what's the line look like if/when he returns?

Gradually improved throughout the year. Was in the low 80s but strong in the run game. Had a great title game.

Do you see him going back to center if/when he returns or do you think they'll have him be the utility backup?

[CelticCat]

Great stuff Vim! We also have a new OL coach. There is just a hell of a lot of new in this year's offense, from coaching on down to players. I think the ceiling is still pretty high and we should have several games to get right.

[kwcat]

Good stuff, Vim, thanks! It's interesting you say basically everybody played better in the 2nd half, yet the offense got shut out in the 2nd.

I think the grades say that the offensive line played better. There’s still a lot of other moving parts. Such as the tight ends. Trying to remember, did we have a fumble in the second half?

OL 100% player their butts off in the 2nd half. The rest of the offense and the play caller? Left a lot to be desired.

1st half OL, specifically in the run game, was one of the worst collective grades I've given an MSU OL since I started grading as a hobb. So nowhere to go but up after that performance in the first 24 minutes.

The offense looks quite disjointed at this point. Somewhat expected. Let’s hope it can improve lots of questions from quarterback to scheme and the offensive coordinator.

[tetoncat]

Most of the analysis still leads to question of if it is best to put the 6th best guy in and move everyone around, put 6th best and only have to move one other spot, or put in the backup center and leave everyone else in their best spot.

[coloradocat]

Most of the analysis still leads to question of if it is best to put the 6th best guy in and move everyone around, put 6th best and only have to move one other spot, or put in the backup center and leave everyone else in their best spot.

This is kind of my question as well. Rather than use the rest of the month to get everyone up to speed on their new positions, would we be better off to just put them back where they belong and let our backup center struggle through growing pains and hope the other guys can cover up his mistakes?

[kwcat]

Most of the analysis still leads to question of if it is best to put the 6th best guy in and move everyone around, put 6th best and only have to move one other spot, or put in the backup center and leave everyone else in their best spot.

This is kind of my question as well. Rather than use the rest of the month to get everyone up to speed on their new positions, would we be better off to just put them back where they belong and let our backup center struggle through growing pains and hope the other guys can cover up his mistakes?

Apparently the staff believes there is two significant of a drop off at center to do so. Might be many reasons for that. If a guy is not ready, maybe it does more damage to the player long-term to be put in that position. Sometimes it’s as simple as the coaches can’t see the forest for the trees. I would be interested to know the reasoning as well.

[technoCat]

Most of the analysis still leads to question of if it is best to put the 6th best guy in and move everyone around, put 6th best and only have to move one other spot, or put in the backup center and leave everyone else in their best spot.

This is kind of my question as well. Rather than use the rest of the month to get everyone up to speed on their new positions, would we be better off to just put them back where they belong and let our backup center struggle through growing pains and hope the other guys can cover up his mistakes?

Apparently the staff believes there is two significant of a drop off at center to do so. Might be many reasons for that. If a guy is not ready, maybe it does more damage to the player long-term to be put in that position. Sometimes it’s as simple as the coaches can’t see the forest for the trees. I would be interested to know the reasoning as well.

I totally get that for the first two games but we need to get our oline gelled for the meat of the conference schedule. You would think they would put people where they want them going forward for these two perceived easier games to allow for that.

[MountainCat]

Great stuff Vim! We also have a new OL coach. There is just a hell of a lot of new in this year's offense, from coaching on down to players. I think the ceiling is still pretty high and we should have several games to get right.

***This.

The continuity we’ve had for the past several years of what was obviously great O-Line coaching and some great players changed this year, and it unquestionably looks different. Blocking has been off, players are playing out of position, the run game has diminished. It’s going to look different. Hopefully Vigen can coach the coach a bit and help regain some footing on finding some semblance of past O-Line success.

Lamson gets pretty spooky in the pocket, he’s pretty much 1 read and go from what we’ve seen so far. The O line trying to adapt to him as well as figuring out their own assignments seems to be a substantial work in progress. I’m not sold that Sterbick is helping anyone at this point with play calling. I’m trying to decide if it’s simply a matter of having played 2 great teams in Oregon and South Dakota, but so far I feel like the offense has been notably less smooth than I thought they’d be, Vigen has been pretty good about having fairly polished teams. Maybe with all of the moving parts this season we just have to temper expectations more than anticipated and give the entire offensive system time to gel.

[VimSince03]

Most of the analysis still leads to question of if it is best to put the 6th best guy in and move everyone around, put 6th best and only have to move one other spot, or put in the backup center and leave everyone else in their best spot.

When I finished grading, I came away with this exact issue when/if Burke comes back:

- roll with Braden Zimmer because his pass blocking is so good and you can trust him to protect your new QB WHILE taking his below average run blocking

- move Cedric back to LT where you'll get solid production in both, kick Titan back out to RT, get Everett back to the right side where he's more comfortable, and figure out your LG/C between Burke and JT as needed.

The first option is the better pass blocking unit but the second option gets us possibly back to 6.5 ypc on the ground.

[VimSince03]

I also can't understate how good both DL's were against this new OL to start the year. To just discuss SDSU, #51/#94/#99 were dudes who would start or rotate in at a lot of FBS schools. These are juniors and seniors who chose to either transfer to SDSU and/or stay at SDSU after Rogers left. These were all guys that played meaningful reps for past SDSU defenses. They were big, strong, and technically sound so you couldn't make too many mistakes against them. They had plenty of wins in the second half still but I just liked the way we responded physically in the 2nd half. I know it didn't feel like it as you were watching the offense but the OL played better and stronger in the 2nd half...in my opinion.