3 different oline coaches the last 3 years. That doesn't lend itself to a good oline. To be honest guys it lends itself to what exactly we have seen. Wickline recruited a very different kind of lineman. He taught a different way and it worked for him and it was great for osu but it left us in a difficult spot.
In steps coach Connelly. I think we can all agree that wasn't a great fit but to take some of the blame off him he walked into a terrible situation.For the best for both parties we split ways with coach Connelly.
In steps coach Adkins. Has a good track record as far as working at Tennessee with coach fulmer and some other stops and some NFL experience. And we heard great things from past players who observed practices......but again we were basically still working with Wickline recruits. Not to mention the JUCO guys we brought in last year to aid the oline didn't pan out. So basically what we had was still last years oline with the exception of Victor Salako, it's just a year older.
Let's put this into perspective. We had a walk-on fr. center who played out of sheer desperation the year before, a sophomore tackle who was our best olineman in crabtree. I'm gonna say that again a sophomore we were counting on as our best olineman. Our guard play is a disaster and we put all our stock into a transfer from UAB. A recent thread tore the kid apart but maybe just maybe it's our own fault for the expectations we put on Salako. Granted our coaches pumped him up to us as well but to be honest look what we had to compare him to? Is it possible that Salako can be a decent olineman in time we just put the weight of our oline troubles on his shoulders?
Lately I find myself comparing osu to ou and Baylor......more then I'd like to do but they are the cream of the crop in the big 12 right now so what else can we do.?Which leads me to what we need to do. Copy. We need to copy what they are doing and the model is to recruit guys 6'5-6'8 ranging from 300-340 pounds. Mammoths ladies and gentleman we need mammoths. Go look at their roster and the size of the guys that start for them. Go look at their recruiting classes for olineman. They aren't messing around.Let me be more specific to what i mean and how it pertains to osu currently. Starting with what we will have next year and what we are recruiting.
Zac Crabtree(Jr) -6'7 305 - very legit big 12 olineman and what we need but he would just now be ready to break our line up in an ideal situation instead of being put out there his redshirt freshman year and sophomore year.
Jessie Robinson(Jr)- 6'6 310- forced into action because we had no other choice. Did the best he could but was not ready. Shouldn't of had to even begin to ask him to play until next year when he should be about 320.
Micheal Wilson(Sr)- 6'6 305- is a capable olineman who may be overwhelmed by the responsibilities of being an elder olineman of this group. At times he looks capable and other times he too struggles. Needs to be bigger and stronger.
Brad Lundblade(Jr.)- 6'3 300- guy filled in to a terrible situation two years ago but what we all failed to realize in our desperate situation was that he was a very young player once again and a walk on. Love the kid and his want to for osu and I don't want to cut the kid but if we are being honest it's been bad. How many other teams are starting a walk on sophomore center in the big 12? I love our walk on program and all they give to the program but this shouldn't be happening.
Victor Salako(Sr)-6'6 330- the supposed savior of our oline. We (coaches & fans) put way to much on this kid. He was recruited and playing at UAB for a reason. Now that's not to say he can't but we expected all American for a bad oline and it just wasn't fair. The kid still has a chance to be good but we need to pull back the reins.
Take a good look at that group guys because that was or starting line up. And while they all may be at or above 300 that's light by big 12 standards. This was also a very young oline with which 3 of the 5 were recruited by Wickline for his type of oline. Another is a walk on and another was a transfer from UAB.
Going forward I think you look to keep Crabtree in the starting lineup where he is. Maybe look to move Salako inside to a guard position and hope the other 3 are replaced. Lundblade, Robinson and Wilson need to be either pushed for their job or replaced.
Brandon Pertile(Jr)-6'6 310- came in with an injury and didn't contribute. How serious is the injury? How good could he be? Lots of questions to many unknowns to count on help for next year.
Paul Lewis(Sr)- 6'3 295- wick recruit. Undersized and not suited for big 12 level. Not going to say anything more. Just not the answer.
Lamaefe Galea'i(so) - 6'5 325- there is a lot of hope with this kid and probably one we actually did justice to by not forcing him into playing. He has the size to be a big 12 olineman he just needs to prove he is fast enough and strong enough. There is hope with this young man.
Deionte Noel(so)- 6'3 315- I don't know anything about this young man and how he is progressing. He has good size for a young olineman and another we didn't push into playing right away. Be interesting to hear if anybody has any info on how he is progressing in practice.
Johnny Wilson(fr) -6'3 297- this kid has the attitude. He has that bad ass attitude I'm looking for on the oline. He is decent size and will be over 300 if he isn't already. I expect he pushes to be a starting center which is the perfect size for. Has a mean streak. Have a lot of hope for this young man that he is good enough to take one of the starting oline spots.
Marcus Keys(fr)- 6'4 280- have heard great things considering he was a flyer we took in last years recruiting class. Unless he is Russell okung he is still not big enough and to young to be a factor next year. Looking forward to a bright future though.
Jaxon Salinas(Jr)- 6'4 305- just not seeing him as someone that will ever contribute.
Mathew Mucha(so)6'6 285 - have also heard great things about Mucha. Still undersized for my liking for the big 12. He should be ready to add depth next year if needed but I don't think he should be counted on yet to be a starter.
Now if you look at the above list guys to be blunt and honest it isn't pretty by big 12 standards. It's undersized and out matched in strength and missing attitude and aggressiveness. I'm not saying they aren't laying it on the line for osu. And again, to be fair to them they have had no consistency from their position group. It's been a complete mess for the past 3 years. That can do damage to an oline so I actually think those kids above deserve a lot of credit for what they have done. Now for the recruits coming in who honestly need to push these guys:
Tyler Brown 6'6 315 - this is exactly what we need right here. Kid has more size coming in then a lot of our current olineman. From what I hear is a heck of an athlete and can move his feet very well. Osu fans should be very excited about this take because it's exactly the direction we need to be going. Not saying he is coming and starting but to be honest he may not be far off. I'm not joking when I say this kid is going to be good right away and may push our guards. Great guard prospect. I wouldn't put it past him to make some noise in fall camp and make the two deep. Love this recruit and we need more like him.
Dylan Galloway- 6'5 271 - I like this take simply because he reminds me of this years version of Marcus keys. He doesn't have the size now but at 271 and a 6'5 frame he has room to grow. He won't play right away and needs to redshirt and get bigger but have also heard some good things about his footwork. A good future offensive tackle prospect. Ideally we shouldn't see him until he is a junior......unless of course he is a Russell okung.
Tevin Jenkins 6'6 300- like tyler brown this is what we need to be bringing in. I don't think he will be as far along as tyler brown but I do think he will push after a year or two in the program. I don't see him as a tackle but more of a guard. I don't think he is quick enough to be a tackle. He and tyler brown make for a bright future at the guard position. Both have great size as young guys coming into the program.
Ryan McCollum 6'6 270- kid has the attitude again that we need. Very different in size and position than Johnny Wilson but these two play with the attitude we need and that is missing along the oline. I see him being a tackle prospect that needs to put on weight. The hope is that between him, Keyes, Galloway, and Mucha we can develop some pretty solid tackle prospects that we don't have to push into playing time like we have had to do in our current situation.
Larry Williams- 6'5 339- here is what you have to hope is the take of the oline recruiting class. We have to hope he is ready to start from day one cowboy fans. This guy needs to shake up our oline. Here is what I like: he is big. The mammoth I was talking about Baylor and ou seem to have. He played at east Carolina so he knows what it takes to play d1 ball. He is a former wrestler so that may really help him with leverage and attitude. We must be careful that we don't put on his shoulders what we did on Salakos. The big questions that will have to be answered in practice are is he fast enough to play tackle and push Salako inside to guard?
Or is he himself a guard? What we do with Salako and Williams is the key. We may judge Salako off this year and maybe be to hard on him. Another year in the program and a chance to adjust to big 12 level competition may do him a world of good for next year. The fact is if Williams is for real and ready to play he could be a shot in the arm to this oline. One it really needs that I don't think anyone else is really as capable as providing as he is. Let's hope he is ready and doesn't flake out like some of last years Juco's.
In steps coach Connelly. I think we can all agree that wasn't a great fit but to take some of the blame off him he walked into a terrible situation.For the best for both parties we split ways with coach Connelly.
In steps coach Adkins. Has a good track record as far as working at Tennessee with coach fulmer and some other stops and some NFL experience. And we heard great things from past players who observed practices......but again we were basically still working with Wickline recruits. Not to mention the JUCO guys we brought in last year to aid the oline didn't pan out. So basically what we had was still last years oline with the exception of Victor Salako, it's just a year older.
Let's put this into perspective. We had a walk-on fr. center who played out of sheer desperation the year before, a sophomore tackle who was our best olineman in crabtree. I'm gonna say that again a sophomore we were counting on as our best olineman. Our guard play is a disaster and we put all our stock into a transfer from UAB. A recent thread tore the kid apart but maybe just maybe it's our own fault for the expectations we put on Salako. Granted our coaches pumped him up to us as well but to be honest look what we had to compare him to? Is it possible that Salako can be a decent olineman in time we just put the weight of our oline troubles on his shoulders?
Lately I find myself comparing osu to ou and Baylor......more then I'd like to do but they are the cream of the crop in the big 12 right now so what else can we do.?Which leads me to what we need to do. Copy. We need to copy what they are doing and the model is to recruit guys 6'5-6'8 ranging from 300-340 pounds. Mammoths ladies and gentleman we need mammoths. Go look at their roster and the size of the guys that start for them. Go look at their recruiting classes for olineman. They aren't messing around.Let me be more specific to what i mean and how it pertains to osu currently. Starting with what we will have next year and what we are recruiting.
Zac Crabtree(Jr) -6'7 305 - very legit big 12 olineman and what we need but he would just now be ready to break our line up in an ideal situation instead of being put out there his redshirt freshman year and sophomore year.
Jessie Robinson(Jr)- 6'6 310- forced into action because we had no other choice. Did the best he could but was not ready. Shouldn't of had to even begin to ask him to play until next year when he should be about 320.
Micheal Wilson(Sr)- 6'6 305- is a capable olineman who may be overwhelmed by the responsibilities of being an elder olineman of this group. At times he looks capable and other times he too struggles. Needs to be bigger and stronger.
Brad Lundblade(Jr.)- 6'3 300- guy filled in to a terrible situation two years ago but what we all failed to realize in our desperate situation was that he was a very young player once again and a walk on. Love the kid and his want to for osu and I don't want to cut the kid but if we are being honest it's been bad. How many other teams are starting a walk on sophomore center in the big 12? I love our walk on program and all they give to the program but this shouldn't be happening.
Victor Salako(Sr)-6'6 330- the supposed savior of our oline. We (coaches & fans) put way to much on this kid. He was recruited and playing at UAB for a reason. Now that's not to say he can't but we expected all American for a bad oline and it just wasn't fair. The kid still has a chance to be good but we need to pull back the reins.
Take a good look at that group guys because that was or starting line up. And while they all may be at or above 300 that's light by big 12 standards. This was also a very young oline with which 3 of the 5 were recruited by Wickline for his type of oline. Another is a walk on and another was a transfer from UAB.
Going forward I think you look to keep Crabtree in the starting lineup where he is. Maybe look to move Salako inside to a guard position and hope the other 3 are replaced. Lundblade, Robinson and Wilson need to be either pushed for their job or replaced.
Brandon Pertile(Jr)-6'6 310- came in with an injury and didn't contribute. How serious is the injury? How good could he be? Lots of questions to many unknowns to count on help for next year.
Paul Lewis(Sr)- 6'3 295- wick recruit. Undersized and not suited for big 12 level. Not going to say anything more. Just not the answer.
Lamaefe Galea'i(so) - 6'5 325- there is a lot of hope with this kid and probably one we actually did justice to by not forcing him into playing. He has the size to be a big 12 olineman he just needs to prove he is fast enough and strong enough. There is hope with this young man.
Deionte Noel(so)- 6'3 315- I don't know anything about this young man and how he is progressing. He has good size for a young olineman and another we didn't push into playing right away. Be interesting to hear if anybody has any info on how he is progressing in practice.
Johnny Wilson(fr) -6'3 297- this kid has the attitude. He has that bad ass attitude I'm looking for on the oline. He is decent size and will be over 300 if he isn't already. I expect he pushes to be a starting center which is the perfect size for. Has a mean streak. Have a lot of hope for this young man that he is good enough to take one of the starting oline spots.
Marcus Keys(fr)- 6'4 280- have heard great things considering he was a flyer we took in last years recruiting class. Unless he is Russell okung he is still not big enough and to young to be a factor next year. Looking forward to a bright future though.
Jaxon Salinas(Jr)- 6'4 305- just not seeing him as someone that will ever contribute.
Mathew Mucha(so)6'6 285 - have also heard great things about Mucha. Still undersized for my liking for the big 12. He should be ready to add depth next year if needed but I don't think he should be counted on yet to be a starter.
Now if you look at the above list guys to be blunt and honest it isn't pretty by big 12 standards. It's undersized and out matched in strength and missing attitude and aggressiveness. I'm not saying they aren't laying it on the line for osu. And again, to be fair to them they have had no consistency from their position group. It's been a complete mess for the past 3 years. That can do damage to an oline so I actually think those kids above deserve a lot of credit for what they have done. Now for the recruits coming in who honestly need to push these guys:
Tyler Brown 6'6 315 - this is exactly what we need right here. Kid has more size coming in then a lot of our current olineman. From what I hear is a heck of an athlete and can move his feet very well. Osu fans should be very excited about this take because it's exactly the direction we need to be going. Not saying he is coming and starting but to be honest he may not be far off. I'm not joking when I say this kid is going to be good right away and may push our guards. Great guard prospect. I wouldn't put it past him to make some noise in fall camp and make the two deep. Love this recruit and we need more like him.
Dylan Galloway- 6'5 271 - I like this take simply because he reminds me of this years version of Marcus keys. He doesn't have the size now but at 271 and a 6'5 frame he has room to grow. He won't play right away and needs to redshirt and get bigger but have also heard some good things about his footwork. A good future offensive tackle prospect. Ideally we shouldn't see him until he is a junior......unless of course he is a Russell okung.
Tevin Jenkins 6'6 300- like tyler brown this is what we need to be bringing in. I don't think he will be as far along as tyler brown but I do think he will push after a year or two in the program. I don't see him as a tackle but more of a guard. I don't think he is quick enough to be a tackle. He and tyler brown make for a bright future at the guard position. Both have great size as young guys coming into the program.
Ryan McCollum 6'6 270- kid has the attitude again that we need. Very different in size and position than Johnny Wilson but these two play with the attitude we need and that is missing along the oline. I see him being a tackle prospect that needs to put on weight. The hope is that between him, Keyes, Galloway, and Mucha we can develop some pretty solid tackle prospects that we don't have to push into playing time like we have had to do in our current situation.
Larry Williams- 6'5 339- here is what you have to hope is the take of the oline recruiting class. We have to hope he is ready to start from day one cowboy fans. This guy needs to shake up our oline. Here is what I like: he is big. The mammoth I was talking about Baylor and ou seem to have. He played at east Carolina so he knows what it takes to play d1 ball. He is a former wrestler so that may really help him with leverage and attitude. We must be careful that we don't put on his shoulders what we did on Salakos. The big questions that will have to be answered in practice are is he fast enough to play tackle and push Salako inside to guard?
Or is he himself a guard? What we do with Salako and Williams is the key. We may judge Salako off this year and maybe be to hard on him. Another year in the program and a chance to adjust to big 12 level competition may do him a world of good for next year. The fact is if Williams is for real and ready to play he could be a shot in the arm to this oline. One it really needs that I don't think anyone else is really as capable as providing as he is. Let's hope he is ready and doesn't flake out like some of last years Juco's.
