OFFENSIVE LINE
When I think of the “offensive line” last year, I am reminded of an old “Wizard of Id” comic gag. There is a panel where when one of the guards frantically runs to the king who is sitting on his throne.
“The peasants are revolting,” the guard cries out in earnest.
In the next panel, the disinterested king just rolls his eyes, “Yes, they certainly are.”
Well last year, the play of the offensive line was certainly “offensive” to most Husker fans for much of the year. Certainly, injuries played their part. A fall camp injury to Gerald Foster put the offensive line behind schedule and they never seemed to be able to catch up. But what really bothered fans was time and time again, when players went down, scholarship players were bypassed by walk on players and a surgically reconstructed veteran of limited upside. Where were the scholarship players? Were the young pups really that far away? How did it get this bad?
To make matters worse, our best offensive lineman (arguably) had moved from RT to LT and seemed to struggle and the loss of TE Cethan Carter to injury (CC was a GREAT blocking TE) hurt far more than most fans realized. As the season progressed, other teams figured out one important theme to beating the Huskers OL—simply throw a twist at them and they became like keystone cops. The communication was terrible and the line performed worse and worse as the season progressed.
With most of the OL returning and four OL coming off their redshirt years, is it reasonable to expect improvement in 2017? Let’s take a look. As usual, I will split up the interior and exterior of the OL into two groups.
OFFENSIVE TACKLE
Perhaps no position has been as poorly recruited over the years as offensive tackle—in particular, left tackle. Bill Callahan knew the lesson very well way back when he took over—having an athletic left tackle is a must in any pro-style offense. But he found that recruiting premium left tackles to the program challenging as he came in a close second or third in a countless number of fierce recruiting battles for premium LT’s.
Not much has changed over the years. We have had some good LT’s—usually players more suited for other positions or transfer players. In the spring, it was widely discussed that the current roster does not contain one single true left tackle. Virtually every tackle on the roster is more suited for RT—if not more suited to move inside to guard.
So, starting at LT this year will be redshirt junior Nick Gates. Gates was a freshman All American his freshman year at RT. Given our shallow numbers at OT over all, Gates was moved to LT to replace the outgoing senior LT at that time. Gates seemed to be doing okay at his new position until he hurt his ankle somewhere around midseason. He struggled mightily after that culminating in an embarrassingly bad performance against Tennessee in the Bowl game.
To be fair, Gates was hurt and going against one of the best players in the country. The coaches have admitted they did Gates no favors by not providing him with any help. The truth was, whenever the staff tried to help Gates out by bringing the TE over to his side or perhaps using a guard for a double-team, an even bigger issue popped up somewhere else. So Gates was left exposed and unforgiving fans heaped more frustration upon him than was probably fair.
Then in the spring, Gates seemed like a ghost of his old self. He lost some weight in the offseason and seemed to lack his usual spark and cockiness. He was said to be shaken by his poor performance and some fans feared the worst.
But in reality, Gates had learned a valuable lesson. He had put on some weight in 2016 and that had slowed him down somewhat and may have contributed to his injury. Gates decided to reshape his body and in the spring, he was slimmed down with idea of putting on some solid weight in the summer.
This fall, Gates looks like his old self again—physically and mentally. He is said to have had an outstanding camp. Gates plays with a nasty disposition and being embarrassed may be the best tonic for him in the long run. This team needs Gates to be healthy and . . . well, Gates. Regardless rather he is better at LT, RT, or even guard, one observer this fall said it best, “Gates is the least of our OL problems.” That statement can be taken as good (for Gates) or bad (for the rest of the OL) however, it was meant as a compliment to Gates. He can be counted on when the chips are down. Fans certainly hope that is the case.
If fans are worried about Gates at LT, then they might close their eyes for the next part about RT. Back by unpopular demand is last years’ projected RT—fifth year senior David Knevel. I say projected as most of his starts resulted in him removing himself from the lineup often within the first series of plays. Knevel just couldn’t stay healthy last year and even when he was healthy, there are statues with more mobility than he showed. Was this a result of the injuries? I’ve always said that it is hard to grade injured players. Knevel might not have ever been healthy last year. Who knows if what we saw was really Knevel or not.
Knevel is simply a massive human being. Listed at 6’ 9”, Knevel has more than enough size for the position. Scouts have always drooled over his frame, however Knevel played very little football in high school and has been quite the project from the time he arrived in Lincoln. Last spring and fall, we were told that the light bulb had gone off for Knevel only to have injuries cloud the issue during the regular season. He is said (once again) to have had a great spring and fall camp and the word is that he is more determined and playing with more passion this year than at any time in his career—including last year. But there are still those though who question his toughness and love for the game. Again, it is so hard to evaluate injured players. If Knevel can harness his potential, his development could go a long way in helping the offensive line to improve in 2017.
Last year, when David Knevel would often limp off the field with an injury—often times after the third or fourth play of the game—the player who replaced him was then sophomore Cole Conrad. This spring, Knevel and Conrad were locked in a battle for the RT position when Conrad was moved to center. More on that later. This not only meant that the job was Knevel’s, but also that redshirt freshman Matt Farniok was the likely back up at the position. Fans hoped that the move of Conrad was a sign that the coaches had confidence that Farniok was ready.
Farniok is considered by many to be the future of the RT position. The question remains, how soon does the future start? Should Knevel falter, the future may start sooner rather than later. Farniok was a key piece in an outstanding recruiting class of OL that fans hope will be the foundation of future success. There was some talk that he could have played last year if needed, but now that his redshirt year has passed, look for him to receive as much playing time as the coaches can work for him. Farniok is big and plays nasty—just the way we like them. He is ferocious in run blocking and has been working hard on his footwork for pass blocking. He has had a great camp and the thinking is that he is very close but perhaps still needs just a bit more time before he is 100% ready. He also has been working out at LG however, some of this is simply to increase his versatility and give him more chances to play depending on injuries. Farniok is a major fan favorite, and his progress could be one of the main storylines for 2017.
Backing up the LT position is redshirt sophomore Christian Gaylord. Gaylord is a solid tackle prospect however, he may still be a season away. He is said to have had a good spring and fall camp however, he might not be the solution if Gates is seriously injured.
The long term solution may be true freshman Brenden Jaimes. Jaimes is a rarity on the squad—a true left tackle. Jaimes has impressed mightily in the fall and there are those who wonder if he should play right away. Perhaps he could take over at LT and Gates could slide back to RT. That isn’t the plan, but don’t be surprised if there are injuries or if things go wrong that the coaches give some serious consideration to that idea. At this point, Jaimes is truly the future at LT and might be the absolute steal of last years’ class.
Two other incoming freshmen have impressed in fall camp—Matt Sichterman and Chris Walker. Sichterman is a versatile lineman who could play RT or slide inside to guard. Walker is a massive workout warrior who could still move across the line to the DL if necessary.
I have listed redshirt freshman OL Bryan Brokop as a guard however, he has the possibility of swinging outside to OT. Unfortunately Brokop was left off the 105 man fall roster and has simply not developed enough to help any OL position.
Redshirt freshman John Raridon is listed as a center but could also move outside to OT at some point—but not this year for sure.
And always remember that super versatile Cole Conrad could always swing back to help the OT position if injuries dictate.
In 2018, Knevel is gone. Then let the games begin. Can Brenden Jaimes take over at LT and allow Gates to slide to RT his senior season? What of Matt Farniok? Will he be ready to nail down the RT spot or perhaps will he already have nailed it down in 2017? Sichterman and Walker should be interesting to watch by then. Perhaps the biggest wild card could be Christian Gaylord. Will he show any improvement by then? Is Cole Conrad still a center at this point or could he move back to OT?
In 2019, Gates is gone. Hopefully Jaimes, Farniok, and company are well established by then.
It isn’t clear what the recruiting strategy is at this point for OT. The Huskers seemed to be looking for 2 OT’s in this class but lately the talk has been one OT. This is one of the rare positions where the Huskers are recruiting a JUCO OT and have two prime targets who they are working for—although the competition is fierce. They are also recruiting high school OT’s. Would they take a high school OT AND a JUCO OT? It sounds from their comments that they are only taking one but fans wonder. In any case, they are not necessarily leading with any of the OT targets on the board, so the point may end up being moot.
Offensive Line continued on next post . . .
When I think of the “offensive line” last year, I am reminded of an old “Wizard of Id” comic gag. There is a panel where when one of the guards frantically runs to the king who is sitting on his throne.
“The peasants are revolting,” the guard cries out in earnest.
In the next panel, the disinterested king just rolls his eyes, “Yes, they certainly are.”
Well last year, the play of the offensive line was certainly “offensive” to most Husker fans for much of the year. Certainly, injuries played their part. A fall camp injury to Gerald Foster put the offensive line behind schedule and they never seemed to be able to catch up. But what really bothered fans was time and time again, when players went down, scholarship players were bypassed by walk on players and a surgically reconstructed veteran of limited upside. Where were the scholarship players? Were the young pups really that far away? How did it get this bad?
To make matters worse, our best offensive lineman (arguably) had moved from RT to LT and seemed to struggle and the loss of TE Cethan Carter to injury (CC was a GREAT blocking TE) hurt far more than most fans realized. As the season progressed, other teams figured out one important theme to beating the Huskers OL—simply throw a twist at them and they became like keystone cops. The communication was terrible and the line performed worse and worse as the season progressed.
With most of the OL returning and four OL coming off their redshirt years, is it reasonable to expect improvement in 2017? Let’s take a look. As usual, I will split up the interior and exterior of the OL into two groups.
OFFENSIVE TACKLE
Perhaps no position has been as poorly recruited over the years as offensive tackle—in particular, left tackle. Bill Callahan knew the lesson very well way back when he took over—having an athletic left tackle is a must in any pro-style offense. But he found that recruiting premium left tackles to the program challenging as he came in a close second or third in a countless number of fierce recruiting battles for premium LT’s.
Not much has changed over the years. We have had some good LT’s—usually players more suited for other positions or transfer players. In the spring, it was widely discussed that the current roster does not contain one single true left tackle. Virtually every tackle on the roster is more suited for RT—if not more suited to move inside to guard.
So, starting at LT this year will be redshirt junior Nick Gates. Gates was a freshman All American his freshman year at RT. Given our shallow numbers at OT over all, Gates was moved to LT to replace the outgoing senior LT at that time. Gates seemed to be doing okay at his new position until he hurt his ankle somewhere around midseason. He struggled mightily after that culminating in an embarrassingly bad performance against Tennessee in the Bowl game.
To be fair, Gates was hurt and going against one of the best players in the country. The coaches have admitted they did Gates no favors by not providing him with any help. The truth was, whenever the staff tried to help Gates out by bringing the TE over to his side or perhaps using a guard for a double-team, an even bigger issue popped up somewhere else. So Gates was left exposed and unforgiving fans heaped more frustration upon him than was probably fair.
Then in the spring, Gates seemed like a ghost of his old self. He lost some weight in the offseason and seemed to lack his usual spark and cockiness. He was said to be shaken by his poor performance and some fans feared the worst.
But in reality, Gates had learned a valuable lesson. He had put on some weight in 2016 and that had slowed him down somewhat and may have contributed to his injury. Gates decided to reshape his body and in the spring, he was slimmed down with idea of putting on some solid weight in the summer.
This fall, Gates looks like his old self again—physically and mentally. He is said to have had an outstanding camp. Gates plays with a nasty disposition and being embarrassed may be the best tonic for him in the long run. This team needs Gates to be healthy and . . . well, Gates. Regardless rather he is better at LT, RT, or even guard, one observer this fall said it best, “Gates is the least of our OL problems.” That statement can be taken as good (for Gates) or bad (for the rest of the OL) however, it was meant as a compliment to Gates. He can be counted on when the chips are down. Fans certainly hope that is the case.
If fans are worried about Gates at LT, then they might close their eyes for the next part about RT. Back by unpopular demand is last years’ projected RT—fifth year senior David Knevel. I say projected as most of his starts resulted in him removing himself from the lineup often within the first series of plays. Knevel just couldn’t stay healthy last year and even when he was healthy, there are statues with more mobility than he showed. Was this a result of the injuries? I’ve always said that it is hard to grade injured players. Knevel might not have ever been healthy last year. Who knows if what we saw was really Knevel or not.
Knevel is simply a massive human being. Listed at 6’ 9”, Knevel has more than enough size for the position. Scouts have always drooled over his frame, however Knevel played very little football in high school and has been quite the project from the time he arrived in Lincoln. Last spring and fall, we were told that the light bulb had gone off for Knevel only to have injuries cloud the issue during the regular season. He is said (once again) to have had a great spring and fall camp and the word is that he is more determined and playing with more passion this year than at any time in his career—including last year. But there are still those though who question his toughness and love for the game. Again, it is so hard to evaluate injured players. If Knevel can harness his potential, his development could go a long way in helping the offensive line to improve in 2017.
Last year, when David Knevel would often limp off the field with an injury—often times after the third or fourth play of the game—the player who replaced him was then sophomore Cole Conrad. This spring, Knevel and Conrad were locked in a battle for the RT position when Conrad was moved to center. More on that later. This not only meant that the job was Knevel’s, but also that redshirt freshman Matt Farniok was the likely back up at the position. Fans hoped that the move of Conrad was a sign that the coaches had confidence that Farniok was ready.
Farniok is considered by many to be the future of the RT position. The question remains, how soon does the future start? Should Knevel falter, the future may start sooner rather than later. Farniok was a key piece in an outstanding recruiting class of OL that fans hope will be the foundation of future success. There was some talk that he could have played last year if needed, but now that his redshirt year has passed, look for him to receive as much playing time as the coaches can work for him. Farniok is big and plays nasty—just the way we like them. He is ferocious in run blocking and has been working hard on his footwork for pass blocking. He has had a great camp and the thinking is that he is very close but perhaps still needs just a bit more time before he is 100% ready. He also has been working out at LG however, some of this is simply to increase his versatility and give him more chances to play depending on injuries. Farniok is a major fan favorite, and his progress could be one of the main storylines for 2017.
Backing up the LT position is redshirt sophomore Christian Gaylord. Gaylord is a solid tackle prospect however, he may still be a season away. He is said to have had a good spring and fall camp however, he might not be the solution if Gates is seriously injured.
The long term solution may be true freshman Brenden Jaimes. Jaimes is a rarity on the squad—a true left tackle. Jaimes has impressed mightily in the fall and there are those who wonder if he should play right away. Perhaps he could take over at LT and Gates could slide back to RT. That isn’t the plan, but don’t be surprised if there are injuries or if things go wrong that the coaches give some serious consideration to that idea. At this point, Jaimes is truly the future at LT and might be the absolute steal of last years’ class.
Two other incoming freshmen have impressed in fall camp—Matt Sichterman and Chris Walker. Sichterman is a versatile lineman who could play RT or slide inside to guard. Walker is a massive workout warrior who could still move across the line to the DL if necessary.
I have listed redshirt freshman OL Bryan Brokop as a guard however, he has the possibility of swinging outside to OT. Unfortunately Brokop was left off the 105 man fall roster and has simply not developed enough to help any OL position.
Redshirt freshman John Raridon is listed as a center but could also move outside to OT at some point—but not this year for sure.
And always remember that super versatile Cole Conrad could always swing back to help the OT position if injuries dictate.
In 2018, Knevel is gone. Then let the games begin. Can Brenden Jaimes take over at LT and allow Gates to slide to RT his senior season? What of Matt Farniok? Will he be ready to nail down the RT spot or perhaps will he already have nailed it down in 2017? Sichterman and Walker should be interesting to watch by then. Perhaps the biggest wild card could be Christian Gaylord. Will he show any improvement by then? Is Cole Conrad still a center at this point or could he move back to OT?
In 2019, Gates is gone. Hopefully Jaimes, Farniok, and company are well established by then.
It isn’t clear what the recruiting strategy is at this point for OT. The Huskers seemed to be looking for 2 OT’s in this class but lately the talk has been one OT. This is one of the rare positions where the Huskers are recruiting a JUCO OT and have two prime targets who they are working for—although the competition is fierce. They are also recruiting high school OT’s. Would they take a high school OT AND a JUCO OT? It sounds from their comments that they are only taking one but fans wonder. In any case, they are not necessarily leading with any of the OT targets on the board, so the point may end up being moot.
Offensive Line continued on next post . . .
Last edited:
