There is no way to sugarcoat it, the play of the Bulldogs offensive line last season was poor. It was an experienced group led by two senior tackles that was expected to be the strength of the team, instead, they underperformed all season. With Rob Sale out and Coach Pittman in, the expectation is for the offensive line take a big step forward in 2016.
First, he is going to have to determine the starting five. The starting five question could be determined early in camp. If Tyler Catalina can prove that he can handle the RT position then that will allow Greg Pyke to shift back to his familiar RG position with Wynn at LT, Sims at LG and Kublanow at C. I believe that would be Coach Pittman’s preferred five.
Second, he needs to determine the others players that are ready for a reserve role to spell the starters or in case of injury. In the spring Lamont Galliard and Kendall Baker showed that they were probably the closest to be ready to contribute. But also play close attention to Pat Allen and true freshmen Ben Cleveland as both have a great deal of raw talent.
Third, and probably his biggest decision, is what type of blocking scheme Pittman will use. In a 2010 article written by Buck Sanders of Scout.com, Pittman (while OL Coach at North Carolina) provided an analysis of the three blocking schemes and when they are used:
Zone Blocking
“Zone blocking teams want to cover their linemen. I mean, that the bottom line and that’s why you saw us go towards a huge zone scheme toward the latter part of the year, because we wanted to cover our linemen for movement.”
Gap Blocking
“Your gap teams are your smash mouth teams, but most teams that are zone teams are also a gap teams at times.”
Man Blocking
“When you start talking about man schemes, you better be really good. A man scheme is when you put your linemen in a one-on-one block regardless of movement…Those (man blocking) schemes are effective when your guy is just better than the guy he is assigned to block. You are betting you can physically whip your opponent.”
In the same article Pittman went on to say that, “You go into games with different runs based on the configuration of the defense, or based on who they have over there”. In other words, the answer to the question above is that you will probably see the Bulldogs use some of each scheme. However, what will be the Bulldogs “go to” on that big third-and-short situation.
There is potential in this unit based on the combination of talent and experience. There is also the need for the offensive line to play at a much higher level than last season. With the Dawgs potentially starting a true freshmen at QB and a true freshmen potentially getting a number of carries early in the season, the offensive line can make their life much easier.
As reddaqg said below we all have our opinions, but coaches are going to play who gives them best opportunity to win. I follow Dawgs as close as my other fan and lineups suggested below are pretty well right except I do not see Catalina starting even at right tackle. More talented guys on roster. Also the comment about not signing enough 5 star OL the last few years, there is a reason, they a re not there. Evidence how many are we signing this year zero. Agree Pittman should be a huge upgrade over the inexperienced Sale, although think Friend would have done well had he been around a little longer. Our last 2 centers both 3 stars are in the league so stars not always correct for OL.
Greg Poole DawgZilla and it is why we all come on here to get and give opinions and hang with friends!
DawgZilla DawgDaddy I’ll give you my opinion on why I believe the starting 5 will be as I listed:
LT – Isaiah Wynn – Last season in his time at LT he more than held his own against quality competition. While he is shorter than your typical left tackle he has an insane wingspan and is incredibly athletic. He can handle the undersized pass rushing specialists better than anyone on the roster.
LG – Dyshon Sims – Sims was one of the stand outs of spring practice. He is another athletic guy who has put on some really good weight. The concern with him is whether or not he will be consistent and be reliable with following his assignments. If he is not consistent, Galliard is waiting in the wings.
C – Kublanow – We all know he is the man at center.
RG – Greg Pyke – Pyke’s best position is at guard and I believe that in the ideal world he would line up at RG. I think him playing at RT in the spring was moreso out of necessity and also just to see if it was perhaps a better fit.
RT – Tyler Catalina – I know Catalina badly wants to play LT but watching a little bit of him from Rhode Island I just don’t know if he has the feet to protect the QB’s blindside. However, at the RT position I think he has the ability to be a road grading run blocker.
It is all just an educated guess based on what I have seen. It could certainly change dependent upon how hard people worked over course of the summer in the weight room.
Reddawg13 DawgByte I agree with you completely that Lamont Galliard is going to be the backup this center and I think he has a world of potential at the center position.
DawgZilla BTW, opinion is what sportswriters do. I that were not the case, there could be no content other than post-game or post-practice stories.
Reddawg13 I would argue that we have had some talent but we have not had the coaching to allow them to reach their potential. However, we certainly have not been able to land 5-star recruits on a consistent basis.
DawgByte I believe Galliard gives Kubs some rest this year and I have faith in him to get the job done. I totally agree on Hardin!
I still can’t believe that we were so lacking in O line talent and coaching the last 5 to 7 years.
We spend a lot of time talking about the open Tackle position; rightly so, however equally important is finding a rock solid backup for Kublanow at Center. The Center position is the second most important on a football team and we need to start building for the future. I’d like to see Sage Hardin get some work at Center.
Good article Huck!
Greg Poole DawgZilla Check the arms and chest on Wynn that is muscle weight. Check the gut and arms on Bynum.
DawgZilla I assume you got the Wynn weight from the roster. You’ll notice that it also lists Eason at 211, and we know that is incorrect. When I took the picture at the top of the page and spoke with Wynn and Aulden Bynum, they both appeared to be in the 290+ range to me. Bynum is listed at 268.
DawgDaddy I love how all of these bloggers, writers, reporters, etc., all college football “experts”, write comments as if they were much more than pure, unadulterated conjecture…total and complete speculation…stabs in the dark. I could go on, but you get the picture. I don’t know many people that keep up with all things Dawgs football better than me, and I don’t have a clue who the starting five will be or who will play where. I do know that Catalina didn’t transfer here to play right tackle..he said so himself. The “experts” would have us believe that because he played at URI, (25 games as a starter) that he can’t possibly be talented or experienced enough to play on the “blind side”. I, for one, am not about to write this kid off until it becomes truly obvious and crystal clear that we wasted a scolly on him. Both Smart and Pittman have watched his films and scrutinized his technique, I promise you. I’m pretty sure they would not have offered him this opportunity if they hadn’t deemed him worthy of their time and attention, especially during spring practice. And one final thought… Isaiah Wynn is still only 278 pounds? Really? Is he not eating properly? Is he not lifting and working out properly? Jacob Eason has put on over thirty pounds since arriving in January. Wynn has been here how long? Last year he had to kind of play out of position and out of necessity. Good technique is a great asset, and he can’t do much about his height, but if he wants to be a quality, effective offensive lineman, he needs to gain some good muscular weight, which will also increase his strength. I believe Catalina possesses both qualities and will prove to be invaluable this first year under the new staff. I believe Smart and his staff will continue recruiting at an elite level, and are at the beginning stages of building something very special here.
countryboy439 I agree. Recruiting suffered because of underfunding the OL room with ‘ships and Friends’ refusal to redshirt. Of course, Friend had to deal with the low numbers also and that contributed to his RS decisions.
IYH_BI DawgDaddy I cringe when assigning personal blame. DAWGS talent level in general, was sliding lower for 3-4 years. We had no depth at all.
DawgDaddy I agree with you – Coach Pittman should be a major upgrade over Rob Sale. In my opinion Sale was just as much of the problem as Schottenheimer last season.
Good insight Huck! I will be watching to see which scheme we use most often, I think Coach Pittman will have the line performing at a higher level.