What was your take on Grimes' starting OL...

[keesler 5,961]

Games are won and lost in the trenches.  We need dominating lines on both sides of the ball if we want to compete for the championship this year.  The guys better man up, and quick.

[IronMan70 3,322]

My take is that we had some guys hobbled and Grimes wanted to see what he had if he needed to rely on different combinations. Come September, I don't see us starting any TrFreshmen at the important RT slot. I think the guys that start will be the ones who have been here awhile and are not only talented but the strongest. As I said on another thread, I think it is very important for Coach G to name his starters as soon as he can so they can get as many reps together as possible and begin to play as a unit. I think in the end, taking the above into consideration, the starters will be these guys.

Starters:

LT- Robinson (stronger now, big, mean)

LG- Westerman (stronger now, bigger now, real mean)

C- Dismukes (stronger, experienced)

RG- Sullen (strong, big, experienced)

RT- Slade (stronger, big, experienced)

I think the exception above will be in switching Westerman and Sullen to put an experienced guy next to the first year starter on both sides. But note, I like "mean" on the QB's blind side.

First in:

Guard- Mack

Tackle- Miller (as of now), Coleman (fingers crossed here), Diamond (depends on how quick he learns).

Center- Fariyike

You do know the opposing defenses are getting bigger and stronger as well right? It's not like we are the only team that is hitting the weights and being coached up, while the others just chill.

Having any type of Freshman on the OL (regardless whethere they are true, early enrollee, or redshirt) still raises question marks and yes, I understand a redshirt has more practice experience than an EE, and EE has more experience than a guy that comes in the summer.

I don't care if they were a 5 star and redshirted, they have never played a single snap of SEC football so you don't know how they are going to respond as a freshman. The OL IMO is the hardest position to play as a freshman.

How do I know Lee Ziemba and Ryan Pugh were going to be solid players in 2010, because I saw them play and how the responded on the field the previous seasons. Nobody on here knows how Robinson, Miller, Westerman, etc are going to pan out. They could be great, they could be average, or they could be bad....I believe they have the potential to dominate in a few years, but not as freshman.

All I know is our OL is full of nothing but freshmen, sophomores, and one senior (Sullen) and that spells disaster IMO

To answer your question, yes I know the other teams' defenses are getting stronger too and that we aren't the only team hitting the weights and getting coached up. Yep, that's why I said a true freshman wont start , they normally don't have the strength to compete.

To address your other points. Yes, in the progression of the OL, normally an Upperclassman > a Soph> a RFr > EE > TRFr. Also yes, we don't know how a 5* will turn out until they play and we don't know how RFr Robinson, RFr Westerman, EEFr Miller will "pan out". Yes, our OL is full of RFr, Sophs and one Sr and it could "spell disaster". All those points are obvious and I would agree. But it is what it is and the fact remains it doesn't change where we are now.

Now, Robinson IS going to start, either Westerman or Mack WILL start, Dismukes WILL start. So the question then becomes, taking into account several of the obvious points in your post, if you don't start 3 of those 4 guys, who would you start ? As I said, I think it is what it is. They are going to have to do the job now not later.

I also don't think there is better training in the SEC for a new starting offensive lineman like a Robinson,Westerman or Mack then to go up against Auburn's starting DL every day.  They wont face SEC opposition much better than DEs Lemonier, Ford and DTs Whitaker, Wright (among others) coupled with the pressing DL system Van Gorder is using. That will get them ready but one of the most important factors is getting them in one spot, playing together as a unit.      

   

[IronMan70 3,322]

Games are won and lost in the trenches.  We need dominating lines on both sides of the ball if we want to compete for the championship this year.  The guys better man up, and quick.

Yep

[chimesAU 89]

My take is that we had some guys hobbled and Grimes wanted to see what he had if he needed to rely on different combinations. Come September, I don't see us starting any TrFreshmen at the important RT slot. I think the guys that start will be the ones who have been here awhile and are not only talented but the strongest. As I said on another thread, I think it is very important for Coach G to name his starters as soon as he can so they can get as many reps together as possible and begin to play as a unit. I think in the end, taking the above into consideration, the starters will be these guys.

Starters:

LT- Robinson (stronger now, big, mean)

LG- Westerman (stronger now, bigger now, real mean)

C- Dismukes (stronger, experienced)

RG- Sullen (strong, big, experienced)

RT- Slade (stronger, big, experienced)

I think the exception above will be in switching Westerman and Sullen to put an experienced guy next to the first year starter on both sides. But note, I like "mean" on the QB's blind side.

First in:

Guard- Mack

Tackle- Miller (as of now), Coleman (fingers crossed here), Diamond (depends on how quick he learns).

Center- Fariyike

You do know the opposing defenses are getting bigger and stronger as well right? It's not like we are the only team that is hitting the weights and being coached up, while the others just chill.

Slow your roll there, Chief. Not every defense gets bigger and stronger than they were the year before. Sometimes teams lose their biggest and strongest guys to the NFL draft or graduation. One glaring example of this would be the 2011 Auburn Tigers. We didn't exactly get bigger and stronger than we were for our National Championship run, did we? I don't have the stats in front of me, but I'm pretty sure Clemson lost pretty much their whole D-line from last year. I don't expect them to be bigger and stronger this year.

[YaBoyMaxWeezy 0]

Yeah Clemson lost all their DL (I think) so they are filling those spots with new bodies, just like we are on OL....

[chimesAU 89]

Yeah Clemson lost all their DL (I think) so they are filling those spots with new bodies, just like we are on OL....

Your point was that teams consistently get bigger and stronger every year and that simply isn't the case. Our team will be bigger and stronger than they were last year. The same can't be said for all of the other teams on our schedule.

[paurfunkel 0]

Yeah Clemson lost all their DL (I think) so they are filling those spots with new bodies, just like we are on OL....

Also, we aren't losing people but gaining them. Gaining redshirts on top of our young OL from last year.

[DyeEraTiger 0]

Jeff Grimes know what he is doing. I don't.

:believe:

I echo this, WarEagleAU. Fortunately though, we are here to help you along.

[bikeriderga 135]

OLine is certainly an unknown, but I think we are in better shape than we were last year.

Prosch will make a huge difference in running game and pass protection, IMHO!! If he is not cleared, that is definitely going to hurt..

[YaBoyMaxWeezy 0]

Yeah Clemson lost all their DL (I think) so they are filling those spots with new bodies, just like we are on OL....

Your point was that teams consistently get bigger and stronger every year and that simply isn't the case. Our team will be bigger and stronger than they were last year. The same can't be said for all of the other teams on our schedule.

Where did I say anything about every year? So establish a point in time, lets say April 1, 2012, by September 1, 2012, it's not like we are going to seperate ourselves from the other school with respect to a strength and experience stand point. Most of the teams (especially in the SEC) are improving around the same rate....like i said...

"You do know the opposing defenses are getting bigger and stronger as well right? It's not like we are the only team that is hitting the weights and being coached up, while the others just chill. "

[chimesAU 89]

Ironman's point was that we are bigger and stronger than last year. You countered with "you think we're the only ones working out"? Yeah everybody's working out but some of those teams lost some of their big time players from last year. We really didn't lose much.

Of course, from April 1st- September 1st we aren't going to surpass other teams in terms of physical strength and experience. We surpassed those teams in January, when they lost integral players and we didn't.

[wardon1345162806 0]

Yeah Clemson lost all their DL (I think) so they are filling those spots with new bodies, just like we are on OL....

Also, we aren't losing people but gaining them. Gaining redshirts on top of our young OL from last year.

In regards to Clemson, they return something like 61 guys that were FR & SO from last years' roster, they will have a pretty experienced team in ATL-

[autan 811]

I think many of you are underrating Miller. He was my No. 1 "Must Get" OL recruit a year ago and I was very disappointed when he committed to LSU.  I was elated when he signed with the good duys in Jan.  If you remember I said it will be hard to keep him out of the starting lineup.  He's that good plus we didn't have many true OTs for Spring.  CJG is not one to over-hype his young linemen and I don't believe he likes to start or even play freshmen, so we will see. Dismukes was a special situation that couldn't be avoided, apparently.  Almost everyone on this board has been very critical of last years OL.  Mosely was arguably our best offensive lineman (2nd team All-SEC I believe). The others played at below average SEC quality overall I would say.  Some were signed as projects and they have come a long way under Coach Grimes watchful eye.  That being said we have signed some extremely talented young men in the last two classes who have a higher upside in my opinion.  I think CJG has gone with the experienced guys this spring but the young guys are nipping at their heels.  I really think in the end he will go with the most talented/skilled first five.

[keesler 5,961]

Thank goodness Clempsum lost their whole Dline, that will help our Oline even more than I thought.  It should give our guys some great experience against a completely green oponent to start our season off with a big WIN in the Dome.

[BPI 0]

Dismukes , Sullen , Robinson , and Slade have some experience. Miller or Westerman not so much. But Reese did well his true freshman year. Perhaps the true freshman starter will do the same.

[AUwent 3,841]

In regards to Clemson, they return something like 61 guys that were FR & SO from last years' roster, they will have a pretty experienced team in ATL-

Boyd, Watkins and Ellington are experienced, yes--but does the following sound familiar?

Clemson returns many skill players and as a result they obtain a high pre-season ranking and establish themselves as a huge favorite in the CFA Kickoff Game against a team from Alabama that had a disappointing season the year before  that has a lot of questions for the coming year. Few, of course, look to their inexperience on the lines...

Last year's pre-season I was shocked by how many were doubting Clemson and calling them "young", looking at how many seniors they had on their lines. They'll be an extremely challenging matchup, don't get me wrong, but have plenty of reasons for hope in the upcoming contest in Hotlanta. (BTW, the Alabama-Clemson 2008 matchup does NOT mean I'm projecting an undefeated season for us, and definitely not a blowout.)

[BPI 0]

Agreed. They whipped us up front last year. We got zero pressure on Boyd. Was still a close game till the third quarter, then the big uglies took over and we did what we did the rest of the season.....Laid down. Hurt to watch that game.

[IronMan70 3,322]

Dismukes , Sullen , Robinson , and Slade have some experience. Miller or Westerman not so much. But Reese did well his true freshman year. Perhaps the true freshman starter will do the same.

Robinson and Westerman are both RFr with the same experience. Both being in the system and on the weights for a year now.

[TigerWar 82]

Yeah Clemson lost all their DL (I think) so they are filling those spots with new bodies, just like we are on OL....

Your point was that teams consistently get bigger and stronger every year and that simply isn't the case. Our team will be bigger and stronger than they were last year. The same can't be said for all of the other teams on our schedule.

Where did I say anything about every year? So establish a point in time, lets say April 1, 2012, by September 1, 2012, it's not like we are going to seperate ourselves from the other school with respect to a strength and experience stand point. Most of the teams (especially in the SEC) are improving around the same rate....like i said...

"You do know the opposing defenses are getting bigger and stronger as well right? It's not like we are the only team that is hitting the weights and being coached up, while the others just chill. "

I personally think Greg Robinson will be named to the Freshmen All-American team and our line will be better than the 2011 version, which isn't saying a whole lot. Grimes didn't have to redshirt Robinson and Westerman, but he's getting to the point where he has that luxury to rs 4 & 5-Stars when you sign guys like the two aforementioned, plus guys like Jordan Diamond and Avery Young. Grimes is building one of the strongest offensive lines in the nation along with Stanford. The updykes have a hell of an OL, too. Sure would be nice to have Cyrus Kuoundjo manning one of the tackle spots. Cheatin' bammers.

[TigerWar 82]

Dismukes , Sullen , Robinson , and Slade have some experience. Miller or Westerman not so much. But Reese did well his true freshman year. Perhaps the true freshman starter will do the same.

No doubt Dismukes did well; he was a Freshman All-American.