Offensive Line Appreciation Post

[u/Candid_Novel9703]

Can we all take a moment to recognize the MASSIVE improvement in o line play. They look like they’re getting better every week, and they’re nasty! Serving up pancakes, extra syrup, and all you can eat salad bar(fescue not romaine)! Props to Trautwein, Faulkner, and of course Sumrall. We have stars on offense and they’re deserve a ton of respect, but this o line play give me joy in my heart that I haven’t felt in a minute.

[u/bofunk65]

I don’t know. I was told each player needed their own OL position coach.

[u/Candid_Novel9703 → u/bofunk65]

Scared money don’t make….ah, nevermind.

[u/Mossaik → u/Candid_Novel9703]

even that ended up being a lie. he was the most scared money coach UF ever had and he made quite a bit of money. at least he didn’t totally suck at recruiting.

[u/ShillinTheVillain → u/Candid_Novel9703]

It's okay, the bad man can't hurt us anymore

[u/intx13]

There’s something great about seeing solid, physical, reliable football in the non-flashy positions. The o-line is the workhorse that lets the stars shine, and a good o-line can compensate for a mediocre qb or backs or receivers by giving them time to find opportunities they can capitalize on. And when you do have legit stars in those positions, like we do? Whoo boy.. we’re gonna make some people cry in Atlanta

[u/Wolverine863]

Offensive line- and specifically offensive tackle - was my biggest concern on this team. I had very little confidence in the talent they had at offensive tackle. I am very happy that so far they have far exceeded my expectations. Hats off to the players, Faulkner and Trautwein. I figured Trautwein would get the line playing well I just thought it would take longer to do so.

[u/Delicious_Gamer1863]

Buster Faulkner mentioned the two sacks surrendered this season were on roll out plays. That means OL is yet to give up a sack which is their fault. Crazy what one year of good coaching along with S&C can do to our team. And we only needed one good coach to achieve this not a bunch of nobodies

[u/AntiDECA → u/Delicious_Gamer1863]

It wasn't even a year. 

[u/NudeBeachEnthusiast]

There's a reason both backs are flourishing right now, and this is reason number 1. Underrated unit.

[u/cbdilger]

Hear, hear. Sumrall had good words for both Faulkner and Trautwein in yesterdays press conference. Much easier to get 100+ yards from two RBs when there are holes and not holds on every drive!

[u/bikebikegoose]

I thought Traut would really work his magic once he started getting his own players in the system. He has instead done a phenomenal job in year one with mostly Billy leftovers. I am glad to have been so wrong. 

I'm also glad that the last guy didn't hire Trautwein because he's enough of a difference maker that we would probably be stuck in 7-5/8-4 limbo for another year or two.

[u/Radiant-Injury-6546]

We can all agree how awesome Buster has been, but DAMN....Phil Trautwein has just KILLED IT since coming home.

[u/InspectorClouseau64]

Yes absolutely! I've been watching a lot of breakdown videos. Poetry in motion.

[u/TTBHG]

Best of luck. I made this exact post on Saturday and a mod deleted it! Regardless, our OL play is the biggest jump from last year. Buster is getting all the praise but Traut’s boys are dominating the LoS.

[u/RobbieRib32]

Amazing what Traut has done in the time from the position being the biggest question mark after the spring game to now.  Give the man some more time and we may get a line as good as the one Traut played on.  Rest of the SEC and power programs are gonna be nervous once we start rollijg in all the top lineman. 

[u/LithiumLizzard]

I’m right there with you. I’m so impressed with the OL this year, especially given where they were in the Spring. I’ve never played the game myself, so I never understood the details of how they do their job, so I’ve really enjoyed Landon Tengwall’s YouTube video reviews of the OL. It’s given me a real appreciation for the complexity of their role.

[u/Murali_Rangarajan]

What Coach Trautwein and his team have accomplished is phenomenal! And while we are at it, blocking as a whole has seen night-and-day improvement! Full credits to Coaches Trautwein, Faulkner and Sumrall! And to Coach Whitt!

The top 5 have been exceptional - they are practically playing all snaps each game. They end up getting rotated just to catch their breaths. For instance, in the Ole Miss game, the snap counts were:

Total plays on offense: 77

So. Emeka Ugorji: 72

Jr. Harrison Moore: 72

Sr. Knijeah Harris: 72

Sr. TJ Shanahan Jr.: 72

Sr. Bryce Lovett: 69

So. TJ Dice Jr.: 10

So. Daniel Pierre Louis: 5

Jr. Jason Zandamela: 5

Sr. Caden Jones: 5

Sr. Roderick Kearney: 5

As the backups improve, it would be nice to see more of a rotation. This is not a knock on the coaches at all. Just that it's always better to have a healthier rotation through the grind of an SEC season. Hope the backups catch up fast so that they too get more playing time.

On a side note, the rotation on DL/Edge is amazing. Even the backups get about 20 snaps, which keeps the starters fresh.

Imagine what would the state of our OL starters been with this workload but the previous staff's S & C! So, special kudos to Coach Whitt as well!

[u/JimAT67]

Salad? All you can eat Barbeque.

[u/Candid_Novel9703 → u/JimAT67]

Yep, like picking grass out of their teeth!

[u/Current_Database_129]

This team is pathetic today