I’m not dissing the guy. I’m not calling him mediocre. I’m saying the selection is. With the need we have at LB or DE we go get a Guard who may never really play. That’s mediocre
You never really know what you've got with an OL recruit until he gets there, puts in the work, and how he gels with the young men in the line beside him.
The biggest thing people forget about the OL (unless they're just all maulers) is how they work as a unit. It's the closest thing to a hive mind you'll have on the football field. What I mean by that is you all work together, feel where the guy beside you is, know exactly what he's going to do in any situations. Basically working as one person in five bodies.
You also never know when that's going to occur and sometimes it never does in a year. Sometimes you've got a pair working together and sometimes more. The idea is to all be on the same page, but it doesn't work that way as often as you'd like.
Unless you've played the position, it's hard to explain. Similar to that is the way some receivers an QB's are attuned to one another. Add in the back as an extension of the OL and that's what we had in some past units. It's just that feel. It's also why they are together off the field as well.
Does this guy look beastmode, can't miss, etc? No, but we've had mediocre line play for a long time now. One guy or two can change that.
I've said it in the past, but I hate it when coaches constantly shuffle players around. I know you have to at times (injuries, something just isn't clicking, etc) and they're looking for that magic combo, but you don't get that feel for the man beside you that way.
