Is he on the 2nd unit at tackle? Thanks.
Yes. Dustin Fry said today that Gatlin and Dalton Wagner are essentially 1 and 1a at right tackle right now.
I would not be surprised to see Gatlin wind up at right guard so that he and Wagner both start.
I could see a starting line of Jackson and Cunningham on left side. Cunningham may compete with Capps at guard. Center is likely to be Clary, but Luke Jones will be in the mix if his appeal is granted by the NCAA. Limmer is strong, but has not played much center. It’s going to take a bit for him to get it down.
iMHO the line will be much better than last year: more depth, more competition, and practicing against better defensive line players daily. If Jones , gets a release to play and can handle the line calls, then the line will surprise as I think he is better center based on ND experience. Capps is getting little attention so far and he is capable of being a good guard in this league. Worse part of team last year has the best chemistry according to the coaches—these guys are tried of being told they are not good enough.
The OL will be better this year, but that’s a low bar. Because of the lack of numbers/talent last year, I look at 2019 as the real year one of the OL re-build. There just was no way to overcome the number of injuries/dead weight that first year. This year, the numbers of healthy bodies are back to a normal level, and we also have had some addition by subtraction. Now we start to find out if the OL coaching/recruiting is going to be good enough.
Of the three seniors who started last year one will be missed(Froholdt) and the other two will not. It would not take a whole lot for the replacements for Gibson and Wallace to be more productive. So even though Froholdt was good, I think that you will see a net improvement at those three positions. I think it’s a question of whether the improvement at those spots will be marginal or substantial.
Two returning starters- Colton Jackson and Clary- are on notice that there is now competition, no one starts by default. That’s a really good thing. Again I think that those two spots will show some improvement-the holdovers either step up or get moved aside.
I think the OL play will improve enough to give us a chance to win more often in SEC play than last year. The OL is probably still going to be abused by Bama and a couple of others on the schedule, but I do expect that the overall level of play will be better. What has to happen is enough player development this year to set the stage for having an OL that is considered no worse than SEC average heading into 2020.
Buzz…fair assessment. I agree our Achilles heel this year will be the oline. If the line makes a major step forward, then we can reach 6 wins and go bowling. I’m ready are you?
I’m glad we will actually have some competition in the OL this season
I am curious. As we all wonder and speculate about the eventual five that start on the OL, is anyone considering trying Capps at center? As I recall, in addition to being an all-everything lineman in high school, he also played baseball, which indicates some tangible hand/eye coordination as a basic skill set. I read all the speculation about other options if Clary continues to bounce and bowl the ball back to the QB, but why, when we appear to have a good enough supply of guards to potentially displace Capps as a starter, are we not also looking at him at center? Is it doubting his ability to master the mechanics of snapping the ball, or doubting his ability to recognize the defensive sets and make the right calls at the line of scrimmage on every play, or both? I fully recognize the fact that he has already bounced from defense to offensive guard out of necessity, and this would be yet another major change just as he starts to get comfortable with his new position at guard. It just seems to be a viable solution that no one is considering.
I seem to recall they had Capps practice at center a bit last fall, but he apparently did not look good enough in practice to try him there during a game.
They have tried about everyone at snapping. I think that’s one of the things that Dustin Fry is consciously trying to do, get everyone a look at center. I believe he told me that you give everyone that comes in the ball and see what it looks like when he snaps. Can he do it. So, yes, Capps got his turn.