Next year? Who’s going to step up & help make our Oline dominant again? Are the 2 JC guys on campus now just evaluation misses? We lose Skipper, so we have to replace a tackle. Do we have a SEC starting tackle waiting in the wings?
I’m worried we will see more of the same struggles in the Oline next year. I like the three FR joining us in January, but I certainly would rather not depend on breaking in FR Olinemen in the SEC
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LT: Wallace: year older, year stronger, year more experience, starts to look like All-SEC OL on way to NFL career
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OG: Frielholt, year older, year stronger, year more experience, starts to look like All-SEC OL on way to NFL career
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C: Ragnow, 'buff said
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RG: J Gibson, looks good now, on scholarship next year and solid guard, high ceiling
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RT: Conway kid? Ramirez or Malone?
so that’s my take, I expect our OL and our QB and RB’s to excel, no more blow-outs, maybe we go crazy and win 8 games
GHG
Merrick will push for a job at either RG or RT. I would expect Ramirez to push for one if the guard spots as well.
They really need to get a lot more out of the Juco OL they signed.
Those guys were signed to come in a help and they haven’t even made a blip on the radar.
This is huge. You have them for a limited time and they are there as a stop gap so you can develop young players.
That has hurt us a lot.
the correct answer is that no one knows. You would think that some of the highly rated OL we have brought in would develop, but there are no guarantees. this years D was supposed to be better for the same reason.
I would think Jake Heinrich would compete for playing time at one of the positions. He had an injury that set him back and caused him to redshirt.
Paul Ramirez will be a good player. He injured a knee midway through camp and that stunted his development during installation. He’ll play. I also think Brian Wallace, Jalen Merrick and Johnny Gibson are good talents. I don’t think anyone is disappointed in Jake Heinrich. Dylan Hays was a player Dan Enos mentioned from the developmental work in the bye week. I think the coaches like him a lot. Deion Malone has some physical gifts. He had a lot of learning to do about scheme and offense based on his level from JC. He has two more years since he redshirted.
It looks like the bowl workouts are proving that Deion Malone is a stud, and Dylan Hays has impressed the staff. Colton Jackson and Jalen Merrick have been getting lots development work too. Jake Heinrich is getting work as well but no opinions noted I think.
I felt all along that Jackson would be a good player because of his athleticism and quick feet. I hope he can help fill Skipper’s spot and then all we have to do is worry about Ragnow to finish out the starting 5. All in all the Oline depth looks good for spring practice, which is rare for our program.
There is no substitute for experience and continuity when it comes to O-line play. We took our lumps this year playing inexperienced players and shifting guys around from position to position week to week. We also brought in a new O-line coach teaching slightly different techniques and different terminology. A lot of young guys got baptism by fire. I don’t see how we don’t improve next year. Possibly dramatically. Does anyone know what Jake Raulerson’s status is? Does he play next year?
Raulerson has another year. Redshirted his first year at Texass, played last two years, graduated and came here with two years to play. I would expect him to benefit greatly from a winter with Ben Herbert, since his issue has been lack of size (amazing that a 6-4, 300-pounder is now regarded as too small).
Bielema says that both Ramirez and Malone will be in the mix next year. I don’t think they were misses. I think it just takes time in a pro system. Ramirez looks to be the right build to play in this league, and should pack on some pounds with Ben Herbert. Malone had a good redshirt season and should be in the mix, too. I think Bielema and Anderson think highly of both.
Texas A&M has done pretty well redshirting juco offensive linemen. The idea of getting instant OL help out of the juco ranks is reachy.
At 6-4 and hovering around 300 (less through the season), Raulerson needed more strength. He did what he could and was gimpy much of the time, but Raulerson should be much better after another nine months in the program.
So, did Ramirez and Malone both redshirt, or just Malone?
Just Malone.
After reading some of this, I feel better about our Oline for next year than I did coming into this year. We lost 3 starters coming into this year, we were starting a 1st time Olineman, AND the depth was not proven. Next year we will lose 1 or 2 starters but our depth is better and this year’s 3 replacements have improved. You can build a solid line around guys we have for next year.
We just won the lottery 
with Ragnow returning. What does that mean for next year?
Do we move Frank to LT and use Rogers at C?
LT- Ragnow
LG-Froholdt
C-Rogers
RG-Gibson
RT-Wallace
Do we keep Frank at Center but move Jackson to LT?
LT - Jackson
LG - Froholdt
C - Ragnow
RG - Gibson
RT - Wallace
Or Wallace to LT and Jackson at RT
LT - Wallace
LG - Froholdt
C - Ragnow
RG - Gibson
RT - Jackson
Raulerson can play Guard and Center
Rogers can play Center
Merrick, Malone and Ramirez are additional quality pieces to the puzzle at Guard and Tackle.
I love your first lineup if Rogers is ready to start at center after backing up Ragnow this year. Coming out of high school, he was the #1 ranked center. It was posted on here before that Frank would be the best player at center, guard, or tackle. It seems that moving Ragnow to LT, would be a good move for both the Hogs and Ragnow. It would probably mean more money for him in the NFL draft next year, if he has a great year at LT.