OL Recruiting

When it comes to evaluating offensive linemen for ranking purposes, the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft was an eye-opening experience.

So many undersized players were taken among the early picks that the thinking that ready-made prospects at the high school level should be ranked highest might not be the best way of doing things. Since Rivals rankings are based on college performance and NFL Draft position, it may be time to re-evaluate our evaluations.

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We ask Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell if those players - and possibly some bigger, less-athletic tight ends, are the types of recruits we should consider for five-star status since their ceiling is so high over the next few years?

“Maybe this draft year was a fluke, who knows? But I know we are looking for athletic offensive linemen with great feet when we look for five-stars now, and that could be a 270-pound kid. It’s impossible to project a tight end to be an elite offensive tackle and a guy like Lane Johnson for the Philadelphia Eagles was a quarterback in high school, so sometimes you just don’t know. But athleticism is key and some of the guys who are already 335 pounds in high school often just don’t progress as much as you’d like. That’s why I’m so high on a guy like Parks.”
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Rivals

 
Bump to this thread.  Watched a fair amount of football this weekend.  To me it comes back to the line play and OL especially for us.  We are doing a good job recruiting but we need to take this to the next level.  A team like Auburn wins the game because they have excellent line play.  I don't think Auburn has better skill guys than Oregon or us but they won because their DL made stops and their OL protected a true freshman QB so he could make plays.  Oklahoma creates so many big plays because of the huge holes they get to run through.  Pretty much any RB is going to succeed in that environment.  There are great skill guys and QB's on a lot of teams.  The teams that build their lines (no holes, weak links) win the championships.  

 
chamrocck said:
Bump to this thread.  Watched a fair amount of football this weekend.  To me it comes back to the line play and OL especially for us.  We are doing a good job recruiting but we need to take this to the next level.  A team like Auburn wins the game because they have excellent line play.  I don't think Auburn has better skill guys than Oregon or us but they won because their DL made stops and their OL protected a true freshman QB so he could make plays.  Oklahoma creates so many big plays because of the huge holes they get to run through.  Pretty much any RB is going to succeed in that environment.  There are great skill guys and QB's on a lot of teams.  The teams that build their lines (no holes, weak links) win the championships.  
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Yes the line makes coaches and skilled players look amazing.  Our O-Line is young and most dominating lines around the country are littered with juniors and seniors

 
GBRFAN said:
Yes the line makes coaches and skilled players look amazing.  Our O-Line is young and most dominating lines around the country are littered with juniors and seniors
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Ya I think this will be the area it takes Frost's recruiting the longest to impact. In good programs it's hard for young guys to play so we're stuck with Riley's recruiting for a couple years. Riley's OL recruiting was honestly pretty much terrible. 

 
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