Rodney Newsom Jr and Thompson. Think I read Newsom's applying for a 7th season but is still entering the portal. Guess we're cleaning house and starting fresh?
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Sixth...now seventh...now eighth olineman enters portal
- Thread starter sclawman77
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That's OK if it is at the coach's initiative. Otherwise, we are going to be in a world of trouble.
Right. We have learned the hard way that in the SEC you can only go as far as the lines of scrimmage can take you. If it’s true it takes a long time to get the line to gel as a unit we in trouble as well
I guess if it makes us feel better, LSU had like 5 OL hit the portal right after Lane announced he was coming.
Maybe we could pick off a couple or three of those.
We had one of the (if not THE) worst offensive lines in college football this past season. Why would we care if they all left? I’d rather the new offensive coaches be able to start fresh with new players that haven’t developed bad habits.
I think most posters here agree that we need to get better on the offensive line to compete in the SEC. It appears we have a top notch OL coach now. So hopefully we can rebuild with recruits and finding experienced guys in the portal. Losing six OL players sounds bad on the surface but from what I've read elsewhere several of these departing players didn't really contribute. Also, the ones that played on a regular basis lead the league in allowing QB sacks and placed us near the bottom for rushing yardage per game. It sounds like a complete make-over is the way to go.
Is this a by-product of them knowing that each of themselves were less than stellar and are seeking greener pastures or is it Riley cleaning house- hope it is the latter.
True. Once the portal opens, we need some pretty big numbers of OL then.
A complete renovation of an OL takes at least two years. Almost no true freshmen are ready to play OL in the SEC and the ones that are are highly prized and recruited by every major program. Redshirt freshman still face a pretty steep learning curve so finding a quick fix for a bad OL is extremely difficult. We may be able to find a nugget in the portal but building an entire OL with portal players has proven to be pretty well impossible.
I guess we can continue to celebrate hanging on to our mediocre QB and track athlete who is going into year four learning to play WR.
All accurate and correct. So, who does that leave for us to actually block? Will we now need to use all portal spots on O-lineman. IT would be great to think that Cam Coleman might consider us, but with no line skill players won't come either.
I haven't looked at overall numbers, but with 6 OL leaving, even if they are all backups, we may need a large portal haul just to have bodies to fill spots.
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Coleman is a pure mercenary. He is going to want HUGE money to go somewhere. He went to Auburn because they were the highest bidder, now, he's leaving looking for more big money. I have to wonder if Golesh told him he wasn't as special as he thinks he is or if the Auburn NIL folks wanted to cut his pay.
I guess the hope is, the OL who are leaving weren't really contributing and there are some backups who will be able to step in.
Poach a few experienced guys from lower tiered programs.
It is tough to find SEC caliber OL in G5 or FCS programs, especially tackles.
One of the truisms in coaching is that the OL group takes the longest to develop and gel.
"The Offensive Line doesn't need any other position to be good. Every other position needs the Offensive Line to be good." Jim Harbaugh
In other words, next year will be Beamer's last.
The best offensive line I ever saw play at Williams-Brice Stadium - tight end included - was the 1985 Michigan bunch that Schembechler coached and Harbaugh quarterbacked. They were like a steam roller that covered the breadth of the field. They humbled a team we thought might be something 34-3.
That line had one future, college football HOF player in Jumbo Elliott.
Was last season what it looks like after a line has "gelled"?
Can we keep a running tab of incoming or potential starters next year so we can step by away from the ledge?
This would certainly be the case if Teasley was still the ol coach, but I am much more optimistic since Donati has seen enough of him
After a 3 or 4 win season I don’t care. They get all these perks from the University and now can even be paid $$$. Perform or leave!
Saw interview where Auburn made the decision that better utilization of dollars to spread it to other positions.
Yeah, 6 wins will allow for the "improvement" argument, and the thought of giving the new OC more time.
I shudder to think of the defense for a 5 win season.
FYI: IMO, that "gel" thing is overrated.
Almost every team has to do "plug & play" with OL during the season due to injuries.
And what good are the huge "corn fed" boys if they are not athletic and keep getting whiffed by smaller-athletic pass rushers?
How athletic were the guys that we had that just portal'd out?
If you don't have the RBs to run a power run offense, then you better have the OL to run a mobile QB offense.
You can always sub some extra blockers if needed.
Almost every team has to do "plug & play" with OL during the season due to injuries.
And what good are the huge "corn fed" boys if they are not athletic and keep getting whiffed by smaller-athletic pass rushers?
How athletic were the guys that we had that just portal'd out?
If you don't have the RBs to run a power run offense, then you better have the OL to run a mobile QB offense.
You can always sub some extra blockers if needed.
Boaz has entered, portal, I think that makes 7, but he seemed overmatched at the SEC level.
We have:
Boaz, not a SEC calibur center
Rodney Newson. has to get a 7th year granted, maybe best he moves on, given the uncertainty, focus on the guys we need to develop, no time to wait and waste for NCAA decision for that calibur of player
Cason Henry who is the best of the bunch but always injured and having a injury prone player that you are counting on, is never good, his injuries have messed up our OL plenty of times, through reshuffling after the season started.
Trovon Baugh, seemed like he regressed in his career here .
Nick Sharpe, started 5 games at Left Guard after starting at Wake Forest, Portal givith and Portal take away., i dont remeber to much good or bad about his play
Mac Walters, was a walkon
Tree Babalade, also seemed to regress but could end up being a good player
Im not to worried about this group leaving , I would like to see Tree stay under better coaching, but I dont think these are guys we wanted to be counting in in 2026 anyways.
For 2026, you have Thompson at LT, Grey & Sarratt at Guards and you still have Franks and Markee Anderson. who all hopefully develop, there is still a nucleus, we need a Center and a RT in the portal unless you find a LT and shift Thompson to RT
We have:
Boaz, not a SEC calibur center
Rodney Newson. has to get a 7th year granted, maybe best he moves on, given the uncertainty, focus on the guys we need to develop, no time to wait and waste for NCAA decision for that calibur of player
Cason Henry who is the best of the bunch but always injured and having a injury prone player that you are counting on, is never good, his injuries have messed up our OL plenty of times, through reshuffling after the season started.
Trovon Baugh, seemed like he regressed in his career here .
Nick Sharpe, started 5 games at Left Guard after starting at Wake Forest, Portal givith and Portal take away., i dont remeber to much good or bad about his play
Mac Walters, was a walkon
Tree Babalade, also seemed to regress but could end up being a good player
Im not to worried about this group leaving , I would like to see Tree stay under better coaching, but I dont think these are guys we wanted to be counting in in 2026 anyways.
For 2026, you have Thompson at LT, Grey & Sarratt at Guards and you still have Franks and Markee Anderson. who all hopefully develop, there is still a nucleus, we need a Center and a RT in the portal unless you find a LT and shift Thompson to RT
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Let me help you out:
Refs stole the _________ game from us.
We really won the __________ game, they won on a couple fluke plays.
The win against ____________ showed how much improved we are over last season.
___________ was a huge favorite and they only won by 2 pts., we are every bit as good as they are.
If four or five plays go the other way, we would have had a 10 win season and been in the playoff.
If the two-year assertion about development of the offensive line proves correct, then next year won't be any better than this year. If next year is no better than this year, it will be bye-bye for Beamer the Redeemer.
Well, my projection is based on a premise, to wit, the two-year assertion.
He was a d end in HS. If you can’t see his improvement then u r blind. Stopping track helps him tremendously.
And other than Henry, which o lineman will we miss? Stanley at center would snap every other ball low/high/right/left. Appreciate his effort but each play started behind the 8 ball. Babalade jumps offsides 3 times a game. Then pushes on blocks with minimal effort. Sorry, and I thank him for signing with us, but we could get a lineman from App State more effective.
His two year assertion was likely accurate before the portal. Can’t remember the coach, but a team that whipped us this year had a coach talking about simply getting experienced players who proved themselves and developed at whatever level on the lines of scrimmage. Experience/strength/maturity over potential impact 3 years later. You can mold a cohesive line quickly. I agree
Mmmmmm
Ah. Well, the projection is based on a premise put forth by a poster using a hackneyed cliche who thinks he wants what you project. And again, don’t bet the farm; so sayeth my projection.Well, my projection is based on a premise, to wit, the two-year assertion.