PFF ranks Top 10 returning interior offensive linemen in college football
Perhaps the least-heralded players on the football field, interior offensive linemen are certainly more valuable than they are acclaimed. And according to PFF there are plenty of talented guards and centers in college football ahead of the 2023 season.
PFF dropped rankings for the top college interior offensive linemen recently, with all five power conferences placing a player on the Top 10. Michigan is the only school with two players on the list.
Check out the full PFF Top 10 interior offensive linemen for 2023 below.
- Cooper Beebe, Kansas State
- Beaux Limmer, Arkansas
- Zak Zinter, Michigan
- Christian Haynes, UConn
- Justin Dedich, USC
- Drake Nugent, Michigan
- Tate Ratledge, Georgia
- Zach Frazier, West Virginia
- Donovan Jackson, Ohio State
- Christian Mahogany, Boston College
Beebe will be the anchor of a Wildcats offense returning almost everyone on the heels of a Big 12 championship. Behind Beebe and the rest of the Kansas State offensive line, the Wildcats had the No. 15 rushing offense in the country in 2022, averaging 208.3 yards per game on the ground and 5.12 yards per carry, plus 32 touchdowns.
Arkansas will have many more new faces than Kansas State on offense, but Limmer provides stability along the front as the Wildcats retool with KJ Jefferson returning at quarterback. The Razorbacks had the No. 7 rushing offense in 2022 and Raheim “Rocket” Sanders will be running behind what should be another strong line in 2023, in large part because of Limmer.
Back-to-back Joe Moore Awards — given annually to the nations best offensive line unit — have cemented Michigan as an offensive line factory. Zinter started at guard on the last two playoff runs and came back to run it back alongside fellow Wolverine guard Trevor Keegan, despite both being draft eligible. Michigan brought in Nugent, one of the top centers in the country, from Stanford as a replacement for Olu Oluwatimi.
Haynes is the only non-Power 5 lineman on the list and according to PFF he shone as UConn made a bowl game: “Haynes was the star of that unit, as his 91.0 pass-blocking grade led all guards in the country while the redshirt junior’s 84.6 run-blocking grade ranked sixth.”
Dedich played as part of one of the best offensive line interiors in college football in 2022 and will be tasked with stepping up to fill the void left by Andrew Vorhees. According to PFF, Dedich had 528 pass block attempts without allowing a sack or quarterback hit on Caleb Williams, the highest total in the country with a clean QB.
A former four star and Top 50 prospect, Ratledge has slotted in nicely for the Bulldogs on the offensive line. He helped keep Stetson Bennett clean as Georgia won a second-straight national title and will be part of a top-shelf unit keeping the new Bulldogs quarterback clean in 2023.
One of the other top centers in the country, Frazier stuck at West Virginia this offseason and should be a key cog as the Mountaineers seek to retool the offense with a new quarterback. According to PFF, Frazier has been the highest graded Power 5 center over the past two seasons.
Jackson, despite being ninth on this list, has the potential to be the first interior offensive lineman drafted in 2024. A Top 20 recruit in the 2021 signing class, Jackson inked with Ohio State and has quickly become a stalwart on the interior. With both tackles and the center from 2022 off to the NFL, Jackson could be the dominant force up front for the Buckeyes — and give NFL evaluators a lot of reason to take the youngest players on the list.
Mahogany might’ve had the highest draft stock of any of these players this time last year, but a torn ACL cost the Boston College interior offensive lineman his entire 2022 season. Now back and healthy for the Eagles, Mahogany should provide All-ACC caliber play upfront for Boston College. He was a second-team All-American for PFF in 2021.