W
Wes Mitchell
Guest
As I watched the open portions of South Carolina's spring practice this year, it seemed clear to me that the success of the Gamecocks offense in 2015 is going to be largely determined by the play of its offensive line. Sure, there are some questions at other positions on the offense, but I believe South Carolina has the weapons in place to be successful offensively, if there's time to throw and room to run.
It's an oversimplification, but look at about all the offenses that Spurrier has had at Carolina -- most of the time when the offensive line has played well, the offense as a whole has been productive (and vice versa), in my opinion.
What will South Carolina's offensive line look like in 2015? It's probably the biggest question mark on the team in that I could see a scenario where the line actually surprises many people and is one of the strengths and I could also see a scenario where the line is a major issue.
There were high expectations for the line in 2014 -- and in many cases I think fans of all teams expect too much from the line (defensive linemen are just too athletic for there not to be some pressure at times) -- but I think that the loss of Mike Matulis severely hindered that line's potential. He was set up to have an All-SEC type year, in my opinion.
Which brings us to 2015. Scott Hood detailed Matulis' mindset in his article "Matulis eyes injury free final season" and in many ways Matulis may be the key to how the 2015 line looks. The big question is, do you play Matulis at guard or tackle? One related question to that is, is Mason Zandi ready to be a full-time starter in the SEC at left tackle?
Unfortunately, injuries have been a key factor in all of this. Matulis has had multiple major injuries in his career and Zandi's hamstring injury this spring kept him from getting what would have been many, many valuable reps against JUCO transfer defensive end Marquavius Lewis. That hurts South Carolina. Cody Waldrop has also seen injuries severely hamper his playing time throughout his career.
While developing talent is one of the keys to a program's success. Finding a way to get the best players on the field is also a major key. Getting all of the players in the best position for them individually can be difficult to also do. Best case scenario is you can match it up to where your best five are on the field, and each is at his best position, but that's not always possible. With South Carolina, I believe the answers to all these questions starts with the left tackle position.
Can a healthy and veteran Matulis man that left tackle spot? If so, then I believe you stick him there and fill in the rest. Brandon Shell locks down the right tackle position. Zandi can be the backup at both spots. And I would go ahead and play true freshman Christian Pellege at right tackle as a backup to prepare him for next season.
Alan Knott pretty much locked down the center position with a very successful and healthy spring campaign. That's a major positive that not enough people are talking about. D.J. Park continues to improve, but is better suited to play guard. With Matulis and Shell as the bookends at tackle, that allows Will Sport, Cody Waldrop, Park and Donell Stanley to all battle it out for playing time at guard. The best two will start, the other two will be backups.
Of course, if Zandi proves in the weeks leading up to the season that he's ready to be the man at left tackle, then Matulis can always play guard. That quickly solidifies one of those spots. If Matulis or Zandi aren't ready at left tackle, then I think you have to take a strong look at moving Shell over to left tackle. That position has to be solidified before all the other ones can fall into place.
There are plenty of questions on South Carolina's offensive line in 2015. But fortunately, offensive line coach Shawn Elliott has some options.
Thoughts?
It's an oversimplification, but look at about all the offenses that Spurrier has had at Carolina -- most of the time when the offensive line has played well, the offense as a whole has been productive (and vice versa), in my opinion.
What will South Carolina's offensive line look like in 2015? It's probably the biggest question mark on the team in that I could see a scenario where the line actually surprises many people and is one of the strengths and I could also see a scenario where the line is a major issue.
There were high expectations for the line in 2014 -- and in many cases I think fans of all teams expect too much from the line (defensive linemen are just too athletic for there not to be some pressure at times) -- but I think that the loss of Mike Matulis severely hindered that line's potential. He was set up to have an All-SEC type year, in my opinion.
Which brings us to 2015. Scott Hood detailed Matulis' mindset in his article "Matulis eyes injury free final season" and in many ways Matulis may be the key to how the 2015 line looks. The big question is, do you play Matulis at guard or tackle? One related question to that is, is Mason Zandi ready to be a full-time starter in the SEC at left tackle?
Unfortunately, injuries have been a key factor in all of this. Matulis has had multiple major injuries in his career and Zandi's hamstring injury this spring kept him from getting what would have been many, many valuable reps against JUCO transfer defensive end Marquavius Lewis. That hurts South Carolina. Cody Waldrop has also seen injuries severely hamper his playing time throughout his career.
While developing talent is one of the keys to a program's success. Finding a way to get the best players on the field is also a major key. Getting all of the players in the best position for them individually can be difficult to also do. Best case scenario is you can match it up to where your best five are on the field, and each is at his best position, but that's not always possible. With South Carolina, I believe the answers to all these questions starts with the left tackle position.
Can a healthy and veteran Matulis man that left tackle spot? If so, then I believe you stick him there and fill in the rest. Brandon Shell locks down the right tackle position. Zandi can be the backup at both spots. And I would go ahead and play true freshman Christian Pellege at right tackle as a backup to prepare him for next season.
Alan Knott pretty much locked down the center position with a very successful and healthy spring campaign. That's a major positive that not enough people are talking about. D.J. Park continues to improve, but is better suited to play guard. With Matulis and Shell as the bookends at tackle, that allows Will Sport, Cody Waldrop, Park and Donell Stanley to all battle it out for playing time at guard. The best two will start, the other two will be backups.
Of course, if Zandi proves in the weeks leading up to the season that he's ready to be the man at left tackle, then Matulis can always play guard. That quickly solidifies one of those spots. If Matulis or Zandi aren't ready at left tackle, then I think you have to take a strong look at moving Shell over to left tackle. That position has to be solidified before all the other ones can fall into place.
There are plenty of questions on South Carolina's offensive line in 2015. But fortunately, offensive line coach Shawn Elliott has some options.
Thoughts?
