Young offensive linemen

[Corso]

Time for the young fellas (Peveto, Boren, Poynter, Burley, etc.) to step up. Eric Neal is done after fracturing a foot, and Townsend Hargis is done because of a chronic condition in his knee.
Sorry to hear about this happening to these guys. Best of luck to both in their future endeavors.

[JasonB]

Wow, that gives us Eidson vs. Peveto at left guard and Guidry vs. Boren at right guard.

I wonder if Eidson or Peveto move over to right guard to let Boren stay at left?

[gostangs]

Sheeesh, they're offensive lineman - just tape them up and send them in there -

[EastStang]

Yeah, but a bum knee and a broken foot are more than just a spit on it and keep going type of injury. And who wants to see a player out there playing at 1/2 speed because he can't put pressure on a leg.

[PerunaPunch]

JasonB,

Boren is at RG and has been ever since he's been on the Hilltop. I believe he played LG in high school though.

Last I heard, Hargis is still #2 at RG though he is still battling his injury. I saw Eric Neal in plain clothes at Sunday's practice, so I'm pretty sure that confirms that he's done.

I was surprised to see Peveto at #2 LG. But I think the team has a policy that you don't lose your starting job due to injury, and now that Eidson is back, he's back at #1 LG. Will be a good battle for the staring job at LG this fall. Eidson has the experience, Peveto the size and potential.

Guidry was moved from tackle to guard, and the coaches say that sometime last spring "the light went on for Martin". Whatever "it" is, the coaches say he now gets "it". According to the coaches, Guidry is now our most effective OL. How much of that is coach-speak, I can't say. But if Guidry has improved that much, look for a battle of the titans at RG. Guidry may have "it", but I watched Boren splatter plenty of our DLs last spring.

Most significantly, I think we can finally say that we're starting some quality depth (finally) at OL. Halleluiah!!

[JasonB]

Thansk for the update! I thought Boren was at LG during the spring, with Eidson out, but maybe not...

Guidry looked fantastic at RG in the spring game. Hopefully it holds true that he has really developed.

A major sign for our line's success this year will be the LG battle. If Peveto steps it up and can win the job outright, that means good things for the ponies. Eidson battles his heart out, but is undersized and if he wins the job, we will struggle on the line.

Of course, all of that assumes that DJ continues to improve and Urbanus is as good as advertised.

The Oline is a major question mark this year for us. A lot of new players and unknowns. They are the biggest key to our success this season.

[Charleston Pony]

If we hope to have an effective running game, the OL needs to be 2 deep so they can roate units in and stay fresh for 60 minutes. Sounds like there won't be much drop off from the #1 to #2 guards, but what about the tackle spots? And...since this thread is about the younger guys on the OL, why no mention of Bryan Turner, a guy who saw action as a true frosh last year? Not sure you want to rotate your center (unless you get to rotating QBs), but isn't that where Turner played quite a bit last year?

[justbeattcu]

Be sure and mention Chris Urbanus when speaking of the young o-line. He has the right tackle job sewn up, from what I understand.With a lefty at qb, that is the most important job on the line.

[sam]

If all we have is Eidson or Peveto at guard than I suspect it may be another 0 fer this year. Eidson at 5 10 is just not big enough and Peveto got trucked almost ever play in spring when he went aganist the 1st D.
Boren I think could handle the LG spot, I like his attitude. He is an offensive lineman with a defensive mentality. If Guidry really did get "it" then him and Boren would be two BIG men at guards and with K at center our middle would be hugh, almost 300 lbs each, and all can move really well.

[JasonB]

Everything that I read about during the spring or saw at the spring game indicated that Peveto had a good spring and was doing quite well?

[PonyFan]

You're right, JasonB - Peveto had a very good spring. I don't know what the other guy was watching. And while I admit I'm not a coach, I did talk to a couple of players who said Peveto has the best technique of all the newcomer OLs.

Turner will back up Keischnick at center, along with Ben Poynter, who has put on nearly 30 pounds since he arrived last year.

Urbanus is absolutely huge. And he's getting strong, too. I think in high school he was able to just lean on guys, but now he has real power. He could be very good. And while he's not going to make anyone forget Blake Warren in the shiftiness department, no big guy should be able to move like he can. (Except Darrin Johnson....)

[PK]

Everything that I read about during the spring or saw at the spring game indicated that Peveto had a good spring and was doing quite well?

Obviously, the view of the scrimmage from Florida was not very clear.

[Charleston Pony]

If Hargis and Neal aren't able to contribute in their senior seasons, that just means the entire 2-deep will be back next year. As I've been saying all along, that may not bode well for 2004, but this group should be ready to compete by the time we hit CUSA.

I like the way the starting OL is shaping up and with guys like Boren, Peveto and Turner pushing for playing time as back-ups, that bodes well for the future.

Looks like it won't be long before we won't have to line up any true frosh on either line, unless of course we sign someone who can step right in at age 18-19 and physically compete with guys who are 21-22 yrs old.

[justbeattcu]

Ponyfan,
The story I heard about Chris Urbanus was that he only played one year of high school football, hardly enough time to develop a reputation for just leaning on guys.
Just my two cents worth.

[sam]

There will be news on the line,changes today. And PK I was at the scrimmage.