Houston's OL commits vs SMU's OL commits

[Rebel10]

Houston's 2 O Lines commits are 6'6 and 6'7. SMU's 2 O Lines recruits are 6'2 and 6'3 (BT's ht was verified by his coach). Are we going back to our old philosophy of undersized lineman? Just curious if that was the case.

[East Coast Mustang]

Last year we signed like 3 guys who were listed at 6'6. If they're being recruited as interior linemen, then 6'2 or 6'3 isn't necessarily undersized

[SMU 86]

When I listened to Coach Palcic's interview with PonyPride he said that he wanted all of his lineman to be at least 6'4 or 6'5.

[ojaipony]

When I listened to Coach Palcic's interview with PonyPride he said that he wanted all of his lineman to be at least 6'4 or 6'5.

I heard that he preferred them to be mobile, athletic, and quick on their feet versus monsters (kind of the old Broncos model - when they won their 2 Super Bowls their linemen were known to be smaller but very athletic - better in pass protection). I thought he said 6'2" - 6'3" type range. I'll go back to listen again.

[SMU 86]

Coach Palcic said 6'4 and 6'5. Here is the link to the video interview.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=60593&hilit=Palcic+video

[Ponymon]

Well, maybe he should get off his butt and recruit them!

[Ikus]

Josh LeRibeus is 6-3 and just went in the third round of the NFL Draft. To get offers this early, I trust these guys can play and I'm looking forward to seeing them play for us in Ford Stadium.

[leopold]

I'm curious (because I honestly don't know) - does our offense need huge linemen, or does it call for undersized athletic ones, similiar to some spread offenses? I think the RnS needs larger ones who can pass block first, but I'm sure someone on here can answer my question.

[SMUer]

I think The Pirate got it right at Tech: 6-5 or 6-6 guys with albatros wing-spans, spaced wide, wide throwing lanes.

[jpe747]

The ole rule was the Offensive linemen - quick. The defensive linemen - tall. If the off line is too tall it makes it hard for the qb in the pocket. The same logic went for tall def. linemen. However, that logic might be 'gone with the wind.' I think quick linemen on either side of the ball will always be in vogue.

[leopold]

I knew someone who went to see Ole Miss beat Tech in the Cotton Bowl a few years ago - they simply ran around the TT lineman. Their size and wingspans didn't help them much against the Rebels.

[Stallion]

The ole rule was the Offensive linemen - quick. The defensive linemen - tall. If the off line is too tall it makes it hard for the qb in the pocket. The same logic went for tall def. linemen. However, that logic might be 'gone with the wind.' I think quick linemen on either side of the ball will always be in vogue.

Congrats you got it exactly backwards-well I guess its true in SMU's 3 front Defense you'd like to have tall DE but not with interior DLM. Protype in passing game -all things being equal is:

OT: 6-5 to 6-6
OG: 6-4+ preferable (6-3 if extremely mobile)
C: 6-2 to 6-3

I haven't checked this year but you really won't find that many wide exceptions if you do a search for the top recruits on say Rivals. Probably 80% of the Top Recruits will fit in the protype. The exceptions generally have unusual quickness that may make up for size. Defense is now all about speed in College Football. Big change has been at LB where the 6-4, 245 kids almost invariably get moved to other positions unless they have NFL type speed. They are looking for tall Safeties types at ILB that can sideline to sideline

[Stallion]

All Texas OTs rated 3 star and above on Rivals are 6-5+. Its amazing how consistent the protype is every year

[Alasdair]

Height doesn't mean a thing, its how low you can hold your center of gravity and can use it to keep the defensive players in front of you.

[jpe747]

Stallion - I didn't get it wrong. That WAS the old rule (when I played & I also saw it used over and over as a coach). Once there was even a player called 'Too Tall' Jones who had a reputation for knocking down qb passes. J Pugh (sp) was quite tall also on the same team. However I know qbs are also taller now so the rule may have changed.