Written by Rene Nadeau
| Tuesday, 16 June 2009 17:05
|
College Football News
There once was a time when bigger was better, particularly when it came to football. I remember reading an article 25 years ago that predicted that NFL offensive lines would soon average 6' 7" and 315 lbs.
College football has not always followed in the footsteps of everything that their NFL brethren have done. Since some college football offenses operate a little differently, speed counts up front.
Much of what you see in the NFL in regard to offensive line play involves size and strength. In college, offensive linemen are required to pull, trap and generally run more because of the offensive design. Some teams, mainly the military academies, run almost exclusively. Linemen need to be more quick and mobile. Some teams that throw the ball 40-50 times per game may be looking for mammoth linemen that simply hunker down and pass block.
With the rising popularity of option and spread attacks, the average size of offensive linemen has decreased. You can't expect a 330 lb. guard to pull out and lead interference for very long.
Now the the fashionable thing for offensive linemen is now to keep the waistline from dropping to the knees and hit the treadmill as often as possible.
Division I-A offensive lines average 297.5 lbs. per team if you figure in the two-deep depth charts. That may surprise many of you because we have been led to believe that every lineman in college has to be 320 lbs. or above. We are often told that a prep blue chip lineman weighing in at 280-290 would have to beef up to play in college.
Just goes to show - don't discount technique.
I thought that you might want to take a gander at just how big (or not so big) the offensive lines are nationwide these days.
The top ten biggest lines:
Miami ' Canes - 321.7 lbs. (per man for two deep depth chart)
Iowa State - 321.4 lbs. per man
Ole Miss - 318.9 lbs. per man
Washington - 314.2 lbs.
Idaho - 312 lbs.
Illinois - 311.5 lbs.
Texas Tech - 311.5 lbs.
Western Michigan - 310.8 lbs.
UCLA - 310.5 lbs.
Arizona - 310.5 lbs.
The biggest conference? The SEC is the heftiest with an average weight of 302.6 lbs. per offensive lineman. Here's the full list and where they are rated:
SEC- 302.6 lbs.
Big 12 - 302.0
Big Ten - 300.7
WAC - 299.4
PAC 10 - 298.1
ACC - 297.4
Mountain West - 296.5
Big East - 296.1
CUSA - 295.7
MAC - 293.9
Sun Belt - 290.5
Where does LSU rate among the BIG boys? The Tigers are 2nd from the bottom among SEC teams. Auburn has the lightest line averaging 292.2 lbs. per man. LSU is next with an average 293.4 lbs. per offensive lineman. Ole Miss heads the list averaging 318.9 lbs. per.
In fact, LSU has the lightest offensive line in the state, behind UL-Monroe (295.6 lbs. per) La. Tech (298.2 lbs.) Tulane and ULL, both averaging 299.5 lbs. per man.
Not surprisingly, the lightest lines in college football reside at the military academies: Air Force (266 lbs. per man), Army ( 266.1 lbs. per man ) and Navy 269.9 lbs. per linemen.
Who is the biggest individual? With the graduation of former LSU OG Herman Johnson (6'7" 386), the title goes to Washington Husky LG Morgan Rosborough checking in at 6-foot-6 and 382 pounds. Not far behind is Minnesota Golden Gopher RT Jeff Willis (6'7" 375) and Indiana's RT James Brewer (6'9" 339).
Iowa State has an interesting scenario. At RT is Hayworth Hicks (6'3-354) and backing him up is 6'4-355 Scott Haughton.
If you want to see how the upper echelon programs rank...
Florida - 309.1 lbs. per man
Alabama - 305.4 lbs. per man
Ohio St. - 304.6 lbs.
Penn St. - 304.2 lbs.
Texas - 307.4 lbs.
Oklahoma - 297.4 lbs
Nebraska - 303 lbs.
Va. Tech - 293.8 lbs.
Fla. State - 279.6 lbs. ( that's not a misprint)
USC - 290.5 lbs.
Oregon - 291.5 lbs.
West VA. - 294.1 lbs.
Boise St. - 278.5 lbs.
So next time you see an offensive lineman below 300 pounds, remember that BIGGER is not always better.
