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The Charlie Weis era hinges on the O-line
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It seems like every week for the past two years the broadcast teams covering the Irish have fed their viewers with a steady diet of insights of the poor play of the offensive line for the Fighting Irish. One week the undersized offensive line just can’t open holes. The next week the undermanned Golden Domers can’t protect the quarterback. It’s time to put this into perspective. They weren’t undersized and they weren’t undermanned, they underperformed.
These might not be the heady days of Leahy and Parseghian, but one thing that no one is criticizing Weis’ staff for is recruiting. The four and five-star athletes still line up to play in South Bend, and the luster of those Super Bowl rings on Weis’ fingers still shine pretty bright. It wasn’t that the athletes weren’t there, it was the performance that was lacking.
Here are the facts. In 2007 they gave up a NCAA record 58 sacks. In 2008 the numbers were better, 22 sacks allowed, but it says here that the improvement was mostly the maturation of Jimmy Clausen at quarterback more than any improvement on the line. The running game? In 2008 they rushed for 124 yards a game. This would have been the all-time worst in Irish history, but in 2007 they rushed for 75 yards a game.
The numbers say that maybe the Irish were thin up front, but look at the roster. The idea of the Irish being undersized or that they lack depth is absurd. Let’s take a look in the cupboard and see what’s coming back this year.
Tackle: Paul Duncan (6-7/308), a fifth-year senior, is expected to start at left tackle, after taking an injury redshirt last year. He should be backed up by highly-touted junior Matt Romine (6-5/292). At right tackle, junior Sam Young (6-8/330), a former #1- overall recruit, will be spelled by freshman Lane Clelland (6-5/281). That is a combined 12 years experience in the program. That is an average size of 6-6/303.
Guards: At left guard, fifth-year senior Eric Olsen (6-5/303) will start, with redshirt sophomore Andrew Nuss (6-5/304) behind him. Chris Stewart (6-5/337), a redshirt junior, will be right guard, Mike Golic Jr. (6-3/280) moving from center to back him up. The guards have a combined 14 years in the program. They average 6-4.5/306
Center: At center, redshirt junior Dan Wenger (6-4/302) will be backed up by top recruit Braxston Cave (6-3/315). Average size in the middle is 6-3.5/308 with 4 years experience in the program.
Why is new offensive line coach Frank Verducci happy? He inherits blue chip athletes across the board, averaging over three hundred pounds and three years in the system. There are NFL teams that don’t have that.
The bottom line is simple. They are not undermanned. They are not undersized. They are not young. They are not learning a new system. They are big and strong and have a chance to be the foundation of a very memorable season in South Bend. And if the Charlie Weis era is going to continue, they cannot afford to underperform.
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