2016 Leatherneck Football Preview - Offensive Lineman

[ST_Lawson]

Offensive Linemen

O-linemen are beasts up front in the trenches, giving the QB time to find receivers, opening holes for RBs, and generally becoming a wall of purple designed to stop opposing defenders. A good O-line can mean the difference between a QB sack of -8 yards and a 46 yard TD bomb. They don’t generally get of respect on the stats sheet, since it can be difficult to quantify their impact from a pure numbers perspective, but you can bet that a good O-line will get a ton of respect and recognition from their QBs (which is why you hear about pro QBs buying their o-linemen things like huge steak dinners, custom tailored suits, etc.).

We only had one offensive lineman who was done after last year, the quality player (and excellent student) Ryan Ricketts. As near as I can tell, everyone else returns from last year, and we added a couple of solid-looking freshmen to the mix. Here’s what we’re looking at for O-linemen this year.

#65 Senior Andrew Nichols (6’5”, 295lbs) - http://goleathernecks.com/roster.aspx?r ... h=football
#65 Senior Matt Zobrist (6’3”, 300lbs) - http://goleathernecks.com/roster.aspx?r ... h=football
#79 Senior Nick Ziegenbein (6'9”, 330lbs) - http://goleathernecks.com/roster.aspx?r ... h=football
#55 Junior Josh Baldus (6’5”, 285lbs) - http://goleathernecks.com/roster.aspx?r ... h=football
#66 Junior Jacob Judd (6’3”, 290lbs) - http://goleathernecks.com/roster.aspx?r ... h=football
#72 Junior Jordan Detweiler (6’5”, 295lbs) - http://goleathernecks.com/roster.aspx?r ... h=football
#77 Junior James Torgerson (6’5”, 290lbs) - http://goleathernecks.com/roster.aspx?r ... h=football
#62 Sophomore Brody Carls (6’5”, 270lbs) - http://goleathernecks.com/roster.aspx?r ... h=football
#64 Sophomore Thomas Kirsch (6’6”, 310lbs) - http://goleathernecks.com/roster.aspx?r ... h=football
#76 Sophomore Drew Wagner (6’6”, 325lbs) - http://goleathernecks.com/roster.aspx?r ... h=football
#63 R-Freshman Chris Zobrist (6’3”, 250lbs) - http://goleathernecks.com/roster.aspx?r ... h=football
#60 Freshman Kyle Sanft (6’4”, 285lbs) - http://goleathernecks.com/roster.aspx?r ... h=football
#70 Freshman Myron Cunningham (6’5”, 277lbs) - http://goleathernecks.com/roster.aspx?r ... h=football

Last season the O-line as a whole helped the offense to the fifth-most total yards in program history. They had a 1000+ yard rusher (Nikko Watson) and were ranked 22nd nationally in redzone offense. They were ranked 28th in tackles for a loss allowed and 32nd in sacks allowed in the FCS.

Individually:
Andrew Nichols played in six games (Eastern Illinois, Illinois, South Dakota, North Dakota State, Indiana State and Dayton).
Matt Zobrist played in all 13 games and started all 13...11 starts at right tackle and two at right guard.
Nick Ziegenbein played in eight games (of the final nine of the season)...saw time at offensive tackle and on special teams.
Josh Baldus started 12 times in his 13 games played
Jacob Judd started in all 13 games at center. Also received second Team All-MVFC, CoSIDA Academic All-District, Second Team Academic All-MVFC, and two MVFC 'Offensive Lineman of the Week' awards.
Jordan Detweiler played in the first three games and started against Illinois and Coastal Carolina at tackle before suffering a season-ending knee injury.
James Torgerson started in all 13 games.
Brody Carls did not see any game action (as a redshirt freshman). Non-game related, but he did step up and answer the call the “Be a Match” and donate bone marrow to help a man with Leukemia.
Thomas Kirsch played in eight games... saw action in the interior of the offensive line.
Drew Wagner played in 10 games as a true-freshman... saw time on the offensive line and special teams.
Chris Zobrist was redshirted.
Kyle Sanft and Myron Cunningham are incoming freshmen.

I could try to make predictions about who would play where and how much, but with as much contact the O-line guys get each play, you’re going to probably use just about every available body at some point (hence why only one available player didn’t see any action last year). I’d imagine that unless needed, we’ll see the two freshmen get redshirted. Also, we’ll probably see Judd do most of the work at center, since he’s the one with the most experience there and with the current QBs.

Other notes:
Senior Matt Zobrist and Redshirt Freshman Chris Zobrist are brothers, from Troy, IL (no word on if they’re at all related to Cubs 2nd baseman Ben Zobrist….a Eureka, IL native).

Stay tuned for next Thursday's preview of this year's Defensive Backs.