Ok, so with Beau Nunn out the last two weeks, we have moved Colby Gossett to RT (from RG) and Jamie Collmar (RG two deep) has been at RG.

Why, when Chapman went down, did we not have our two-deep center (Tobias Edge-Campbell) come in? Parker Collins clearly hadn't ever played center and that really sent things into a bad spot for us.

I'm scratching my head on that one. Is Campbell hurt too?

TEC came in for one three-and-out series I believe in the second quarter after Collins got his first personal foul. He had a low snap but Lamb corralled it. He also rotated in as a guard at times.

I'm wondering about it too. I've heard conflicting info on how much a drop it is from Chapman to TEC, but it's clear the coaches would rather shuffle the line than have him be center.

Also discussed on this thread: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=8087&p=95846#p95846

Reports on TEC since fall camp have been that he struggles with snapping the ball. Collins has been the one to fill in for Chapman in previous games when they were in doubt as well. That's why on the thread a couple weeks ago asking to project next season's depth chart, I guessed Collins would be the starting center.

As for the two-deep, we have a true two-deep listed (i.e., 10 different guys), but we don't have that many we are confident in actually playing. That's not terribly unusual in college, or even the NFL - many teams have backup O-linemen who serve as the first reserve at multiple spots.

Unfortunately for us, our situation is slightly more dire, as we apparently had only two tackles and one center on the roster who were game-ready, and now two of those three players are hurt.

Not a big surprise as we've had several guys snapping the ball in some of the earlier games this season when we got up big, and TEC was usually one of the last ones to see time, if at all. Some said it was because he was the backup and they didn't want to risk getting him injured but it's more like he just has not picked up the position well. He was not a center in HS. He played OG/DT/NG in high school. He even started at NG/DT in the Shrine Bowl. And if you look at his film on his player page he's a very good OG as well.

Taking a lineman and trying to convert him to a shotgun center is even harder than taking a DTQB and trying to make him a WR. In addition to having to learn to throw a spiral pass between your legs, centers are also the glue of the OL as they make the blocking calls. It's not something that can be easily learned and some never fully pick it up. And, as has been pointed out, our offense is a timing O that even a slight miss snap can completely throw off the entire play. We've seen it before with others guys we've tried at center since we went to the spread.

I see our focus in recruiting right now in finding OL's with at least some actual shotgun center experience. We need more linemen at all positions but the quality of recruits out there this year has not been impressive from what I've heard, at least in the type that are realistic gets for us and that our staff likes. Personally I believe we'll begin to see a few offers going out in the 6' 2"-6' 3" range OG's as most we've offered this year have been the taller ones that Coach Led likes. They're just hard to come by and usually have a lot of choices. Plus it's a bit easier for a 6' 2" QB to throw over and around 6' 3" guys than 6' 6" guys with long arms. Fine for the OT spot and pushing rushers to the outside but the OG's just need to be able to hold a pocket for passing and be road graders in the run game.

EDIT: I posted this before reading some other threads. I see the part about calling the blocking and snaps has been covered in plenty of other threads. The other parts are still relevant so I'll just leave it as is.

Well hopefully if we have to do without Nunn and Chapman they can get the guys we have comfortable shuffling around. Eager to hear MTalk tonight.

I have been questioning the same thing about TEC. When he graduated high school early and enrolled at APP and went through spring ball and fall ball the coaches were very high on his center ability and there was even talk of him pushing Graham Fisher at that time for playing time as a true freshmen. Fast forward a year and a half and apparently he isn't working out at center but is listed on 2 deep in that position.

firemoose wrote:Personally I believe we'll begin to see a few offers going out in the 6' 2"-6' 3" range OG's as most we've offered this year have been the taller ones that Coach Led likes. They're just hard to come by and usually have a lot of choices. Plus it's a bit easier for a 6' 2" QB to throw over and around 6' 3" guys than 6' 6" guys with long arms. Fine for the OT spot and pushing rushers to the outside but the OG's just need to be able to hold a pocket for passing and be road graders in the run game.

Agree and I hope you're right about the offers. You want that height and length for tackles, but I don't see why it should be such a need for interior linemen. Even NFL guards don't have to be 6'4" and up, much less college ones and especially G5 ones.

Would love some concrete answers on what is happening with the O line in regards to injuries. I truly believe Nunn is out for the year, despite hearing from media outlets last week that he was questionable. What is he deal with the others as well. Would love to hear the truth. With our current line, I would be happy if we could go 500 the rest of the way. And the D better understand the arm tackling is not going to work.

Nunn may be back for the bowl game.


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AppOrange wrote:Would love some concrete answers on what is happening with the O line in regards to injuries. I truly believe Nunn is out for the year, despite hearing from media outlets last week that he was questionable. What is he deal with the others as well. Would love to hear the truth. With our current line, I would be happy if we could go 500 the rest of the way. And the D better understand the arm tackling is not going to work.

We should do better than 500. I could understand dropping a game, but I think we should still be legit favorites in our remaining games. The D will make adjustments to deal with the issues that have been uncovered. We'll adjust the game plan. Even in the beginning of the 2015 season, we were moving the ball and scoring points. We DO have a good coaching staff, and the athletes remaining on the field will get it done. None of the remaining teams have a D anywhere near as good as either Troy or stAte. No more short weeks!

GO APPS!

Yosef84 wrote:

AppOrange wrote:Would love some concrete answers on what is happening with the O line in regards to injuries. I truly believe Nunn is out for the year, despite hearing from media outlets last week that he was questionable. What is he deal with the others as well. Would love to hear the truth. With our current line, I would be happy if we could go 500 the rest of the way. And the D better understand the arm tackling is not going to work.

We should do better than 500. I could understand dropping a game, but I think we should still be legit favorites in our remaining games. The D will make adjustments to deal with the issues that have been uncovered. We'll adjust the game plan. Even in the beginning of the 2015 season, we were moving the ball and scoring points. We DO have a good coaching staff, and the athletes remaining on the field will get it done. None of the remaining teams have a D anywhere near as good as either Troy or stAte. No more short weeks!

GO APPS!

I won't make any bold blowout predictions but I do think we have more talent than the remaining three opponents. I agree, we have an outstanding coaching staff who will make adjustments. It is impossible to say how the game last week would have gone if not for the turnovers but they very much factored in. Eliminate those and the subsequent drives would have at least kept the Ark St offense off the field. I think those fumbles set us back and made everyone tighten up. I believe that if we can get through this game with a win and not suffer anymore serious injury we will be able to heal up, regroup and complete the final 4 game win streak.