Tuesday July 24, 2007

ACC Offensive Line Rankings

ACC Offensive Line Rankings

The ACC is loaded along the offensive line this season with some of the top NFL draft prospects coming back. Barry Richardson is among the top tackles but he is joined by Gosder Cherilus of Boston College, Duane Brown of Virginia Tech, Reggie Youngblood of Miami, Shannon Boatman of FSU and Eugene Monroe of Virginia are all considered future pros. The top guards in the league include Steve Crummey of Maryland, Andrew Bain of Miami, Chris DeGere of Wake Forest, Sergi Render of Virginia Tech and Jacky Claude of Florida State. Both Steve Justice of Wake Forest and Derrick Morse of Miami are All-American candidates at center.

Bryan Stinespring of Virginia Tech, Brad Scott of Clemson and Rick Trickett of West Virginia are among the top offensive line coaches in the country.

1. Wake Forest-When you think the Deacon offensive line you think of great technique but some criticize the chop blocks. Steve Justice is probably the top center in the league. Chris DeGeare was a highly rated prospect out of high school and he has been very good. This is probably the most efficient offensive line in the ACC.

2. Miami-This is one of the top offensive lines in the country. There might not be a better center, guard and tackle combination than Derrick Morse at center and Andrew Bain and Reggie Youngblood on the left side. Three NFLers mean the Canes will run to the left side often. Jason Fox started 12 games as a true freshman at right tackle.

3. Boston College-This unit is the face of this program. When you think of the Eagles you think of 6-7 330-pound grinders. Gosder Cherilus is the next great one in a long line of great ones at Boston College. Ryan Poles and Kevin Sheridan are returning starters also. Depth is pretty good here as eight of the top ten return from last season.

4. Virginia Tech-The Hokies are the pre-season favorite in the ACC but the offensive line is a slight question mark. Sergio Render started all 13 games last year as a true freshman and some feel he has a chance to be the best in school history. Duane Brown returns at left tackle and Ryan Shuman will once again be the starter at center but after that there are question marks. Ed Wang is a former tight end that may play right tackle.

5. Virginia-The Cavs went out and signed three great offensive linemen a few years ago and all three have turned out to be as good as advertised. Branden Albert and Ian-Yates Cunningham are among the best guard combinations in the country. Eugene Monroe is another guy that made his mark as a true freshman and is now one of the top left tackles in the ACC.

6. Maryland-The Terps thought they were going to have one of the top offensive lines in the country until Jared Gaither was declared academically ineligible and decided to enter the NFL supplemental draft. Gaither may have been the best offensive lineman in the league and the Terps have to also replace Stephon Heyer. Andrew Crummey is one of the top two guards in the league. Maryland is still solid here but not as good as they could have been.

7. Florida State-Rick Trickett was hired away from West Virginia to come in and re-work this offensive line. The Noles have been awful upfront for the past few seasons. Shannon Boatman was a mild success at tackle last season and Jacky Claude is very experienced at left guard. The center spot will once again be manned by John Frady but there is no one that scares you here. Maybe Trickett will work the miracle but I will have to see it to believe it.

8. Clemson-See Monday’s blog for detailed analysis.

9. Georgia Tech-The Yellow Jackets return four starters here but none are considered top NFL-type linemen. Tech has been average along the offensive line in recent years and this years group appears to me to be no different. Andrew Gardner is the best of the bunch at left tackle but there are five or six better left tackles in the league. Three seniors that have experience is a great deal but this is not the dominant group it appears to be on paper.

10. NC State-Tom O’Brien teams are usually incredible up front but this year they have some work to do. Curtis Couch is the only player with any pre-season publicity and Kalani Heppe is the only other returning starter. State does have great backs but this group of linemen is not recognized among the best in the ACC.

11. North Carolina-The good news for the Heels is that this group may be a little better in 2007. The bad news is that they were bad here in 2006. There are three returning starters but few could start elsewhere in the league. This group has more depth and should be better coached this season. If the offense averages 293 yards per game this season they are in trouble.

12. Duke-When you have all 11 on offense coming back you feel pretty good but that is not the case for the Blue Devils. Duke is as experienced as any in the conference but talent is another story. In 2006 they averaged only 98 yards per game on the ground and say they will not run it as much this season. There are not too many coaches in the league that would trade for this group even though all five starters return.

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