| 16 July 2009
In my last post about offensive linemen I said we needed tackles in particular. I don't like that we are looking at natural guards to play tackle for us in Cordle and Browning. I don't like that we see so few faces out there. Adams and Shugarts were the only tackles who came in here specifically to play tackle. Miller is there now. He started well this spring but by the time the spring game ended, there were too many eyebrows raised as to whether he could help us at tackle. Recent news has me thinking more about this. One, Reid Fragel is now a tackle. Many of us knew this was a mere formality. Now it is official. Added a tackle there. I was not excited about Mewhort when I first saw him. I saw a 6-6 center. That is highly unusual. Rare might be a better word. But all the film was of him playing center so I could not see him out in space. See how he moves. So I could not project him as a tackle. Now that we have seen more of him in all-star games, I think he could be a kid in the mix at right tackle. Look at his body. He has the body of a tackle. He is long with an impressive wingspan. He has shown the feet. Lets go back to spring. Several contacts told me that I need to look at Cordle with an unbiased eye. Most guards can't play tackle. Cordle was solid out there. My argument for any number of other players to kick out there is anybody was better than Browning. That is the bottom line on Cordle. Whether he is a good right tackle or not, Cordle is an improvement. He likely stays at tackle. Since the first time I saw him on tape on him as a juniorI have wondered why Corey Linsley was not playing defense. He played defense as a senior and impressed. In the Big 33 I kept seeing the same player inside causing all kinds of problems for the offense. It was Linsley. An etched in stone rule is, if a kid can play defensive tackle you let him play defensive tackle. I think if the staff gives him a chance to practice on defense, he is unlikely to end up back on offense. Now, look at your offensive depth chart. I will wait until you call it up. Got it? Look at your 3 inside spots on the offensive line with Mewhort, Linsley and Cordle no longer there. You have 6 players. That 6 includes Connor Smith who is headed into his 4th year and has allowed every guard who has come into the program behind him to pass him on the depth chart. Some like Blankenship. Others have questions about him including his size, will he ever be big enough to be effective here.
Longo is a very nice project. Norwell has superstar written all over him. Both are tackles. If everything falls the way it could fall, is likely to fall in my mind, do we still need to recruit tackles? Yes. You always recruit tackles. There are exceptions to to the rule but the fact remains. Tackles can play guard but very few guards can play tackle. You move them down. Left tackle to right tackle to the inside spots. That is what the staff is doing. Brandon Lindner is the only lineman who projects inside who can claim a Buckeye offer. Always, always, always recruit tackles first.
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