Gators Football Preview: A look at the offensive line
Wednesday, July 27, 2011 | Football, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Soon after news broke Monday that the NFL lockout was officially over, former Gators offensive lineman Marcus Gilbert tweeted that he was moving to Pittsburgh.
A second-round pick of the Steelers, Gilbert will certainly be missed by the Gators as he heads north to begin his professional career. So will Mike Pouncey, Carl Johnson and Mo Hurt.
The foursome combined to start 48 games last season, so if you see Gators offensive line coach Frank Verducci around town holding up a help-needed sign, you know why.
It didn't take long for the Gators to feel the impact of losing four starters on the line. They limped into the spring game in April with only six healthy scholarship offensive linemen, limiting what they could do in the game.
With fall camp about to start, first-year Gators coach Will Muschamp remains concerned about the unit's depth.
“We can't afford injuries,'' he said. “It's a line-of-scrimmage league and we are going in a little bit thin, but that's the cards that are dealt and that's the way we'll play them.''
The good news is that tackles Xavier Nixon (6-5, 295) and Matt Patchan (6-6, 295) and guards Nick Alajajian (6-4, 295), James Wilson (6-3, 325) and David Young (6-4, 300) are healthy and expected to be ready for the start of camp after missing either part or all of spring practice.
Of the returning players, Nixon (eight starts in 2010) and 6-foot-3, 315-pound guard Jon Halapio (seven starts) contributed the most last season. Nixon played mostly at right tackle but started a game on the left side, where he is likely to play in 2011. All of Halapio's starts came at right guard.
Wilson is the most experienced of the group, appearing in 26 games with five starts. He missed the majority of last season with a knee injury and if healthy could contend for extended playing time.
Sophomore Jonotthan Harrison (6-3, 300) has moved to center after seeing limited playing time last season, his only start coming at left guard in the Outback Bowl against Penn State. Harrison appears to be a leading candidate to start but is facing competition from Sam Robey (6-4, 295) and newcomer Dan Wenger (6-4, 298), who played at Notre Dame under Charlie Weis and is familiar with the Gators' new offense.
Wenger has suffered from concussions in the past and missed his final season at Notre Dame but was recently granted an extra year of eligibility and transferred to Florida.
“He's a guy who brings some toughness,'' Muschamp said. “I think it's been very positive from the standpoint that he is a guy who has been through our system. We understand he has been very beneficial for our players. We need some quality players in there and to have him for a year is an added bonus.''
A wild card among the group is redshirt junior tackle Patchan, a former defensive lineman who missed all of last season due to a wrist injury. Patchan underwent surgery and is now healthy entering camp. He is expected to challenge for a starting job at right tackle.
“I'm really excited about his progress thus far,'' Muschamp said.
Another player on the rise is sophomore guard Ian Silberman (6-4, 300), a good athlete expected to enter camp at the top of the depth chart at left guard. Redshirt freshman tackle Chaz Green (6-5, 305) can play either side and provides depth, as do veterans Wilson and Young.
The depth chart is rounded out by redshirt sophomore tackle Kyle Koehne, who appeared in all 13 games last season as a member of the Gators' field-goal unit. Koehne has improved and is considered a likely reserve at both guard spots.
Finally, incoming freshman Trip Thurman (6-6, 302) adds another body should injuries deplete the line in a bad way.
As Muschamp and Weis work to implement a new pro-style offense this fall and develop depth up front, there are plenty of jobs available. The only certainty at this point is that Pouncey, Gilbert, Hurt and Johnson are gone and their replacements remain uncertain.
GatorZone.com senior writer Scott Carter is previewing each position group on the Gators football team leading up to the start of fall camp.
