By Skip Myslenski
NUsports.com Special Contributor
Nine different 'Cats have started on the offensive line this season.
Only once this season have the same five started at the same position on the offensive line for even three weeks in succession.
In their tenth game of the season, last Saturday against Purdue, the 'Cats started their sixth combination on the offensive line.
"It's the reason you coach 'em all," offensive line coach Adam Cushing says when asked about the uncertainty that has suffused his group all season. "I've said it to the guys. In my time as the offensive line coach (five years), I think one year the same group started game one that started game 12 or 13. That's just the nature of Big Ten ball. And some years it hasn't been injuries. It's been guys beating guys out. So it's a motivator to the guys who aren't the ones. Keep practicing hard. Keep staying locked in.
"We say it all the time. When your opportunity arises, it's too late to prepare."
Opportunities arose last fall for some offensive linemen to move up the depth chart, but they were not prepared. They had become comfortable twos, a fatal condition that Pat Fitzgerald would talk about as the season unfolded. This was something he would not abide, something his team could not afford, and the push to root out that disease began when the 'Cats winter workouts began back in January.
Everything they did now was a competition, and none of them, not one of them, had a stranglehold on a position. Geoff Mogus was moved from guard to tackle. Shane Mertz was moved from tackle to guard. Ian Park worked at both center and guard, and the same was true too for Brad North.
"We want to find the best five," Cushing said then. "Not just the best two tackles and the best two guards. The best five. We'll figure it out after that. It's all about playing the O line."
That approach continued on through spring ball and into the fall, and at this season's start any number of linemen were rolled into the action. Then along the way, and not insignificantly, the seniors Mogus and Matt Frazier took ownership of their room. In early winter they pulled out a calendar and drew up a series of outings for it, and soon enough those in it were doing things like dining together and going to a batting cage together and playing miniature golf together.
"We built chemistry there," Mogus avowed early this fall. "Then we all had to grind in the off-season. We stuck together there too and built more chemistry."
Matt Frazier was the first to go down. He contracted a near-fatal staph infection during the summer and would not play until Week Five. In Week Two tackle Adam DePietro was lost for the season, and along the way injuries also felled Mertz and Mogus and Park. That is what caused the constant shuffling on the O line, and here is why that was not an easy condition to abide. It is, despite its members' considerable girth, very much like a chorus line, and everyone on it must hear the same rhythm, operate with the same heartbeat, if it is to be effective.
Yet the Big 'Cats, as they call themselves, have not only been that, clearing the way for a rushing offense that ranks fourth best in the Big Ten. Against Nebraska they also keyed the game-ending, four-minute drive that allowed their team to run out the clock while nursing a two-point lead. And against Penn State they keyed the two-minute drive that led to Jack Mitchell's game-winning field goal with seven seconds remaining. And last week against Purdue they keyed the three-minute, thirty-nine second drive that once more allowed their team to run out the clock, this time while nursing a seven-point lead.
"I think it just comes back to preparation," right tackle Eric Olson will say when asked how they've handled the uncertainty that has pervaded them. "We always think we have 10 guys ready to play. The guys who are on the two-deep, we always say, 'You've got to be ready to play.' I think this shows that we really do follow through with that. Guys are going down and people are stepping up and you really don't notice too much of a drop off. We had a new group of five guys starting last week, and then one of them (Mertz) goes down and Connor (Mahoney) comes in and Connor played well. He was ready to go. That's just a testament to our preparation and people being ready to go."
"It started in winter workouts with the camaraderie and the competitions the coaches put us through," adds Mertz. "Me and Olson went against each other multiple times in one-on-one competitions, but the next day I would be against someone like (defensive end) Dean Lowry. Mixing things like that helps you get comfortable with a whole bunch of different people, and then the things we did with Geoff and Matt, going golfing, going to dinner every week, that makes you more comfortable with people. When it comes to the game and the bullets are flying and everything's going on, that's really what you need. You need to be able to look at the person next to you and fully trust him so you can do your job."
"Through spring workouts as well, we did some positional work as a group," Olson picks up. "We had guys do every position. When you know what everybody's doing, it just helps you understand the offense better and have a better understanding of what's going on. That helps everybody."
"During spring ball too I played next to a bunch of different people," Mertz goes on. "So now during the season, if I play left guard (which he has), right guard (which he also has), it doesn't really matter for me. I know I can trust whoever's next to me, whether it's Olson, Blake Hance (the starting left tackle), Geoff Mogus. It doesn't really matter."
But you're a chorus line, they are told. How have you managed to dance so well together with so many different partners?
"It's everything Shane said," Olson finally says. "It's trusting everybody. And like I said before, it comes down to preparation. When we're out there at practice, we have the starters and the two-deep guys going with the ones against the defense we're going to see. When I'm at practice, I have a two next to me sometimes and we're going against the scout defense. So he's learning what we have to do, and then we watch it together, get prepared together (doing film work), so even if the guys aren't going to start, they're ready to go. They've seen the defense, and we trust them when they come out there."
The competitive nature engendered in winter workouts; the camaraderie and trust established in those outings arranged by Mogus and Frazier; the depth built by rolling players through early in the season-- all of that has helped the O line absorb the injuries that have befallen it. There is one more thing as well. This season, as opposed to last, it has no comfortable twos. "I've said it to you before," Adam Cushing will finally say when this is pointed out to him. "I've had a blast coaching this group because I don't think anybody was-- there were guys not happy with their roles, right? And you shouldn't be happy if you're a two.
"But everybody wanted to do something about it. Nobody was just happy being on the bus, and eating a steak dinner on Friday, and all that kind of stuff. They were working every single day to take the role they wanted. Then, when their opportunity shows up, they can go in there and help us win some games. That's been really cool to work with this group of guys and I think that starts with the leadership of Geoff and Matt. They've been through some things in this program, they've seen the highs of the Gator Bowl and they they've seen the lows.
"When you've got a couple guys like that who can see what happens when you don't work the right way, when everybody doesn't show up to do it all the time, you've got what you want."
NUsports.com Special Contributor
Nine different 'Cats have started on the offensive line this season.
Only once this season have the same five started at the same position on the offensive line for even three weeks in succession.
In their tenth game of the season, last Saturday against Purdue, the 'Cats started their sixth combination on the offensive line.
"It's the reason you coach 'em all," offensive line coach Adam Cushing says when asked about the uncertainty that has suffused his group all season. "I've said it to the guys. In my time as the offensive line coach (five years), I think one year the same group started game one that started game 12 or 13. That's just the nature of Big Ten ball. And some years it hasn't been injuries. It's been guys beating guys out. So it's a motivator to the guys who aren't the ones. Keep practicing hard. Keep staying locked in.
"We say it all the time. When your opportunity arises, it's too late to prepare."
Opportunities arose last fall for some offensive linemen to move up the depth chart, but they were not prepared. They had become comfortable twos, a fatal condition that Pat Fitzgerald would talk about as the season unfolded. This was something he would not abide, something his team could not afford, and the push to root out that disease began when the 'Cats winter workouts began back in January.
Everything they did now was a competition, and none of them, not one of them, had a stranglehold on a position. Geoff Mogus was moved from guard to tackle. Shane Mertz was moved from tackle to guard. Ian Park worked at both center and guard, and the same was true too for Brad North.
"We want to find the best five," Cushing said then. "Not just the best two tackles and the best two guards. The best five. We'll figure it out after that. It's all about playing the O line."
That approach continued on through spring ball and into the fall, and at this season's start any number of linemen were rolled into the action. Then along the way, and not insignificantly, the seniors Mogus and Matt Frazier took ownership of their room. In early winter they pulled out a calendar and drew up a series of outings for it, and soon enough those in it were doing things like dining together and going to a batting cage together and playing miniature golf together.
"We built chemistry there," Mogus avowed early this fall. "Then we all had to grind in the off-season. We stuck together there too and built more chemistry."
Matt Frazier was the first to go down. He contracted a near-fatal staph infection during the summer and would not play until Week Five. In Week Two tackle Adam DePietro was lost for the season, and along the way injuries also felled Mertz and Mogus and Park. That is what caused the constant shuffling on the O line, and here is why that was not an easy condition to abide. It is, despite its members' considerable girth, very much like a chorus line, and everyone on it must hear the same rhythm, operate with the same heartbeat, if it is to be effective.
Yet the Big 'Cats, as they call themselves, have not only been that, clearing the way for a rushing offense that ranks fourth best in the Big Ten. Against Nebraska they also keyed the game-ending, four-minute drive that allowed their team to run out the clock while nursing a two-point lead. And against Penn State they keyed the two-minute drive that led to Jack Mitchell's game-winning field goal with seven seconds remaining. And last week against Purdue they keyed the three-minute, thirty-nine second drive that once more allowed their team to run out the clock, this time while nursing a seven-point lead.
"I think it just comes back to preparation," right tackle Eric Olson will say when asked how they've handled the uncertainty that has pervaded them. "We always think we have 10 guys ready to play. The guys who are on the two-deep, we always say, 'You've got to be ready to play.' I think this shows that we really do follow through with that. Guys are going down and people are stepping up and you really don't notice too much of a drop off. We had a new group of five guys starting last week, and then one of them (Mertz) goes down and Connor (Mahoney) comes in and Connor played well. He was ready to go. That's just a testament to our preparation and people being ready to go."
"It started in winter workouts with the camaraderie and the competitions the coaches put us through," adds Mertz. "Me and Olson went against each other multiple times in one-on-one competitions, but the next day I would be against someone like (defensive end) Dean Lowry. Mixing things like that helps you get comfortable with a whole bunch of different people, and then the things we did with Geoff and Matt, going golfing, going to dinner every week, that makes you more comfortable with people. When it comes to the game and the bullets are flying and everything's going on, that's really what you need. You need to be able to look at the person next to you and fully trust him so you can do your job."
"Through spring workouts as well, we did some positional work as a group," Olson picks up. "We had guys do every position. When you know what everybody's doing, it just helps you understand the offense better and have a better understanding of what's going on. That helps everybody."
"During spring ball too I played next to a bunch of different people," Mertz goes on. "So now during the season, if I play left guard (which he has), right guard (which he also has), it doesn't really matter for me. I know I can trust whoever's next to me, whether it's Olson, Blake Hance (the starting left tackle), Geoff Mogus. It doesn't really matter."
But you're a chorus line, they are told. How have you managed to dance so well together with so many different partners?
"It's everything Shane said," Olson finally says. "It's trusting everybody. And like I said before, it comes down to preparation. When we're out there at practice, we have the starters and the two-deep guys going with the ones against the defense we're going to see. When I'm at practice, I have a two next to me sometimes and we're going against the scout defense. So he's learning what we have to do, and then we watch it together, get prepared together (doing film work), so even if the guys aren't going to start, they're ready to go. They've seen the defense, and we trust them when they come out there."
The competitive nature engendered in winter workouts; the camaraderie and trust established in those outings arranged by Mogus and Frazier; the depth built by rolling players through early in the season-- all of that has helped the O line absorb the injuries that have befallen it. There is one more thing as well. This season, as opposed to last, it has no comfortable twos. "I've said it to you before," Adam Cushing will finally say when this is pointed out to him. "I've had a blast coaching this group because I don't think anybody was-- there were guys not happy with their roles, right? And you shouldn't be happy if you're a two.
"But everybody wanted to do something about it. Nobody was just happy being on the bus, and eating a steak dinner on Friday, and all that kind of stuff. They were working every single day to take the role they wanted. Then, when their opportunity shows up, they can go in there and help us win some games. That's been really cool to work with this group of guys and I think that starts with the leadership of Geoff and Matt. They've been through some things in this program, they've seen the highs of the Gator Bowl and they they've seen the lows.
"When you've got a couple guys like that who can see what happens when you don't work the right way, when everybody doesn't show up to do it all the time, you've got what you want."