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Encouraging OL stat

Go Canes!! said:
Just about every news article you read says that position takes the biggest leap between years 2 and 3.
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That's definitely true. I see Nelson taking another big step this year, don't forget he wasn't really expected to be a contributor for at least 2 years coming out of HS and here he is an experienced vet heading into year 3. Gaynor, Donaldson, and Rivers need to take that leap for this OL to become a force. The interior really held us back last year with Scaife and Gaynor constantly getting beat/pushed back.

I'm cautiously optimistic that we'll get above average OL play which allows this offense to get to that 40ppg category.
 
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Canes Legacy said:
That's definitely true. I see Nelson taking another big step this year, don't forget he wasn't really expected to be a contributor for at least 2 years coming out of HS and here he is an experienced vet heading into year 3. Gaynor, Donaldson, and Rivers need to take that leap for this OL to become a force. The interior really held us back last year with Scaife and Gaynor constantly getting beat/pushed back.

I'm cautiously optimistic that we'll get above average OL play which allows this offense to get to that 40ppg category.
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I think they will improve from last year, but I'm not holding my breath re: "above average."
 
Lots of experience but still lots of question marks

Zion Nelson - Can he take the next step and really be a force at LT who turns into a 1st round pick?

Rivers - Young and Talented - Will he start and prove he's ready to hold down a G spot?

Gaynor - 5th year starter who has been inconsistent and has got pushed around. Can he finally be the bully Center we saw in his HS tape? Especially against weaker ACC opponents?

Donaldson - 5th year. His best was his Freshman year so far. Can he stay in shape and use his massive body to push others around versus the other way around?

Scaife and Williams - Will either provide stability and above average play in the run game and passing game?

Lots of questions with each player besides maybe Zion
 
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grover said:
We’ll know what we have out of the gate v Bama. The experience is excellent. But quality is still a question mark for some of these guys.
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If you saw what Clempsum did to Gaynor, I don't expect any different from Bama.
 
Go Canes!! said:
Why? Weren’t we average to slightly above last year?
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To my view- no. The interior line was below average, as it has been for 5 years. King bailed them out a ton, and was under a lot of pressure last year.

We need to be more consistently getting push in 3rd and 2/3 yard situations. That, and better pocket shape on passing downs, is what I'm looking for.
 
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Wasn't Gaynor pretty strong coming out of HS? I may not be remembering everything accurately but I could swear he had some solid reported lifts when he was being recruited at Douglas. Maybe it's just his frame, but he does get pushed around and having a weak center can absolutely tank the rest of the line's potential. Hopefully he's built some more strength this offseason.
 
Allabouttheu95 said:
No argument here outside of I think our interior players are still weak even as they mature. I’m confident in tackle play. Concerned on push inside
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How?

Scaife and Clark/Traore have been replaced by Donaldson and Rivers.Scaife is battling for the RT because he is a better run blocker than Williams. Gaynor is the only weak link. Rivers is unknown but has physical traits that had people high on his potential to contribute early.

Donaldson is going to be one of the most dominant run blockers in college football. As long as Rivers is at least solid, we will be ok. Centers can be helped in a zone run game. We just have to pray Gaynor can stalemate guys on pass plays and not get pushed into King’s lap.

If it wasn’t for Gaynor’s lack of raw strength, I would say this is the best oline since the early 2000s. I wish somebody stronger could have won that spot. King likes to climb the pocket and attack the line up the middle more than scrambling outside. Too often last year he was getting flushed outside or climbing into a collapsed pocket. Fixing that makes us an incredibly dangerous offense.
 
umiamifan1 said:
Wasn't Gaynor pretty strong coming out of HS? I may not be remembering everything accurately but I could swear he had some solid reported lifts when he was being recruited at Douglas. Maybe it's just his frame, but he does get pushed around and having a weak center can absolutely tank the rest of the line's potential. Hopefully he's built some more strength this offseason.
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He wasn't that bad freshman year being thrown into the fire when Donaldson got hurt at the end of the FSU game. Sucks Clark got hurt after the spring game, I'd like to see him at C instead of Gaynor.
 
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TruCane81 said:
How?

Scaife and Clark/Traore have been replaced by Donaldson and Rivers.Scaife is battling for the RT because he is a better run blocker than Williams. Gaynor is the only weak link. Rivers is unknown but has physical traits that had people high on his potential to contribute early.

Donaldson is going to be one of the most dominant run blockers in college football. As long as Rivers is at least solid, we will be ok. Centers can be helped in a zone run game. We just have to pray Gaynor can stalemate guys on pass plays and not get pushed into King’s lap.

If it wasn’t for Gaynor’s lack of raw strength, I would say this is the best oline since the early 2000s. I wish somebody stronger could have won that spot. King likes to climb the pocket and attack the line up the middle more than scrambling outside. Too often last year he was getting flushed outside or climbing into a collapsed pocket. Fixing that makes us an incredibly dangerous offense.
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that's a very optimistic take, hope you are right
 
Allabouttheu95 said:
Those starts for us equate to two of the worst o lines in the country in b2b years. I think they improve this year but still don’t see how they can hold up against good fronts. Inside play scares the **** out of me.
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2 years ago was one of the worst lines in the country, last year they improved a great deal. Yes, we struggled in the power run game last year but there was a great deal of improvement over 2019.

2021 should see even more growth with Scaife back at tackle and another year of strength and conditioning.
 
We have a chance to field a 2-deep with a combined 40 years of experience, while redshirting every freshman OL (Including Rivers) to set us up for years to come. Our fans ejaculate whenever Rivers is mentioned but slapping a RS on each of the OL who's arrived since 2020 is the logical move.

Williams sr/6
Donaldson sr/4
Gaynor sr/4
Herbert sr/4
Hillery sr/4
Scaife sr/3
Reed jr/3
Griffith jr/3
Campbell jr/3
Traore jr/3
Nelson so/2
Clark so/2

RS: Rivers, Walker, Washington, Seymore, Rodriguez, McLaughlin


Depth chart:

LT Nelson / Campbell
LG Donaldson / Traore
C Gaynor / Clark / Griffith
RG Scaife / Reed / Hillery
RT Williams / Herbert
 
Gooner#44 said:
that's a very optimistic take, hope you are right
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Zion is one of the most promising young LTs in the country. There is no reason to think he won’t grow.

Donaldson has always been a road grader at guard. He just had conditioning and technical issues. He seems to be focused. Scaife has been solid at tackle and is pushing Williams who was a good pass blocker last year. Ri

Clark had to play way too early and has had ups and downs. He should get much better as he matures physically. Traore and Campbell are backups with game experience who are maturing physically as well.

All that adds up for a reason to be optimistic. More than anything, the guys are focused and working hard when before there was a lot of criticism for their focus and effort. The mental change in that room will improve those guys more than anything else.

Get Gaynor on the deer antler spray and “supplements” and we ******!
 
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