interesting take on the offensive line after week 1 of camp

[E1k]

Now that media viewing is over I am still shocked that Meriweather has not been mentioned once. I understand that means he’s a non factor I just will continue to say I am shocked to hear it. I mean D money has been talking about the 6’9 JUCO kid every stream but not one peep about Meriweather from him or any other media personnel.

UGA’s line and Stacy Searles really were dog ****

Seems like it was between Seaton or just trust what we already have, meriweather was just us getting experienced versatile depth

 

[NicKane]

LT - Pancake
LG - McCoy
C - Rodriguez
RG - Buchanan
RT - Cantwell

Seems simple enough. They're just cross-training Cantwell and Congdon at the guard spots, they don't intend to give significant snaps (at either guard spot) to 6'8 OLs.

Nope! McCoy will be the right tackle and pancake will be the left tackle. Buchanan at one guard spot rotating in with either Congdon or Cantwell and the other guard spot, one of those freshmen will be the starter.

 

[ben]

Nope! McCoy will be the right tackle and pancake will be the left tackle. Buchanan at one guard spot rotating in with either Congdon or Cantwell and the other guard spot, one of those freshmen will be the starter.

yea that is my thinking ...

LT - Pancake
LG - Cantwell
C - Rodriguez
RG - Buchanan/Congdon
RT - McCoy

I would imagine Buchanan will be a super sub with capability to play four positions.

 

[rsa coral gables]

The only OL spot I have any concern over is Center.

Other than that, we have a bunch of a big gigantic athletic Guards & Tackles, Upperclassmen Vets & young True, Red Frosh-Soph. The other 4 spots will get figured out.

Center is the one where the margin of error is the slimmest & has arguably the 2nd highest impact on line play overall.

There's a reason they've brought in Matt Lee, Zach Carpenter & James Brockermeyer 3 seasons in a row to start at Center, all while Rodriguez was here.

Rodriguez is the elder statesmen of the line, he's gotta show something this season. I don’t mean just be serviceable for a feel good story for the board, I mean his play has to elevate to a level that compliments the Championship aspirations that we have.

been saying this for 4 years! he SEEMS to not have the strength to play center. i've seen him repeatedly over the years. time will tell

 

[Calinative]

The only OL spot I have any concern over is Center.

Other than that, we have a bunch of a big gigantic athletic Guards & Tackles, Upperclassmen Vets & young True, Red Frosh-Soph. The other 4 spots will get figured out.

Center is the one where the margin of error is the slimmest & has arguably the 2nd highest impact on line play overall.

There's a reason they've brought in Matt Lee, Zach Carpenter & James Brockermeyer 3 seasons in a row to start at Center, all while Rodriguez was here.

Rodriguez is the elder statesmen of the line, he's gotta show something this season. I don’t mean just be serviceable for a feel good story for the board, I mean his play has to elevate to a level that compliments the Championship aspirations that we have.

Well this is why I have been saying for months now Buchanan NEEDS to be getting a lot of center work... SJ needs to be ready to make line calls and be working on snapping as well. Both them need to be ready to contribute at center asap.

I think there is genuine questions regarding pass blocking at the moment though. Particularly from McCoy at tackle imo. Personally Ive been saying Samson over McCoy for OT so I'm not worried about him in pass pro.

With at minimum 2 guys being 1st time starters or straight up freshman we can likely expect some more pre-snap penalties early. Mauigoa had quite a bit as a true freshman. Imo this is not too big of a deal and should just be expected.

 

[Calinative]

been saying this for 4 years! he SEEMS to not have the strength to play center. i've seen him repeatedly over the years. time will tell

Idk I wouldn't worry about strength (which I'd equate to overall run blocking effectiveness) as much as lateral movement and pass pro. The movement skills and pass pro were Matt Lee and Brockermeyers strengths. Of course Lee was the most athletic and that actually also allowed him to be used as a weapon in the run+ screen game... The pure run effectiveness was more Carpenter who I'd think Rodriguez is gonna be most similar to.

I will say though the one critique of that viewpoint also is that it ignores the fact Ryan Rodriguez was quite literally named the starter at LG in 2024 to open the season against UF. So how can we really say the staff didn't trust Rodriguez in 2024 so got a portal guy when he was also a starter who just suffered a season ending injury? And in 2023 it's not like he wasn't still a young developmental project...
Now 2025 season is absolutely up for debate why that played out the way it did.... So perhaps it was specifically about their confidence in him at Center specifically rather than just as a contributor on the OLine (which actually seems like the situation SJ is in except imo SJ ONLY has the size/build to play center).

or maybe the injury was still holding him back and staff didn't want to take the risk?...

 

[rsa coral gables]

Idk I wouldn't worry about strength (which I'd equate to overall run blocking effectiveness) as much as lateral movement and pass pro. The movement skills and pass pro were Matt Lee and Brockermeyers strengths. Of course Lee was the most athletic and that actually also allowed him to be used as a weapon in the run+ screen game... The pure run effectiveness was more Carpenter who I'd think Rodriguez is gonna be most similar to.

I will say though the one critique of that viewpoint also is that it ignores the fact Ryan Rodriguez was quite literally named the starter at LG in 2024 to open the season against UF. So how can we really say the staff didn't trust Rodriguez in 2024 so got a portal guy when he was also a starter who just suffered a season ending injury? And in 2023 it's not like he wasn't still a young developmental project...
Now 2025 season is absolutely up for debate why that played out the way it did.... So perhaps it was specifically about their confidence in him at Center specifically rather than just as a contributor on the OLine (which actually seems like the situation SJ is in except imo SJ ONLY has the size/build to play center).

or maybe the injury was still holding him back and staff didn't want to take the risk?...

fair points. if he can play like carpenter, i'd be happy. i'm super skeptical, however. i'd love to be wrong.

****, i predicted Samson wouldn't play here after watching him act like a statute behind the bench for 2 years. last year proved me wrong. and this year he'll excel. happy for the kid and happy to be wrong. i know when to say i'm wrong, unlike @NicKane and @3rdCane

 

[aleahy]

What surprises me, if Samson goes to LT week 1, is that I thought he was the best OG in the country by the end of last year. If not very close to it. Athletic, mean, and elite at climbing to the second level.

With building a new OL, I thought having the best OG in the country was a good place to start. That said, if he can play NFL level LT, then I’m all for it. I think Samson can go R1 and this would definitely help that.

Our coaches know best so whatever they decide, the unit will be high level.

 

[rberryjr]

Great breakdown on Pancake

 

[Lance Roffers]

You know better than most I go off plays and I re-watch every single game, sometimes multiple times, because I guess it's just a stupid hobby. If my comments about his pass pro bother some, I don't know what to say. It's what I've watched during or after the games. I don't go off camp reports or PFF scores because I have no idea how they judge things (actually, what's his PFF pass pro score?).

All I can say is what you just showed there is not a random play. He's been occasionally reachy and off balance in pass pro throughout the last couple years. Sure, "everyone is sometimes." But, it has stood out. Compare to Samson last year in similar plays in pass pro, and you'll see a gigantic difference in how he sets, his balance and recovery. Again, I'm extremely far from any technical expertise for OL. Never played it and other than knowing some basic rules of what they look for and watching them as keys, I couldn't tell you the little nuances of their games. I feel like if you can't teach someone something, you don't know well it enough to make solid conclusions beyond plain observations, and that's where I stand with OL.

So, plainly, until we see it, I wonder about his transition to RT.

Probably better as a direct question for the handful of dudes I generally look to for OL opinions: @San Amaro Dr, @gogeta4, @hollyhood27, @Lance Roffers.

What do you all expect from Mccoy's transition to RT? On DUO and many running plays, he should be fine. Out on an island on pass situations, what should we look for to note if the transition from LG to RT is in trouble?

I share your concerns with pass pro. I've often said if you could mesh McCoy and Samson together and keep the best parts you'd have an All-American G.

It seems like he's patient and has good feet (but not exceptional) and has a great frame. You just hope for growth YoY and that they understand his strengths and struggles and plan around them a bit.

OL is such a hard position to evaluate because they can change so much over the course of their careers.

 

[ThomasM]

That’s how I read it as well. Interesting indeed.

I haven’t seen Congdon take one single snap. When he committed, my initial thought was “decent project prospect.” He was much lighter and from small town Ohio. Literally from that moment til today, every single time I hear his name mentioned, it’s about his weight gain, his work ethic, his bend, and so on. If 60% of it is true, we have a monster on our hands. I can’t wait to actually see him taking snaps.

A 6'8" guard...... Never seen one in my life, until now. Dude is a wrestler, super athletic, and looks like he can pull it off. I'd hate to have that freight train running at me.