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What do you look for in size if you would recruit an offensive lineman?

No_Fly_Zone said:
This is a good tip across multiple positions, too. Give me OL who play basketball and/or kill it in the field events. TEs who hoop, too. Plus QBs who also play baseball. And LBs who wrestle.
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Wrestling is huge in the Midwest, most of the OL’s/DL’s from the midwestern regions usually also wrestle in HS as well.

I’m big proponent of it, I encourage every HS football player I ever interact with that if their school has a wrestling team to join it immediately. Because aside from the hand fighting techniques & learning to engage/disengage with an opponent, you also learn a sh*t ton about personal development, perseverance, resiliency & hard work. Wrestling is hard it basically sucks, having to cut weight & do all that **** running lol but it really builds character & teaches you how to not quit on yourself & overcome fatigue both mentally & physically.
 
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Iowa’s OL culture was built by the Legend Reese Morgan, he’s arguably the greatest OL coach in college football history. He created the blueprint that they still follow till this day...

One of the things he used to preach when he was scouting for OL was he looked for toughness, which is a difficult intangible to measure, but toughness was something he harped on in recruiting his linemen regardless of their star ranking.

- Toughness
- Work ethic
- Character
 
Liberty City El said:
Wrestling is huge in the Midwest, most of the OL’s/DL’s from the midwestern regions usually also wrestle in HS as well.

I’m big proponent of it, I encourage every HS football player I ever interact with that if their school has a wrestling team to join it immediately. Because aside from the hand fighting techniques & learning to engage/disengage with an opponent, you also learn a sh*t ton about personal development, perseverance, resiliency & hard work. Wrestling is hard it basically sucks, having to cut weight & do all that **** running lol but it really builds character & teaches you how to not quit on yourself & overcome fatigue both mentally & physically.
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Leverage, momentum and balance too. How to overpower a guy who might be physically stronger than you.
 
SpikeUM said:
We have done that the last few years, Ryan Rodriguez, etc?!?
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We've signed a few guys like that recently but they're all still first or second year players. The drawback to signing the athletic/basketball player type is that they usually aren't ready to step on the field for at least two seasons. We also have a 2022 commit, Flip Causwell who fits that bill too. Quick feet, basketball player who's still growing into his body and hasn't even played much football.
 
Liberty City El said:
Wrestling is huge in the Midwest, most of the OL’s/DL’s from the midwestern regions usually also wrestle in HS as well.

I’m big proponent of it, I encourage every HS football player I ever interact with that if their school has a wrestling team to join it immediately. Because aside from the hand fighting techniques & learning to engage/disengage with an opponent, you also learn a sh*t ton about personal development, perseverance, resiliency & hard work. Wrestling is hard it basically sucks, having to cut weight & do all that **** running lol but it really builds character & teaches you how to not quit on yourself & overcome fatigue both mentally & physically.
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IIRC Ray Lewis was state champion wrestler, or at least that caliber.
 
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10cane said:
Want the secret sauce?

Dual sport athletes. Wisconsin always recruited those massive kids, but they all played multiple sports in high school. I bet you the same for BC/Iowa.
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Didn’t we have that one guy cis was creaming about that did those kettle bell hand stands
He was a super jag
 
Liberty City El said:
Iowa’s OL culture was built by the Legend Reese Morgan, he’s arguably the greatest OL coach in college football history. He created the blueprint that they still follow till this day...

One of the things he used to preach when he was scouting for OL was he looked for toughness, which is a difficult intangible to measure, but toughness was something he harped on in recruiting his linemen regardless of their star ranking.

- Toughness
- Work ethic
- Character
Click to expand...
Reese Morgan has NOTHING on Nebraska's Legendary OL Coach Milt Tenipor who passed away in 2016...He's without question the GOAT...
 
Liberty City El said:
Wrestling is huge in the Midwest, most of the OL’s/DL’s from the midwestern regions usually also wrestle in HS as well.

I’m big proponent of it, I encourage every HS football player I ever interact with that if their school has a wrestling team to join it immediately. Because aside from the hand fighting techniques & learning to engage/disengage with an opponent, you also learn a sh*t ton about personal development, perseverance, resiliency & hard work. Wrestling is hard it basically sucks, having to cut weight & do all that **** running lol but it really builds character & teaches you how to not quit on yourself & overcome fatigue both mentally & physically.
Click to expand...

Wisconsin OL coaches want multi-sport athletes, and Barry Alvarez loved wrestlers. He coached HS wrestling in Iowa and Nebraska early in his career. But plenty of basketball and track / field guys as well.

Wisconsin also seeks positional versatility. Most guys will play at 2 or 3 positions along the line over their career. It is not uncommon for them to progress from G -> RT -> LT. It builds cohesiveness along the line and they know everyone else's assignment by the time they are upperclassmen. If there is an elite positional recruit they obviously still take them but Wisconsin recruits for the position of OL not LT/LG/C/RG/RT. Tall, big (legs and shoulders, NOT gut), and smart. Joe Tippman is 6'6" and a 4* OT recruit currently starting at C. Jack Nelson 6'7" 4* OT currently starting at LG. Logan Bruss 6'5" 3* OG is the starting LT.

Edited to add a rant: I'll never understand coaches who recruit HS centers aside from elite recruits. If they don't pan out you have a 6'2" 310 lb OL that is now only going to see the field on the practice squad. Recruit the extra OT / G and teach a kid how to play center. Hopefully Miami gets to actually play Jakai Clark at C someday, because he's a liability at G and can't play OT.
 
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Liberty City El said:
Wrestling is huge in the Midwest, most of the OL’s/DL’s from the midwestern regions usually also wrestle in HS as well.

I’m big proponent of it, I encourage every HS football player I ever interact with that if their school has a wrestling team to join it immediately. Because aside from the hand fighting techniques & learning to engage/disengage with an opponent, you also learn a sh*t ton about personal development, perseverance, resiliency & hard work. Wrestling is hard it basically sucks, having to cut weight & do all that **** running lol but it really builds character & teaches you how to not quit on yourself & overcome fatigue both mentally & physically.
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I remember Davin Joseph wrestling at Hallandale and then going to OU and we see what he did at OU and in the NFL.
 
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SpikeUM said:
Gogeta4, would you be available to coach OL on Saturday's, for a local team, but I cant tell you yet the name of the team?
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Lol just seeing this...the only thing im coaching right now is myself looking at these Miami Carnival females azzes
 
Lower body/feet and toughness on film.
20 yard shuttle when you're testing...good metric for flexibility, burst, and balance. 10 yard split can give you some insight how quick they are off the ball.

Most everything else can be coached.

Most of the time, big sloppies in high school are a hard no for me, dawg.

With that said, OL is the hardest to evaluate and project. There are so many styles that work as you go from college to the pros and for the best OL, its an art. You'd be hard pressed to find many OL that are good that are charmin soft though. Most of the good ones are double hard.
 
BoxingRobes said:
Lower body/feet and toughness on film.
20 yard shuttle when you're testing...good metric for flexibility, burst, and balance. 10 yard split can give you some insight how quick they are off the ball.

Most everything else can be coached.

Most of the time, big sloppies in high school are a hard no for me, dawg.

With that said, OL is the hardest to evaluate and project. There are so many styles that work as you go from college to the pros and for the best OL, its an art. You'd be hard pressed to find many OL that are good that are charmin soft though. Most of the good ones are double hard.
Click to expand...

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