Top Five Offensive Lines IU Will Face in 2017

Written By Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)

To round out our Top Five series on the offensive side of the ball we look at the big boys in the trenches. The offensive line is vital to any team’s success. If the line cannot protect the quarterback or give enough push to open some holes in the running game, the offense will be unproductive. The Big Ten has some of the best offensive lines in the country. Let’s take a look at who the IU defense must get by to stop the oppositions’ offense.

1. Ohio State Buckeyes

The Buckeye offensive line is led by All-American center Billy Price who has started 41 straight games for the Scarlet and Gray after redshirting in 2013. Price has racked up the awards as well as he was named an All-American and first team All-Big Ten honoree as well as a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar in 2016. Price will be the leader of the unit that looks to lead the Big Ten in rushing again.

Starting next to Price will be a pair of sophomore guards, Michael Jordan and Matthew Burrell. Burrell is a 6-foot-3 300-pound redshirt sophomore who played in 13 games a season ago after coming in as a Top-100 prospect. Michael Jordan, no not that MJ, started all 13 games as a true freshman in 2016, the first freshman to do so since Orlando Pace did that way back in 1994, and earned FWAA Freshman All-American honors. He is a mountain of a man at 6-foot-7 and 310 pounds.

Senior Jamarco Jones and junior Isaiah Prince who both started every game for the Buckeyes in 2016 will man the tackle positions. Jones has been a stalwart at tackle logging 36 games and over 1,000 plays from scrimmage. Jones had a tremendous junior season as he was named a second-team All-Big Ten and was selected as a finalist for the Joe Moore Offensive Lineman of the Year Award. Isaiah Prince is another reliable starter who has played 26 straight games.

The Buckeyes have had tremendous injury luck along the offensive line, but just in case that changes Ohio State can turn to true freshman Josh Meyers who was in for spring practice, junior Demetrius Knox who has 17 games of experience under his belt, and Brady Taylor who was a solid contributor off the bench a season ago.

The Buckeyes led the Big Ten in rushing a year ago with an average of 245.2 yards per game. In Ohio State’s 38-17 win over Indiana in 2016, they ran for 290 yards and four touchdowns on 50 carries while only giving up one sack and two tackles for loss.

2. Wisconsin Badgers

Wisconsin football is known for their awesome tailgating, Jump Around, and a strong running game led by a beefy offensive line. 2017 is no different, as the Badgers should have one of the best lines in the conference again. Junior center Michael Deiter, who is a Phil Steele fourth-team All-American, and guard Beau Benzschawel, an All-Big Ten standout, headline this unit.

Entering the 2017 season Deiter has started 27 games in his UW career and finds himself on the pre-season watch lists for the Outland and Rimington trophies. Last season he split his time between center (10 games) and guard (4 games). The 6-ffot-6 311-pound junior is a versatile lineman who will lead the way in creating holes for whomever the Badgers go with at running back.

Benzschawel is another brawler on the line for the Badgers. He redshirted his freshman season in 2014 and split time between right guard and right tackle in 2015 while playing in eight games. Last season, Benzschawel started all 14 games at right guard where he earned second-team All-Big Ten honors. This season Benzschawel finds himself on the Outland Trophy watch list and should solidify the interior of the Wisconsin line.

Joining Benzschawel and Deiter on the interior line is left guard Jon Dietzen, a redshirt sophomore, who played in 10 games (eight starts) last year and missed four games due to injury. When healthy the 6-foot-6 Dietzen is a road grater.

On the outside the Badgers will turn to junior Jacob Maxwell and sophomore David Edwards to man the tackle positions. Maxwell has played in 18 games, 10 starts, for the Badgers over two seasons. He only played in seven games last year as his season was cut short by injury, but he should be back healthy in 2017.

Edwards was a former high school quarterback, now he is 6-foot-7 and 306 pounds and starting at tackle for the Badgers. He played in 13 of Wisconsin’s 14 games in 2016 with seven starts.

Backing up the five starters are redshirt freshman Tyler Biadasz at center, sophomore Jason Erdmann and junior Micah Kapoi at the guard positions and a pair of redshirt freshman (Cole Van Lanen and Patrick Kasl) at tackle. While the Badgers are very talented in their starting five, the backups lack experience.

The Badgers ranked third in the Big Ten in rushing last season gaining 203.1 yards per game on the ground. They also let up the fifth least amount of sacks (24) in the conference.

3. Penn State Nittany Lions

The Nittany Lions battled offensive line issues for several years under Bill O’Brien and the first couple of years under James Franklin. Penn State is now clear of the Sandusky sanctions and has rebuilt the line back up through recruiting and bringing in Mike Limegrover from Minnesota to coach the offensive line before last season. The Lions do have to replace four lineman, but have players with 87 career starts returning to fill in the holes.

Penn State’s offensive line has three players who were named to Phil Steele’s All-Big Ten teams. Guards Brendan Mahon (2nd Team All-Big Ten) and Andrew Nelson (3rd Team All-Big Ten) solidify the interior of the line, while tackle Ryan Bates was a 4th Team All-Big Ten selection.

Mahon is a redshirt senior who has started 29 career games for the Blue and White. He can provide some versatility as he started games at both tackle (six starts) and guard (three starts) last season. Nelson, another redshirt senior, missed the final eight games of 2016 and four games in 2015. However, he does have 27 games of starting experience and when he is healthy he is an outstanding player. Nelson was a Freshman All-American in 2014 and a three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection. If he can stay healthy in 2017, Nelson will help continue the upward trend of the PSU line.

The centerpiece of the line is sophomore Connor McGovern, who is coming off a All-Big Ten (Freshman) season. He played in 13 of Penn State’s 14 games with nine starts. If he can build on his freshman performance, McGovern will be one of the best centers in the conference by year’s end.

Redshirt sophomore Ryan Bates and redshirt junior Chasz Wright will bookend the line for Penn State. Bates was another freshman All-American whose continued growth can boost this unit to levels it hasn’t seen in a long time. He started all 14 games in 2016. Wright has played in 24 games with five starts in his career. He made his first career start against the Hoosiers last season.

In the past one of the biggest issues facing Penn State on the offensive line was quality depth. That seems to be getting fixed as James Franklin has made it a priority to shore that up in recruiting. Some key reserves for the Nittany Lions in 2017 will be true freshman Mike Miranda, sophomore Sterling Jenkins, and redshirt freshmen Michal Menet and Will Fries.

In 2016 Penn State’s offensive line paved the way for the league’s best running back and allowed quarterback Trace McSorley enough time to chuck the ball deep. However, one of the reasons Penn State isn’t higher on this list is because of their performance in Bloomington last season when they surrendered 16 tackles for loss and three sacks.

4. Michigan Wolverines

Michigan had one of the better offensive lines in the conference a year ago, but will suffer heavy losses as three All-Big Ten performers (Erik Magnuson, Kyle Kalis, and Ben Braden) are gone from a squad that finished second in the Big Ten in rushing and fourth in sacks allowed.

The Wolverines will likely start two seniors (Mason Cole and Patrick Kugler) along with three sophomores (Michael Onwenu, Jon Runyan and Ben Bredenson) in 2017.

Cole has 38 starts to his name at Michigan and finished 2016 as a first-team All-Big Ten performer. Kugler has only played in 11 games with one start in his career. He will be pushed by incoming freshman Cesar Ruiz who participated in spring practice.

The best of the trio of sophomores is left guard Ben Bredeson who was a FWAA Freshman All-American played in all 13 games last season, starting the final eight. At right guard is Michael Onwenu who played in eight games last season and lost 15 pounds heading into 2017, which should help his mobility. He still is listed at 6-foot-3 and 360 pounds. The third sophomore is right tackle Jon Runyan who played in one game last season. He is also the son of former Michigan standout and NFL Pro Bowler Jon Runyan.

The key backups for the Wolverines will be Cesar Ruiz, juniors Grant Newsome and Juwaan Bushell-Beatty.

Against Indiana last season the Michigan line gave up two sacks and eight tackles for loss while rushing for 225 yards.

5. Maryland Terrapins

One of the biggest hurdles that Maryland had to clear in their transition to the Big Ten was to bulk up their bodies in the trenches so they will be able to handle the style of play in the Big Ten. After a couple recruiting classes, that mission has almost been accomplished.

Maryland was a great running team last season, finishing fourth in the Big Ten with 199.5 yards per game, but their pass protection was awful as they let up a league worst 49 sacks. Some of that due to a running quarterback, but the Terrapins must be better in pass protection if they want to get back to a bowl game in 2017.

Four juniors lead this unit, most notably right tackle Damian Prince who has 19 starts to his name. Opposite of Prince is Derwin Gray who has appeared in 15 career games after gray shirting in 2013 and redshirting in 2014.

The interior of the Terrapin line consists of juniors Brandon Moore at center and Sean Christie at left guard while sophomore Terrance Davis mans the right guard position. Depth could be an issue as Maryland has a handful of inexperienced underclassmen in the two-deep.

In last season’s 42-36 loss to the Hoosiers the Terps ran for 269 yards, but surrendered four sacks and eight tackles for a loss.