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I would recommend to all with concerns of the OL to relax a bit.  It is way way too early to be sounding the alarm.  Spring practice is not the time when OLs gel.  The staff is looking at a lot of young guys because of the depth issues left by the previous staff and some washouts in the early Bubba years.  I expect it to be a serviceable line by the time the season starts.  There is experience and talented youth and it will work itself out.

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1 minute ago, Ozzie82 said:

I would recommend to all with concerns of the OL to relax a bit.  It is way way too early to be sounding the alarm.  Spring practice is not the time when OLs gel.  The staff is looking at a lot of young guys because of the depth issues left by the previous staff and some washouts in the early Bubba years.  I expect it to be a serviceable line by the time the season starts.  There is experience and talented youth and it will work itself out.

I'll relax, that's good news!

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1 hour ago, Ozzie82 said:

I would recommend to all with concerns of the OL to relax a bit.  It is way way too early to be sounding the alarm.  Spring practice is not the time when OLs gel.  The staff is looking at a lot of young guys because of the depth issues left by the previous staff and some washouts in the early Bubba years.  I expect it to be a serviceable line by the time the season starts.  There is experience and talented youth and it will work itself out.

No need for concern, but even the staff will tell you the OL needs to be emphasized this spring and moving forward into the fall. You are right, though, that depth is being worked on. Offensive line injuries did affect UND some late last season, even into the playoff game. Last year, the offensive line didn't perform as well as it did in 2015, and its necessary for how UND wants to play offensive football. UND beats Richmond if they can just line-up and play downhill smash-mouth football last December in the 4th quarter (remember there was a lot of throwing and 3 and outs); this is why OL is being emphasized moving forward. There is always something that can be improved upon. 

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39 minutes ago, SiouxFan100 said:

What qualities did Grady have that made him such a great OL? With all of the returning OL and what we have heard about the redshirt freshmen I thought our OL would be a strength going into the season.

He was an absolute monster that could open giant holes as a Freshman. 

As for our redshirt Freshman, may they will turn into a strength, but they are unproven. You can't call potential a strength until they get out their and prove it on the field.

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I agree....relax a bit on the OL.  It does take time for players on the line to gel, master their blocking assignments and work as a unit.  Older returning OL players got valuable playing time in 2016 (many their first year with quantity reps) but also some injuries meant moving guys around and giving backups valuable reps too.  Personally I feel like if everyone can stay healthy, the OL will be much improved in the upcoming season.  Now that said, don't expect a lot of WOW during spring practice and spring game since this is the time to give young guys reps.  There is talent on the OL and I believe this position will do just fine these next few years. 

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O-line I'm not terribly concerned about. We've been shown that the coaches are able to increase production with the line and I think we'll be ok there. I agree that safety is a concern. Other than Reyes, who do we really have that's shown anything? If he goes down, the secondary is in trouble. 

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6 hours ago, UND-FB-FAN said:

No need for concern, but even the staff will tell you the OL needs to be emphasized this spring and moving forward into the fall. You are right, though, that depth is being worked on. Offensive line injuries did affect UND some late last season, even into the playoff game. Last year, the offensive line didn't perform as well as it did in 2015, and its necessary for how UND wants to play offensive football. UND beats Richmond if they can just line-up and play downhill smash-mouth football last December in the 4th quarter (remember there was a lot of throwing and 3 and outs); this is why OL is being emphasized moving forward. There is always something that can be improved upon. 

I'm not sure why you are quoting me on your reply, UND-FB-FAN.  At no point in my post did I say that the OL doesn't need to be improved, or that a good OL isn't necessary to their offense, or that focus the OL should be de-emphasized.

 

I commented because I was starting to sense some mild panic setting in about the OL.  In March.  After the second practice.  There will be time to panic if the OL doesn't play well in games one and two, but that's in five months... even then they've shown the ability to improve as the season goes along (as Feff mentioned above).

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20 minutes ago, Ozzie82 said:

I'm not sure why you are quoting me on your reply, UND-FB-FAN.  At no point in my post did I say that the OL doesn't need to be improved, or that a good OL isn't necessary to their offense, or that focus the OL should be de-emphasized.

 

I commented because I was starting to sense some mild panic setting in about the OL.  In March.  After the second practice.  There will be time to panic if the OL doesn't play well in games one and two, but that's in five months... even then they've shown the ability to improve as the season goes along (as Feff mentioned above).

Your comment was aimed at the UND offensive line in the context of spring ball, as was my reply. In fact, I agreed with you. 

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The oline will be a work in progress.  DB's  have some studs but they will need to push the others to get better both at the other starting positions and depth.  I think Dline and LB's will be a strength.  We should be good at RB and receivers.  We have some talent and depth at TE.  The oline and QB are the key to our success next year.  We must improve this spring in both areas. The line needs to have new guys step up and establish themselves as quality starters.  Depth will be an issue like last year especially with the injuries we dealt with.  We need to see improvement from all 4 QB's if we are going to get better.  Doesn't sound like you guys are seeing any of the backups as capable of pushing Studsrud so he is going to have to push himself to get better.  He must improve with quicker reads and more accurate passing.  He is athletic and smart enough but must improve on 56% completions.  He is the senior and 4 yr starter and needs to make his receivers and offense better not the other way around. We can't have the inconsistency we saw last year.  He has done a good job of protecting the ball, but he needs to become a game changer this year for us to be successful.  He can,  but he needs to have the personal drive to get much better.  To me he is a big key to our success next fall and he will need to remain healthy.

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QB situation is yet iffy and it needs to be worked out; still plenty of time this spring, summer, and fall to work on that. UND's offensive identify helps to cover up UND's inept QB play; however, you need good to great offensive line play for that identity to be successful. So, in summary, I agree with @iramurphy

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37 minutes ago, iramurphy said:

The oline will be a work in progress.  DB's  have some studs but they will need to push the others to get better both at the other starting positions and depth.  I think Dline and LB's will be a strength.  We should be good at RB and receivers.  We have some talent and depth at TE.  The oline and QB are the key to our success next year.  We must improve this spring in both areas. The line needs to have new guys step up and establish themselves as quality starters.  Depth will be an issue like last year especially with the injuries we dealt with.  We need to see improvement from all 4 QB's if we are going to get better.  Doesn't sound like you guys are seeing any of the backups as capable of pushing Studsrud so he is going to have to push himself to get better.  He must improve with quicker reads and more accurate passing.  He is athletic and smart enough but must improve on 56% completions.  He is the senior and 4 yr starter and needs to make his receivers and offense better not the other way around. We can't have the inconsistency we saw last year.  He has done a good job of protecting the ball, but he needs to become a game changer this year for us to be successful.  He can,  but he needs to have the personal drive to get much better.  To me he is a big key to our success next fall and he will need to remain healthy.

Didn't we lose 2 starters at LB?  Rodgers should be good but what about the 4th backer and depth?  Also what about safety other than Reyes?  I would rate potential areas of problem....OL, LB, QB and S.

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The starting QB is an average college Qb who has the respect of the coaches and his teammates trust. He is not a game changer and in the last seconds of a big one I don't see him making the difference.  Will that be enough in the playoffs? We'll see...at least I hope we'll see.

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1 hour ago, Midwestern Hawk said:

Didn't we lose 2 starters at LB?  Rodgers should be good but what about the 4th backer and depth?  Also what about safety other than Reyes?  I would rate potential areas of problem....OL, LB, QB and S.

LB's will have new names and JD at inside.  But trust me, this isn't even a concern at LBUniversity.  This is a very athletic group.  The other 3 position groups, yep, I share your concern.

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