Spring football preview: Offensive line
Missouri will open its third spring under Barry Odom next month. Over the next two weeks, we preview spring ball position by position. Today, it's the offensive line.
SPRING FOOTBALL 2018: OFFENSIVE LINE
The Starters: Fortunately for quarterback Drew Lock and Missouri’s offense, all five of the offensive linemen who started in last season’s Texas Bowl will be back in 2018. Those linemen are tackles Yasir Durant and Paul Adams, guards Kevin Pendleton and Tre’Vour Simms and center Trystan Castillo. Last year, the unit performed well, surrendering just 13 sacks in 13 games — tied for the fifth-fewest in the country. It also led the nation by allowing just 2.85 tackles for loss per game. Barring injury, there’s no reason each of those five shouldn’t get the first crack at retaining his spot atop the depth chart.
The Backups: Aside from the five players listed above, Missouri will return two linemen with past starting experience. Samson Bailey, who started nine games at center in 2016 before making the transition to tackle last season, will likely continue to contribute on special teams and back up Adams on the right side. Jonah Dubinski, who also saw action at center in 2016, served as Castillo’s backup a season ago. He will most likely continue in that role, although he could see some playing time at guard as well if a need arises. In addition, A.J. Harris, who was the No. 1-rated recruit out of Kansas in 2016, figures to contend for playing time at guard. Plus, three linemen who redshirted a season ago will join the mix this spring in Hyrin White, Case Cook and Larry Borom. White and Borom figure to compete for the backup tackle spot vacated by Tyler Howell. Cook, ranked the No. 4 center in the country in the 2017 recruiting class, could compete for a backup guard position, or could back up Castillo if Dubinski sees action at guard.
Potential Storylines: The most common reason for change on the offensive line is injury. However, assuming no Tiger linemen suffer serious injuries during spring, the biggest storyline will be the unit’s ability to adapt to new offensive coordinator Derek Dooley’s scheme. Last season, the unit allowed few sacks and tackles for loss, but that was likely due in part to Josh Heupel’s fast-paced system, which wore out opposing pass-rushers and didn’t leave defenses much time to dial up pressure. Much will be made of Lock’s ability to adjust to the new system, but that transition might be even more difficult for the offensive line.
Spring Prediction: Once again, assuming no starter befalls a serious injury, we see no reason to predict against the same five linemen who started down the stretch last season holding those spots at the beginning of fall camp.
Help on the Way: Missouri signed four new offensive linemen in its 2018 class. None have yet made it to campus, so it seems likely that all four will redshirt next season, unless several returning linemen are stricken by injury. However, the group of newcomers, all of whom come to Columbia as tackles, bring intriguing size and potential. Javon Foster has played just two years of high school football after growing up a basketball player. Bobby Lawrence, an in-state prospect who originally committed to Iowa State, is listed at 6-foot-8, 300 pounds. Fellow tackle Mike Ruth sports a similarly massive frame at 6-foot-7, 310. Xavier Delgado is the shortest of the bunch, but offensive line coach Brad Davis recently described him as “massive.” Give the group a redshirt year to fill out their frames and learn the ropes, and two or more could see the field after the likes of Pendleton, Adams and Bailey graduate.