2008 Season Preview: Offensive Line

Today, I’ll be kicking off the 2008 season unit analyses by looking at the key to Rutgers’s success during the past three seasons: the offensive line. During the past three seasons, Rutgers has been among the best in the nation up front. Strangely though, they have received very little press from the red state-centric college football universe. We all know that Ray Rice rushed for some gaudy rushing totals during the past few years, but consider for a moment how good the pass protection has been:

2007: 10 sacks allowed total, .77 per game (ranked #2 in FBS)
2006: 8 sacks allowed total, .62 per game (ranked #1 in I-A)
2005: 19 sacks allowed total, 1.58 per game (ranked #26 in I-A)

No unit has been more critical to the team’s success during the past few seasons, and no unit is a bigger question mark entering 2008, following the graduations of Pedro Sosa, Jeremy Zuttah, and Mike Fladell. That’s why they justly will be tackled first.

Pedro Sosa efforts to catch on in the NFL have been thwarted to this point by a serious knee injury. However, it’s hard to understate how purely dominant he has been during the past three seasons. In 2005, during an otherwise-miserable meltdown vs. Louisville, Sosa was one of few positives by managing to blank All-American DE Elvis Dumervil. In 2006’s Texas Bowl, Sosa manhandled Kansas State’s Ian Campbell, who had wrecked havoc on the Big XII all season. Campbell received a lot of credit for playing a major role in the Wildcats’ upset of the Texas Longhorns. Under the glare of ESPN cameras in 2007, Sosa struck again, blanking USF’s George Selvie. A theme is emerging here, that Sosa was absolutely masterful in pass protection, and could routinely be counted on to shut down the opposition’s top weakside pass rusher. Not having Sosa down the stretch in 2007 as he battled knee problems surely wrecked havoc on what had been the heart of the Scarlet Knights.

Knightly News

On last night’s edition of Sunday Night Football, John Madden singled out Eric Foster for praise at approx 8:47 pm. He mentioned that coaches have been raving about his performance in practice, and claimed that he had quickly learned a spin move from the Colts (somebody never saw the 2006 game vs. Louisville!) Al Michaels responded by noting that the Colts have had good luck with UDFAs from Rutgers; Foster is following in the steps of one Gary Brackett.

It’s not very insightful for any diehard fan, but it’s still nice to hear some confirmation of all the practice reports that we’ve been reading.

UNC is asking a lot of Greg Little in 2008.

Indeed, Davis said one of the biggest keys to turning last year’s 4-8 finish into Carolina’s first winning season since 2001 is building depth in the backfield — and beyond.

The coaches need to choose a backup quarterback for T.J. Yates, who displayed familiar zip on his throws despite offseason shoulder surgery. They would like to be able to rotate eight to 10 defensive linemen each game. They want to have deep cushions of personnel at the corners, at linebacker, and even at wide receiver — where the Tar Heels return three of the best pass catchers in the league.

But they also need to build a solid rotation at tailback, where the Tar Heels played “ball-carrier-by-committee” last season before they, as Davis put it, “found out that maybe the best running back that we had on the football team was playing wide receiver.”

Keith Sargeant is starting his own 2008 preview.

Speaking of Gannett, Paul Franklin wrote a feature on incoming top-level recruits Mike Rosario and Scott Winston, and their hopes to turn around Rutgers Basketball and Wrestling.

L.J. Smith is looking to rebound from a disappointing 2007.

It’s business as usual for Zeus.

Rookie offensive lineman Jeremy Zuttah continues to generate praise from Gruden, who said the versatile third-round pick out of Rutgers is unflappable. “I can’t be more pleased with Jeremy Zuttah,’’ he said.

He is not currently in line to start, but…

JEREMY ZUTTAH: April’s third-round pick from Rutgers is impressing coaches with his poise and preparation. He has practiced at center and guard, and has done well calling protections. The guy is smart and physical, two great traits for an offensive lineman.

If the Bucs lost a starting tackle, it would not be surprising to see them start Zuttah inside and move Arron Sears or Davin Joseph to tackle to get the best five linemen on the field. That’s not likely to happen, but he has been that impressive.