As noted in an earlier report, while most of the buzz from Saturday’s Senior game was about the quarterbacks, arguably the real story from the game was the fact that the Orange (National) team pass rushers dominated their White (American) team opponents while the Orange offensive line pretty much did it’s job.
No surprise that rising Central Michigan OT Bernhard Raimann was the best offensive lineman on the field on either team at the Senior Bowl. Raimann, the Austrian import who has actually only been playing OT for a few years, was really light on his feet, played with nice wide base and was effective controlling White pass rushers with his reach. What set Raimann apart from the other OTs in Mobile on Saturday was that while literally all the others struggled to cut off the edge from the quicker pass rushers and ended up doing a lot of reaching and clutching, was consistently able to slide back and cut them off at the pass. Raimann did get caught on several occasions sliding off blocks when he was a little over aggressive run blocking, but for the most part had a clean sheet on Saturday.
Fellow Orange OTs Abe Lucas of Washington State and Minnesota’s Daniel Faalele were also solid enough. Both struggled a little bit staying with quick outside rushers, although they generally at least stayed in contact. For the most part, though, they used their size and length to stuff their guys at the LOS. They were also both solid enough drive blocking, although one could see that the 6-8 Faalele really has to work hard to keep his pads down.
The other Orange OT that everyone wanted to see in Mobile on Saturday was FCS star Trevor Penning of Northern Iowa. However, he had something of an up-and-down day. Foe the most part, Penning came as advertised in that he has a smooth slide step, good balance and gets solid arm extension. But he struggled at times with rushers that cutback across his face and on at least one occasion got walked back into his QBs lap. We’d should also mention that Matt Waletzko of North Dakota, another FCS OT, only played a few snaps, but didn’t look out of place on the series he did play.
On the other hand, the White team OTs pretty much got run over by the Orange outside pass rushers. Maybe the most disappointing guy on the day was Kentucky G/T Darian Kinnard, who has been mentioned as a possible first rounder, but he really lacked the lateral range do a whole lot more than wave at people going by. And it was the same story for Max Mitchell of Louisiana and Chris Paul of Tulsa.
On the other hand, at least Spencer Burford of Texas-San Antonio and Southern Utah’s Braxton Jones had some moments in the Senior Bowl. They both gave up their share of pressures, but most of their problems appeared to come when they were slow out of their stances, either because they missed the snap count or were just slow. However, when they did get the timing right, they did a decent job staying between their man and the QB.
At the same time, arguably the best OL on the White team were Georgia OGs Justin Shaffer and Jamaree Salyer. In fact, they were also arguably the two best interior offensive linemen on either team. Both came off the snap with authority, played with good leverage, kept their feet moving and showed nice lateral movement and solid technical skill. Memphis C Dylan Parham also showed nice explosion off the snap and good range around the pocket, although he struggled a bit to anchor when he had to deal with a big bull rusher head up. Boston College C/G Zion Johnson also showed good pop and energy centering for the Orange squad, although he could have done a better job sustaining blocks in the second level. On the other hand, the one interior offensive lineman who struggled more than expected was Cade Mays of Tennessee.
