Legally, they can’t rent a car or drink a beer, but Oregon’s 2015 offensive line recruiting class has the weight of a division one offense on its shoulders.
Left tackle Brady Aiello, left guard Shane Lemieux, center Jake Hanson and right tackle Calvin Throckmorton were four redshirt freshmen starters against UC Davis. Football is won and lost in the trenches, so trusting players with no experience is risky for any offense, no matter how talented the skill positions are.
Four young players, starting over upperclassmen like Zac Morgan, Doug Brenner and Evan Voeller shows the faith that the coaching staff has in their young players.
“They’re not playing like freshmen,” offensive coordinator Matt Lubick told reporters. “They have a lot of confidence, and the reason they have a lot of confidence is because they are having success.”
As confident as they may be, inexperience still produces nerves, and they were present for the UC Davis game.
On the first offensive play for Oregon, the UC Davis defensive linemen were switching, and Lemieux’s nerves and excitement got the better of him. He false started.
It got better from there as the offensive linemen got their nerves to settle down, and the offense began to click.
“After the first series or so it just started to feel like practice. We started moving the ball,” Lemieux said. “We got more comfortable and we got the jitters out.”
Aiello was allowed to start because senior Tyrell Crosby was sidelined with a foot injury, but offensive line coach Steve Greatwood was not nervous about the lack of experience.
“The young guys picked it up,” Greatwood told reporters after the game. “All-in-all, we’ve got a lot of work to do, but I was pleased with the guys […] The guys were dialed in and focused.”
Brenner, Morgan and Voeller did rotate in along the left side of the line, especially when the lone starting senior Cameron Hunt went down with cramps.
Greatwood has faith in these young players, and he was particularly pleased with the chemistry that they played with.
When Oregon signed the 2015 offensive line recruiting class, it was heralded as its most talented group in years. When they arrived on campus, Greatwood and the rest of the offensive coaching staff decided to redshirt them to allow them to grow.
“Our whole scout team [last season] were all the freshmen, so we got to know each others weaknesses and strengths,” Lemieux said. “We got to know each other as friends because we didn’t travel, so we got to hangout on the weekends; we got to build some chemistry.”
Zach Okun is another member of the 2015 class, but he was hurt during fall practice and the timetable for his return is unknown. Okun was performing well until his injury, meaning another redshirt freshman could have seen playing time.
All focus for these players is on performing well this season, but the potential of this group rises every snap they play this season. Down the road, the starting offensive line may be five members of the 2015 recruiting class, so it is best they get the nerves out now.
Follow Jack Butler on Twitter @butler917