By Eddy Landreth
Staff Writer
PINEHURST – Not since the coaching days of Bill Dooley and Dick Crum have so much anticipation and so many high expectations surrounded a Carolina offensive line as this year’s group.
This unit possesses the physical and mental qualities to meet or exceed those expectations, junior offensive guard Jonathan Cooper said.
“You always want to be positive and think about the potential a line can have,†Cooper said during the annual ACC Football Kickoff at Pinehurst Resort and Country Club. “But to make leaps and bounds, I don’t know that I could have ever thought that we would be projected as well as we are now.â€
One reason for the optimism is size.
James Hurst, sophomore left tackle, is listed at 6 feet 7 inches, 310 pounds. He started as a freshman. Cooper is 6-3, 310, and center Cam Holland is 6-2, 320. Right guard Travis Bond is 6-7, 340, and right tackle Brennan Williams is 6-7, 315.
Yet size is just one attribute that separates this group, Cooper said.
“One of the biggest differences,†Cooper said, “might be everybody on the line not only being knowledgeable, but being physically and athletically gifted. I don’t want to take away from the other guys. I just feel like this is a group of guys with size, strength and ability that is unlike the other groups.â€
The demands of an offensive lineman have evolved from mostly run protection to pass-blocking elite athletes on defense.
“Think about who they have to block, the premier defensive linemen in America, some of the fastest linebackers you could ever imagine,†coach Butch Davis said. “The days of being just a big, strong offensive lineman – those days are over. You’ve got to have some athleticism.â€
Offensive line coach and newly promoted assistant head coach Sam Pittman has played a crucial role in training these young men.
“Sam Pittman is a great teacher,†Davis said. “He also has a really good insight into the physical qualities in what it takes to be a good offensive lineman. It used to be if you were a big guy with long arms, that was enough.
“Now you have to be mobile. Versatility is a big part of college football today. With injuries, the ability to move somebody from right guard to left guard, left guard to center, that is why we highly regard Jonathan Cooper so much. I truly believe that kid could be a marquee player at any of the three interior positions.â€
These athletes must accept teaching and be able to retain the knowledge and utilize it under pressure.
“It has a lot to do with everybody going down the line, knowing what they have to do and what others have to do,†Cooper said, “as opposed to having a few seniors on the line who know what to do and having to tell the guy beside him what to do.â€
All of this translates into promise.
“I feel like we can be a lot better,†Cooper said. “We have the smarts to do it. We have a lot of experience. Everybody knows what they are supposed to do.â€
No one epitomizes the potential in this line more than Hurst. Few true freshmen play on the offensive line. Even fewer start at left tackle.
Left tackles must slow hard-charging, athletic defensive ends and protect right-handed quarterbacks’ backs.
“I love playing beside [Hurst],†Cooper said. “There are a lot of guys who come in on the offensive line who may be physically able to play and start as an offensive lineman. But James Hurst might be one of the smartest guys I’ve ever met with football knowledge. I’ll find myself going to the film room with him and picking his brain to see what he’s thinking. He’s, like, super smart football-wise. And he’s very athletic.
“The coaches just say something, and he’ll pick it up and have it ready for practice,†Cooper said. “He will have just learned it.â€
Soon we’ll learn just how much they’ve all learned and how genuinely athletic they are.
