Today marks day number eight of spring practice, but Rich Rodriguez has another practice for his players to get through before they are able to head home for the break. However, the break does not take away from the fact that the Mountaineers are a work in progress when it comes to their offensive line. Rich Rodriguez would like to have that work in progress resolved soon.
When Rich Rodriguez was asked about his returning offensive linemen and how they looked, Rodriguez said, “It’s a work in progress. You mention Nick and Landen and those guys who were here, they give great effort.”
Rodriguez was talking about returning offensive linemen Nick Malone and Landen Livingston, both of which are among the very few remnants of the Neal Brown era. Rodriguez loves to coach both of these players but is concerned about their lack of playing time.
“I love coaching them,” said Rodriguez. “None of them have really played so I sometimes have to remember that and be more patient but they are going to be alright.” Rodriguez went on to say that “they are just not ready now”, which makes sense for any position. Players who lack real game experience show levels of discomfort in game-like scenarios. However, it is about giving those players consistent reps in those scenarios in order for them to adapt and go into the season prepared.
There is an immense jump in skill level from high school to college for the offensive line. The edge rushers are quicker, more agile, and stronger than they were in high school, so being able to adapt to and properly defend against such competition takes time. Fortunately, Rodriguez understands this and is willing to work with those players until they feel more comfortable and are able to defend the quarterback properly.
Another area that is causing an increased level of difficulty when it comes to learning how Coach Rodriguez wants to operate his offensive line is the fact that some of the skills the offensive linemen are learning are different from anything they have been exposed to in the past.
“Some of it is similar,” said Rodriguez. “I think the tempo is probably a little different, and they did some of the run scheme stuff that we did. So it’s not that different really as far as schemes go.”
Rodriguez went on to reiterate that both the speed at which he likes his players to play and the tempo he finds his offense runs on most efficiently is an area where his linemen are unfamiliar with and have to keep working at in order to adjust.
Rich Rodriguez has managed to develop great offensive lines that were able to protect quarterbacks such as Pat White. Despite the little time to coach and teach his linemen, Rich Rodriguez has the ability to turn them into superstars.
