Paving The Way
By David Villavicencio
The offensive line is an integral part of any football team.
While quarterbacks, running backs, receivers and tight ends make the highlight shows and get all the glory, it’s the five men working together as a unit that make an offense go.
For the University of Miami, offensive line play has played a key role in each of its six wins this season. The big men upfront have paved the way for an average of 480 yards per game in victories, while the Canes have averaged 327.5 yards per game in defeat.
Strong offensive line play has led to offensive explosions. The Hurricanes have scored over 30 points in each of their victories and are averaging 45.5 points in games they have won, while Miami has not reached 30 points in each of its four defeats in 2016.
Miami opened the season 4-0 thanks in part to quality performances by the offensive line and was one of 17 teams recognized by the Foundation for Teamwork on the midseason Joe Moore Award Honor Roll, identifying notable performances by offensive line units in games played through Oct. 8.
After starting the same five players on the offensive line over the opening five weeks, injuries took their toll and the Hurricanes scrambled to find the right combination of players upfront. During that trial and error period, Miami moved to 4-4 on the season before it got its line back on track and won two straight games heading into this week’s matchup at NC State.
“We’ve picked up our play,” junior Kc McDermott said. “That four-game losing streak didn’t make anyone happy, but it made us hungrier. That’s the difference between winners and losers. Your losses determine how you show up. We got tired of losing. We wanted to step up and played a good game against Pitt and a good game against Virginia. We look forward to keep doing it with this challenge this weekend.”
Senior Danny isidora and McDermott are the only two Hurricanes to start every game on the offensive line this season, while Isidora is the only Canes lineman to make every start at the same position and has now started 36 consecutive games for Miami.
“We had a couple guys down, so we had to start some different guys at different positions,” Isidora said. “The last two weeks, we put an emphasis on starting fast. That’s really helped us and it’s what we are trying to focus on again this week.
Sophomores Tyree St. Louis and Tyler Gauthier, as well as senior Alex Gall, have stepped in on the offensive line and helped Miami’s unit return to success upfront. They also have caught the attention of Miami’s offensive line coach, Stacy Searels.
“I am going to put the best guys out there and if someone goes down, for whatever reason, the next guy is expected to go in and play well,” Searels said. “And I think those guys stepped up and played well.”
The Hurricanes have averaged 42.5 points and 492 yards per game during their current two-game win streak and they will look to continue their success at 12:30 p.m., on Saturday when they take on NC State at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, N.C.
Miami head coach Mark Richt knows his team, especially the offensive line, is in for a physical battle when it faces the Wolfpack.
“They’re big. They really are,” Richt said. “The two inside guys are over 300 pounds apiece, their edge guys are big, long, 275 or 280 pound-type guys. Their linebacking corps I mentioned, veteran group…it’s rare to have that many guys, on one side of the ball, have that much experience. Even in their secondary, they’re averaging around 20 starts. All across the board on defense. When that happens, you tend to get better as a group. I’m not 100-percent sure, but I think they changed their strength coach in the offseason. I didn’t know what they looked like a year ago, but I know what they look like now. They’re doing a good job in the development of their players.”
Hurricanes defensive coordinator Manny Diaz is very familiar with the environment at Carter-Finley Stadium, having spent time on the Wolfpack coaching staff from 2000-05. Diaz anticipates NC State will try to make the most of its home field advantage as it looks to earn bowl eligibility.
“It is going to be a good environment,” Diaz said. “The fans are right on top of you, they are very close to the field. It is an energetic crowd and obviously we know it is a team desperate for their sixth win. So we feel like we will get their best effort.”
Running back Mark Walton expects one of the toughest tests he has faced all season when he takes the field on Saturday. While Miami’s line has done an exceptional job opening holes for Walton and his fellow backs, as well as protecting quarterback Brad Kaaya in the passing game, the sophomore knows the Wolfpack defense will be hungry to make an impact against the Hurricanes.
“It’s a huge challenge,” Walton said. “I think they are the number one ranked defense in the ACC, rushing wise. It is a tough task, but you have to go out there and play your game. You can’t go out there and say, ‘oh they have the best defense rushing wise.’ We just have to go out there, control what we can control by picking up blocks and hitting holes well. Then we can maybe stop their streak of stopping the run.”
Defensive back Corn Elder is one of several Hurricanes who will be making the final regular season road trips of their college careers. Elder and his fellow seniors hope to lead their team into this challenging road game and come out victorious.
“They are a tough team,” Elder said. “Those losses that they have are kind of deceiving. They were in almost every one of those games. They have a really good team, some great players and it is going to be a tough test for us. Coach talked about it all week, going to play at North Carolina State. None of us have played there, but from what we have heard it is a different thing to grasp. We are just going to have to come out there and bring our “A” game.”
