USU Football improves front line
The trenches. The beef. The big-uglies. Quarterback bodyguards or quarterback killers. Football coaches across the country will tell you a game is won or lost on the line. The 2011 season at Utah State University is no different. In this, the first of a three-part series previewing the Aggie football team, take a look at the men who make it all possible for the skill guys to do their job; the linemen.
Offensive Line
The Aggies return three starters on the offensive line: sophomore Tyler Larsen at center with seniors Funaki Assisi on the left and Philip Gapelu on the right at the guard positions. Larsen started his freshman year while both Assisi and Gapelu have two years of experience apiece.
Offensive line coach TJ Woods said he will rely on the experience of those three to anchor the line.
“Obviously that’s our strength right now on the front,” Woods said. “We’ve got three guys who’ve got experience, they’ve been in the fire. We’re looking forward to be able to lean on those guys.”
The biggest question mark for the O-line will be at the two tackle positions. Oscar Molina-Sanchez played half of the season in 2010 and has won the starting job at right tackle this year, recently beating out junior transfer Stetson Tenney. Tanner Richins and sophomore Eric Schultz continue to battle it out for the left side, a spot vacated by Spencer Johnson who graduated last year.
Larsen said the line is doing much better than they were in the spring.
“The tackles are catching up, so that’s a really good sign,” Larsen said. “Our communication is a lot better. We’re picking up defenses that we haven’t seen before. We’re just all-in-all a lot smarter. We’re getting more and more experienced out there.”
But what is the key to a successful offensive line this year?
“Cohesiveness, playing as one, consistency,” Woods said, “that’s our biggest goal right now is to try and improve being on the right assignment and being consistent. We have a lot of talent, we got a lot of guys who can do a lot of good things, but O-linemen got to do it every day, every play. That’s the bottom line.”
Defensive line
At the end of last season head coach Gary Anderson announced a change in the defensive scheme from a 4-3 to a 3-4, which means USU will have one more linebacker on the field, but one less lineman. It is also an unfamiliar switch for defensive line coach Frank Maile, who said he was always used to a 4-3.
“When we switched it was new for me,” Maile said. “Now that we’ve gone through it with the spring and now through camp, I really love what it has to bring to the table – the different dynamics that come out of it. I think it’s very exciting.”
The 3-4 defense usually involves other players to put pressure on the quarterback in addition to the linemen and those blitz packages come in many different looks which can confuse opposing offenses. Junior defensive tackle Al Lapuaho said the new look gives USU a big advantage.
“It’s dynamic,” said the transfer from Snow College. “We have backers coming and blitzing, we have safeties and corners blitzing, the offense won’t know what we’re doing.”
Maile said the look brings new flavor to the Western Athletic Conference.
“I love it right now because no one really does it in our conference,” Maile said. “It’s something a little different.”
As dynamic as the new defense will be with all the blitz options, one less lineman means the line needs beefier linemen, prompting USU to recruit several juco transfers.
“The reason why we brought them was because of who they were at their junior colleges,” Maile said.
The D-line positions will be filled by Lapuaho at nose tackle, flanked by junior transfer Bojay Filimoeatu and senior Quinn Garner. Expect transfers Havea Lasike and Evan Huahulu to also make an impact for the Aggies.
“This is the most talent I’ve seen on a defensive front in a long time,” Maile said. “Together it’s a wrecking crew. But again, I’ve got to get them ready to be that wrecking crew when the time comes.”
– tavin.stucki@aggiemail.usu.edu