By the end of the 2014 season, Ohio State’s offensive line – affectionately known as “the Slobs” – was playing as well as any unit in college football, and was one of the major factors in the Buckeyes’ national championship run.
Paving the way for 878 rushing yards (292.7 per game) in three postseason games, at a 6.2 yards-per-attempt clip, the Slobs had fully coalesced into some kind of five-part road grading death machine. Even the vaunted Crimson Tide defense yielded their longest play of the year on a basic running play in the face of the Slobs (plus a pretty good wide receiver block from Evan Spencer).
The Buckeye line completed an exceptional year, despite starting four new guys, and having the fifth, tackle Taylor Decker, switch sides and responsibilities. Those beloved Slobs epitomized the power of the unit, leading Ohio State to 3,967 rushing yards, 7,674 yards of total offense, 41 rushing touchdowns and 83 total offensive touchdowns. They allowed 28 sacks on the season for 203 yards lost.
Entering 2015, four-fifths of the Slobs return, with right tackle being a spot up for grabs currently occupied by Chase Farris. What can we expect in the coming season from a seasoned group with only one new member?
To get some idea, all we have to do is look back to the transition from 2012 to 2013, when four of the five starters returned, in the persons of Jack Mewhort, Andrew Norwell, Corey Linsley and Marcus Hall. Current starter at left tackle, Taylor Decker, was the newbie at right tackle at the time. Decker stepped in for the departed Reid Fragel, a converted tight end that started slow but ended up impressing enough to find an NFL job.
The 2012 group of Mewhort-Norwell-Linsley-Hall-Fragel showed the way for 2,907 rushing yards, 5,085 total yards, 37 rushing touchdowns, and 54 total TDs, and allowed 30 sacks for 190 yards. While it’s important to note that it was the first season in a new offense under a new coaching staff, it was a unit that sometimes struggled despite being made up of several guys who now play on Sundays.
That group upgraded their performance significantly in 2013, their second season together, minus Fragel and adding Decker. The 2013 line paved the way for 4,321 rushing yards, 7,167 total yards, 45 rushing touchdowns, and 83 total TDs, allowing 22 sacks for 136 yards. It was a remarkable improvement owing to a second year in the system and an extra year for four of them to find cohesion.
This fall, the Slobs should see a similar, if less dramatic, improvement. The offense shouldn’t change much, despite Ed Warinner taking over as play caller and Tim Beck replacing Tom Herman on the offensive staff. Decker will be a third-year starter, anchoring the left side, with Billy Price, Jacoby Boren, Pat Elflein and, most likely, Farris.
It’s scary to think a team that averaged 5.7 yards per rushing attempt last season could improve that number, but it could happen with a more experienced line that probably won’t need a third of the season to fully come together – especially considering top running back Ezekiel Elliott is also returning with a year as a starter under his belt and several games worth of experience reading the blocks of those who will shepherd him through opposing defenses again.
From 2012 to 2013, an experienced returning line helped the Buckeyes run for 1,400+ more yards and eight more touchdowns, and helped Ohio State’s offense score 29 more TDs than the previous year. A similar jump for the current group is far from guaranteed, but it would mean more than 5,000 rushing yards, 8,000+ total yards and somewhere in the neighborhood of 90 touchdowns.
There’s simply no substitute for experience, even though the team will be dealing with every school’s best shot and must guard against complacency.
If the players can continue to respect the grind and Urban Meyer can keep his charges properly motivated, there’s no telling what heights the Slobs will reach in 2015. If they stay healthy and can raise their game, the Buckeyes could be celebrating back-to-back titles in January.
