Does the starting OT combo tip the hand of likely starting QB?

[graceh90]

I am not knowledgeable enough to know, but do the changes made loading the left side of the oline suggest the starting QB will be right handed? Would not think you would make the move from RT to LT and leave question mark at starting RT unless you had some inkling? or just get the best 5 OL on the field?

 

[perseverare]

this is not a pro set/ drop back offense. I doubt there is a clue there. The percieved best 5 will be out there.

 

[greengael]

Coach Kelly has addressed this question a couple of times in press conferences and the upshot is that it might matter re peripheral vision of a right handed qb IF he were taking the snap directly under center but in the shotgun formation the peripheral field of vision is so much wider that it is of no signifigent importance.

 

[bizzybecknd]

He kept Stanley at LT when Malik was named the starter in the spring of last year.

 

[perseverare]

^ more significant related to the above is 6'4.5 vs < 6'

middle of the field vision

 

[zonairish]

no if its Zaire the choice they just flip flop the lines what would be the right side would be the left etc

 

[greengael]

no if its Zaire the choice they just flip flop the lines what would be the right side would be the left etc

Where in the world are you getting that?

 

[zonairish]

Where in the world are you getting that?

because generally that is what football coaches do when they have a lefty as qb. the right becomes left etc

 

[greengael]

He kept Stanley at LT when Malik was named the starter in the spring of last year.

Didn't he move Stanley from right to left after Martin exhausted his eligibility? Also I don't believe Kelly named Zaire the starter last Spring, I think Golson did, when he announced his intention to transfer.after Spring practice was over and after graduation.

 

[greengael]

Boy you learn something new every day! 55 years of playing football and watching it at many levels and I have never heard of a coach doing that!. I'm not saying it doesn't happen but could you give us an example? Please.

 

[perseverare]

^ so think back to the 1st two games last year....ummm where did R Stanley and Nelson line up?
you don't 'flip n flop' your linemen so easily! there are technique differences.

 

[echowaker]

because generally that is what football coaches do when they have a lefty as qb. the right becomes left etc

Um, no, that's not what they do. Please cite ONE example. So if your backup qb is the opposite hand of the starter the guards and tackles swap sides ? That's hilarious.

 

[zonairish]

Um, no, that's not what they do. Please cite ONE example. So if your backup qb is the opposite hand of the starter the guards and tackles swap sides ? That's hilarious.

Are you always an a$$hole in your responses. does my opinion make you that angry. I have played football and that is wha our coach did also the offense gears it self where the strengths are . If the QB is left handed his strengths and weakness are generally the opposite of a right hander. So flip flop makes sense. Go ask the question on the podcasts. i believe it was asked before. so be an a$$hole as if you know anything

 

[cgvr]

Are you always an a$$hole in your responses. does my opinion make you that angry. I have played football and that is wha our coach did also the offense gears it self where the strengths are . If the QB is left handed his strengths and weakness are generally the opposite of a right hander. So flip flop makes sense. Go ask the question on the podcasts. i believe it was asked before. so be an a$$hole as if you know anything

related:

http://www.al.com/auburnfootball/index.ssf/2016/03/austin_golson_braden_smith_pla.html

Auburn's offensive linemen are moving from left to right, mixing and matching and switching positions throughout spring practices. Some of the moves could prove permanent for Auburn's first-year offensive line coach, meaning a center such as Austin Golson could land at left tackle as a starter next season.

Is it possible for Auburn's starter at center, the second-most important position in Auburn's hurry-up, no-huddle offense, to move to left tackle? Head coach Gus Malzahn is not ruling it out.

"He's a veteran guy," Malzahn said. "You can put him at all five positions and I think he would be fairly comfortable, but it's just a matter of -- any time it's a new position -- the finer techniques of it. It just takes a while. He has played it before and he's a veteran guy. We'll see at the end of spring how well he's come on."

Golson played tackle for Ole Miss before transferring to Auburn in the spring of 2014. He sat out the 2014 season and started and moved to center, where he started last season for the Tigers.

Backup Xavier Dampeer worked with the first-team offensive line at center during Auburn's sixth day of spring practices Tuesday. Meanwhile, right guard Braden Smith worked a few moments at right tackle.

"It's good for us because you never know when someone might go down and someone has to move down and someone steps up," said Smith, who played some right tackle against Jacksonville State last season. "It's always good to have that versatility."

The reason for the moving of linemen is simple: the Tigers want to develop 10 players capable of playing when needed in SEC games. Depth is as important as ever in the trenches in the SEC.

"To have those guys in specific position working together, that's very important, but at the same time in spring you can kinda develop depth, you're thinking ahead with the what-ifs," Malzahn said. "What if this guy gets hurt? We have the ability to move. It'd be great if we could but at the same time, really, our bigger goal is to get two-deep at every position and at least have guys working together when they work on their own in the summer."

 

[graceh90]

He kept Stanley at LT when Malik was named the starter in the spring of last year.

I think this clarifies my question best. Thanks

 

[cgvr]

I am not knowledgeable enough to know, but do the changes made loading the left side of the oline suggest the starting QB will be right handed? Would not think you would make the move from RT to LT and leave question mark at starting RT unless you had some inkling? or just get the best 5 OL on the field?

Related: Back in 2014 kelly did a ton of in season DCE along the O line because he's often indecisive and wishy washy. (Please watch the play clock as he fumbles around for what to do next....then there's his infamous go for 1 or 2 chart. Pee wee football math escapes him. Northwestern anyone?...)

http://www.ndinsider.com/football/b...cle_ff4d5eaa-4385-11e4-b819-0017a43b2370.html

Brian Kelly plays musical chairs along Notre Dame OL
SOUTH BEND — It looks like a modified game of musical chairs, but with a very specific purpose behind it.

If Notre Dame head football coach Brian Kelly's widespread, penciled-in offensive line changes stick, the eighth-ranked Irish (3-0) could line up Saturday night against Syracuse (2-1) with four linemen in new places.

Well, kind of new.

The teams meet in MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. (8 EDT; ABC-TV).

Graduate student right tackle Christian Lombard and sophomore right guard Steve Elmer would flip spots. Senior center Nick Martin would move to left guard, with senior guard Matt Hegarty taking over at center.

The only star
ting offensive lineman who would remain is junior left tackle Ronnie Stanley.

“I think what we were looking for, more than anything else, is that we wanted to be able to be more physical inside,” Kelly said. “You have to move some pieces around. You have to give something up to get something.

“We may find out that we don't want to give up what we have to give up to get the more physicality of Elmer and Martin at the guard position. That's where we are right now.”

In all but Martin's case, those players actually have more career starts at their newly modified positions than the ones they had been playing earlier this season.

Lombard has 13 career starts at right tackle, comprising every game from the 2012 title game season, with nine career starts at right guard. Elmer has four at right guard as opposed to three at right tackle, while Hegarty has two at center and one at right guard.

He also spent the entire spring at center, when Martin was out with an injury.

All 14 career starts for Martin have come at the position he apparently is leaving, though he did work extensively at tackle and some at guard as a backup in 2012.

Sophomore tackle Mike McGlinchey, perhaps the offensive lineman with the highest perceived ceiling but no starting experience, remains on the edge of the conversation.

“We're still in the process of figuring out what the best five are on the offensive line,” Kelly said.

The old configuration clearly wasn't working.

After rushing for 281 yards and 6.7 per carry against Rice, Notre Dame labored in the running game against both Michigan (54 yards, 1.7 per carry) and Purdue (139 yards, 3.7).

In the passing game, the Irish have already allowed six sacks in three games — two fewer than all of last season when a much-less mobile quarterback (Tommy Rees) ran the offense.

That doesn't count the many times this year's starter, senior Everett Golson, has escaped the rush and scrambled for positive yards. The fact that he's two carries away from leading the team in rushing attempts pretty much tells the story.

“I think if they were all in new positions, that would be more concerning,” Kelly said, “because now it's an adjustment that would take so much longer and one that you may be hesitant to make at this time of the season.”

As it is, chemistry won't likely come overnight.

“It's no different than a quarterback coming in and working with new wide receivers,” said Aaron Taylor, former Notre Dame All-America offensive lineman and current CBS Sports college football analyst.

“It's the same routes and breaks, but there are unspoken communication and chemistry that take place, and that's even more significant when you're talking about offensive linemen.

“It's the only position in football where five have to function as one. If one of those five breaks down, all five break down. It's a sack, a negative play. Whereas a receiver can make a great catch even if the quarterback doesn't make a great throw.

“It's going to be interesting to see how quick the line can develop that chemistry. The luxury of a bye week will significantly soften that learning curve. And I think (line coach) Harry Hiestand is a fantastic coach. It's clear that they needed to move some people around, but it could take two to three weeks to get into a groove.”

They'll get their first stiff test well before that.

Saturday's opponent, Syracuse, is the top-ranked sacking team on ND's schedule (ninth nationally) and will be followed by Stanford (49th, but with the potential to move up significantly). The Cardinal were fifth nationally in 2013.

The Orange also have one of the top run defenses (26th), at least statistically at the moment, that ND will face the rest of the season.

“Next year maybe there are guys ready to play those (original) positions and we move them back into the other,” Kelly said. “But right now, as we stand, the eye is toward getting better each week and progressing. And we felt like we needed to get better.”

Slotting Hunter

Seventeen games into his college career, it appears sophomore wide receiver Torii Hunter Jr. will be deemed healthy enough to play in an actual game.

His timing couldn't be better.

Starting slot receiver Amir Carlisle, ND's second-leading receiver, suffered an medial collateral ligament (MCL) injury to his right knee Sept. 13 against Purdue, has been ruled out for Saturday's Syracuse game. He is questionable for the Stanford game Oct. 4 in Notre Dame Stadium.

Early medical reports for Carlisle were positive enough that he was originally expected to be in the mix for the Orange. Instead junior C.J. Prosise will start, with Hunter as the backup.

“He practiced aggressively (Monday),” Kelly said of Hunter, sidelined by a groin injury this season and a broken leg last.

“He felt pretty good at treatment, and we will aggressively move him again and expect that if that continues, he will get his first action this Saturday. So it's no longer an experiment, it's going to be an experience for him.”

Collinsworth coming

Projected starting safety Austin Collinsworth appears to finally be ready to make his season debut Saturday, at least in a limited role.

Collinsworth suffered a knee injury two days before the Aug. 30 season opener and resumed practice Monday.

“We were very pleased with what we saw, and I think more importantly he was pleased,” Kelly said.

“I think our team of sports medicine and strength and conditioning staff has done a great job of getting him prepared and ready, and I believe that he's going to be able to help us on Saturday.”

Junior Elijah Shumate has been a strong replacement, especially the past two games. He is third on the team in tackles (18) with an interception.

 

[perseverare]

at the higher levels technique is so specialized the just putting a different hand down is no small deal, let alone stance or blocking schemes. Specialization is the order of the day.

 

[cgvr]

at the higher levels technique is so specialized the just putting a different hand down is no small deal, let alone stance or blocking schemes. Specialization is the order of the day.

In general, imo you are more accurate than not. However, there are a lot of exceptions.

There are plenty of "utility" players that line up in multiple positions on the field. For instance JJ Watt has lined up as a left end, right end, left DT, right DT, NT, LOLB, ROLB, LILB, RILB.....

He has also lined up as fullback, H Back, TE and QB......

Losing Luatua hurts....

 

[perseverare]

yep, but they practice those multiple roles for short term fill in contingency. Remember Rod Kanehl for Mets?
Jack of all.... master of none?

Watt was a G but could fill in; that is not the same as an every game every down starter.

 

[cgvr]

yep, but they practice those multiple roles for short term fill in contingency. Remember Rod Kanehl for Mets?
Jack of all.... master of none?

Watt was a G but could fill in; that is not the same as an every game every down starter.

Watt started his college career as a TE.

PS kelly is known for dropping D linemen into coverage... Please watch how # 45 Romeo Okwara does a wonderful job of containing NFL bound Kevin Hogan. God forbid he should attack him and knock him on his rear end. Hogan could have ordered a hot dog and soda, eaten it and then thrown wherever he felt like.... This was our famed "roll out the red carpet" D.

 

[echowaker]

Are you always an a$$hole in your responses. does my opinion make you that angry. I have played football and that is wha our coach did also the offense gears it self where the strengths are . If the QB is left handed his strengths and weakness are generally the opposite of a right hander. So flip flop makes sense. Go ask the question on the podcasts. i believe it was asked before. so be an a$$hole as if you know anything

Sorry if you're offended by my response to your ridiculous post. I ve been in the game my entire life in some capacity. I know lots and lots of coaches at every level. I 've never seen it done in the fashion you suggest and its not as easy as you seem to think it is.

 

[Telx1]

Why is this being debated. As stated above, Kelly addressed this and essentially said they won't make any changes in the OL positions based on whether the QB is right or left handed, and the explanation is that it really is a non issue when the QB is taking the vast majority of snaps several years behind center. The answer also implies that this would be a consideration if the majority of snaps were taken under center, which suggests the OP isn't such an off the wall question.

 

[cgvr]

Why is this being debated. As stated above, Kelly addressed this and essentially said they won't make any changes in the OL positions based on whether the QB is right or left handed, and the explanation is that it really is a non issue when the QB is taking the vast majority of snaps several years behind center. The answer also implies that this would be a consideration if the majority of snaps were taken under center, which suggests the OP isn't such an off the wall question.

Some past kelly thoughts....

http://www.und.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/022814aag.html

Q. Who do you anticipate being the candidates to replace Zack Martin at left tackle?
COACH KELLY: Well, I think you start with those guys that are long enough to play out there. We like to be a little bit longer. You know, Elmer, Stanley, McGlinchey, Lombard, I think you start with those four guys. And you know, look, I'm not I've never bought into the philosophy of the blind side, left tackle protecting. I think it's more of a point of discussion if you're a direct snap team where you're a 5 7 step drop team.

We're rock or three at the point, so we are 1.2 to 3.6 ball out. So the left has never been a huge deal for me. It's more been a comfort of stance. And so we're probably going to go with who is more comfortable in the position.

You know, if you're talking about the next level at the NFL level, I would say that and I couldn't poll all GMs, but there's probably more of a feeling that left tackle because of more direct snap in the NFL but they are even moving a little bit away from that as well.

So long story short, most experienced, most athletic, you would say, oh, it's Stanley immediately. But for most comfort and who has been on the left side, you know, you probably say, you go with the guys that have already been over there, Elmer. So we'll probably go through the spring and look at both of those before we make the final decision.

Q. When you recruited Elmer, did you look at the left tackle spot for him?
COACH KELLY: Not necessarily. I think when they come through the doors, again, to be honest with you, we don't peg a guy and say, that's the left tackle. We say, he's a tackle more so than we say he's a left tackle versus a right tackle. Although there are some -- there are some intricacies of being in a left handed stance versus a right handed stance, quite frankly, and we have to look at that relative to the recruiting.

Q. And the fact that you have a left handed quarterback throws the left and right tackle thing off?
COACH KELLY: A little bit and the gun does make a difference and if you're moving the pocket more, it really lessens it even more.

 

[cgvr]

Why is this being debated. As stated above, Kelly addressed this and essentially said they won't make any changes in the OL positions based on whether the QB is right or left handed, and the explanation is that it really is a non issue when the QB is taking the vast majority of snaps several years behind center. The answer also implies that this would be a consideration if the majority of snaps were taken under center, which suggests the OP isn't such an off the wall question.

Here's what kelly said about McGlinchey on 3/15

http://www.asapsports.com/show_conference.php?id=117517

Q. Does McGlinchey move to left tackle? Has that been decided?
BRIAN KELLY: That hasn't. I think what would decide that more than anything else is how Hunter Bivin comes along for us. Hunter is also part of the equation here, as well, and so I think we throw Hunter in that.

So that's going to be interesting how that kind of plays out, that battle.

 

[greengael]

Why is this being debated. As stated above, Kelly addressed this and essentially said they won't make any changes in the OL positions based on whether the QB is right or left handed, and the explanation is that it really is a non issue when the QB is taking the vast majority of snaps several years behind center. The answer also implies that this would be a consideration if the majority of snaps were taken under center, which suggests the OP isn't such an off the wall question.

I thought I kind of said this some posts above. I don't understand the debate and the vitriol either!

 

[BettisND]

Related: Back in 2014 kelly did a ton of in season DCE along the O line because he's often indecisive and wishy washy. (Please watch the play clock as he fumbles around for what to do next....then there's his infamous go for 1 or 2 chart. Pee wee football math escapes him. Northwestern anyone?...)

http://www.ndinsider.com/football/b...cle_ff4d5eaa-4385-11e4-b819-0017a43b2370.html

Brian Kelly plays musical chairs along Notre Dame OL
SOUTH BEND — It looks like a modified game of musical chairs, but with a very specific purpose behind it.

If Notre Dame head football coach Brian Kelly's widespread, penciled-in offensive line changes stick, the eighth-ranked Irish (3-0) could line up Saturday night against Syracuse (2-1) with four linemen in new places.

Well, kind of new.

The teams meet in MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. (8 EDT; ABC-TV).

Graduate student right tackle Christian Lombard and sophomore right guard Steve Elmer would flip spots. Senior center Nick Martin would move to left guard, with senior guard Matt Hegarty taking over at center.

The only star
ting offensive lineman who would remain is junior left tackle Ronnie Stanley.

“I think what we were looking for, more than anything else, is that we wanted to be able to be more physical inside,” Kelly said. “You have to move some pieces around. You have to give something up to get something.

“We may find out that we don't want to give up what we have to give up to get the more physicality of Elmer and Martin at the guard position. That's where we are right now.”

In all but Martin's case, those players actually have more career starts at their newly modified positions than the ones they had been playing earlier this season.

Lombard has 13 career starts at right tackle, comprising every game from the 2012 title game season, with nine career starts at right guard. Elmer has four at right guard as opposed to three at right tackle, while Hegarty has two at center and one at right guard.

He also spent the entire spring at center, when Martin was out with an injury.

All 14 career starts for Martin have come at the position he apparently is leaving, though he did work extensively at tackle and some at guard as a backup in 2012.

Sophomore tackle Mike McGlinchey, perhaps the offensive lineman with the highest perceived ceiling but no starting experience, remains on the edge of the conversation.

“We're still in the process of figuring out what the best five are on the offensive line,” Kelly said.

The old configuration clearly wasn't working.

After rushing for 281 yards and 6.7 per carry against Rice, Notre Dame labored in the running game against both Michigan (54 yards, 1.7 per carry) and Purdue (139 yards, 3.7).

In the passing game, the Irish have already allowed six sacks in three games — two fewer than all of last season when a much-less mobile quarterback (Tommy Rees) ran the offense.

That doesn't count the many times this year's starter, senior Everett Golson, has escaped the rush and scrambled for positive yards. The fact that he's two carries away from leading the team in rushing attempts pretty much tells the story.

“I think if they were all in new positions, that would be more concerning,” Kelly said, “because now it's an adjustment that would take so much longer and one that you may be hesitant to make at this time of the season.”

As it is, chemistry won't likely come overnight.

“It's no different than a quarterback coming in and working with new wide receivers,” said Aaron Taylor, former Notre Dame All-America offensive lineman and current CBS Sports college football analyst.

“It's the same routes and breaks, but there are unspoken communication and chemistry that take place, and that's even more significant when you're talking about offensive linemen.

“It's the only position in football where five have to function as one. If one of those five breaks down, all five break down. It's a sack, a negative play. Whereas a receiver can make a great catch even if the quarterback doesn't make a great throw.

“It's going to be interesting to see how quick the line can develop that chemistry. The luxury of a bye week will significantly soften that learning curve. And I think (line coach) Harry Hiestand is a fantastic coach. It's clear that they needed to move some people around, but it could take two to three weeks to get into a groove.”

They'll get their first stiff test well before that.

Saturday's opponent, Syracuse, is the top-ranked sacking team on ND's schedule (ninth nationally) and will be followed by Stanford (49th, but with the potential to move up significantly). The Cardinal were fifth nationally in 2013.

The Orange also have one of the top run defenses (26th), at least statistically at the moment, that ND will face the rest of the season.

“Next year maybe there are guys ready to play those (original) positions and we move them back into the other,” Kelly said. “But right now, as we stand, the eye is toward getting better each week and progressing. And we felt like we needed to get better.”

Slotting Hunter

Seventeen games into his college career, it appears sophomore wide receiver Torii Hunter Jr. will be deemed healthy enough to play in an actual game.

His timing couldn't be better.

Starting slot receiver Amir Carlisle, ND's second-leading receiver, suffered an medial collateral ligament (MCL) injury to his right knee Sept. 13 against Purdue, has been ruled out for Saturday's Syracuse game. He is questionable for the Stanford game Oct. 4 in Notre Dame Stadium.

Early medical reports for Carlisle were positive enough that he was originally expected to be in the mix for the Orange. Instead junior C.J. Prosise will start, with Hunter as the backup.

“He practiced aggressively (Monday),” Kelly said of Hunter, sidelined by a groin injury this season and a broken leg last.

“He felt pretty good at treatment, and we will aggressively move him again and expect that if that continues, he will get his first action this Saturday. So it's no longer an experiment, it's going to be an experience for him.”

Collinsworth coming

Projected starting safety Austin Collinsworth appears to finally be ready to make his season debut Saturday, at least in a limited role.

Collinsworth suffered a knee injury two days before the Aug. 30 season opener and resumed practice Monday.

“We were very pleased with what we saw, and I think more importantly he was pleased,” Kelly said.

“I think our team of sports medicine and strength and conditioning staff has done a great job of getting him prepared and ready, and I believe that he's going to be able to help us on Saturday.”

Junior Elijah Shumate has been a strong replacement, especially the past two games. He is third on the team in tackles (18) with an interception.

 

[perseverare]

I like MZ since when he was a commit, but regardless of that how the hell did he become a ND legend before he has even 2 completed starts! Are some ND fans that rediculous? Even if he goes on to accomplish something, so far he has not and this hype is baseless! Let him play, let him earn his accolades!

Some ND fans are such deparate and frustrated fans that they just create heros.