On the Road with Cruiser: The Big Guys

On September 1^st, when BYU takes it first snap of 2007, most people will be watching the skill players, especially the one with the ball. But it’s the big guys up front who will make each play possible. Of all the positions on the field, the offensive line is probably the most important to having constant, consistent success.

Our offensive line this year is impressive, and the starting five will look something like this:

Left Tackle: Travis Bright, Junior. 6-5, 320

Left Guard: Ray Feinga, Junior. 6-5, 322

Center: Sete Aulai, Senior. 6-1, 300

Right Guard: Dallas Reynolds, Junior. 6-5, 330

Right Tackle: David Oswald, Junior. 6-8, 325

Average: 6-5, 319

Their backups include four redshirt freshmen who are already pushing for starting jobs and will likely see significant playing time. But regardless of who starts, they will probably constitute the largest offensive line in college football—and one of the strongest.

At this year’s BYU Strongman Competition, all three winners came from the offensive line. Travis Bright took first, followed by Jason Speredon, who will be alternating with Oswald at right tackle, and Sete Aulai. To win the competition, Travis Bright did things like lift a car off the ground 14 times, flip an 850-pound tire five times (reported to be 1,000 lbs but actually 850), hold a 600-pound steel weight while walking, and push a large pickup truck farther than anyone else. (They were originally supposed to pull the truck, but the harness snapped under the stress.) The feats of strength were staggering, even impressing Van Hatfield, who was in attendance and is considered one of the strongest men in the world. (You can see him occasionally on TV’s "The World’s Strongest Man.")

Coach Omer has been working the linemen especially hard this winter and spring, making them not only stronger, but faster. Several of them reportedly knocked at least a tenth of a second off their best forty times this spring, and they will only get faster as the summer progresses.

Nearly all of these linemen are being looked at by NFL scouts, and though nothing is guaranteed, most will be offered workouts by NFL teams after their senior years. But, of course, only one is a senior this year, Sete Aulai, and thus nearly the entire offensive line will be returning in 2008. Look for great things to happen then.

But these men are not just big and strong; they are also some of the most intelligent players on the team. And since BYU now has the highest cumulative GPA of any football team in America, our linemen are now officially the smartest of the smartest.

Opposing teams will not be able to out-muscle us, out-run us, or out-think us. And they certainly won’t be able to out-hustle us. Our big guys are strong, fast, and smart—a deadly combination. Look for them to be the best part of the best team in the conference this fall.

My 3 Cents: I don't meant to toot my own horn but *toot toot.* I said Monday that I was expecting 2 commits and I was right. BYU received oral commitments from Craig Bills (S) for 2009 and Shiloah Te'o (S) for 2008. I will write more about them tomorrow, but I am really excited about Te'o in particular, though I understand that Craig Bills is supposed to be something special. That being said, I still wouldn't be surprised to get 1 more commit this week, but it might be a stretch.

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