Road tested

We’ve noticed that relatively few Georgia offensive linemen have been drafted by the NFL over the past few years.  We also expect that Sam Pittman’s going to change that.  One reason, of course, is the obvious rise in talent that he’s recruited.

There’s another factor, though.  Jason Butt, in a piece about why the NFL has been somewhat hit or miss in its evaluation of offensive linemen ($$), especially those taken after the first fifteen or so picks in the draft, mentions this:

With college teams opting to run faster out of the spread offense, linemen aren’t in the three-point stance nearly as much as they used to be. It’s forcing many linemen, especially those not as technically skilled as they need to be out of college, to face a longer adjustment period to the NFL. In the past, players developed in college within conventional pro-style attacks. Moving faster, for some teams, is the most important element of the offense. The primary goal is to catch a defense in a base set and on its heels. An offensive lineman’s fundamentals, subsequently, can be sacrificed. There is a reason offensive linemen from Wisconsin — sans Konz — and Iowa appear to be better prepared for the NFL than a lot of other teams. Those two programs are still running schemes that translate to the NFL game.

I don’t know about you, but I can think of another such offensive scheme.  And I assume that sells on the ol’ recruiting trail.

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