speth said:
I agree with many others who believe that the Griz did not recruit enough lineman over the last several years. losing two lineman like what happened this year is not unusual because injuries commonly occur. The Griz were light on depth even before they lost Poole and Schmaing. I am not a Rob Ash fan but I remember when he was first hired he complained that the Cats did not have enough O lineman. He said they need between 15 to 18 on the team. The reason is that the team needs that many to effectively practice because it needs to supply a scout team and the first and second units. Also lineman generally take time to develop and get stronger. You normally don't see many first or second year players start on the line. It may be that the Griz did not bring in more lineman the last several years because the recruits signed with another school. I would not blame them for refusing to take a second rate kid if they lost out on a desired recruit. I do recall that they lost out on one desired O lineman recruit a couple years ago. But what I saw against Wyoming was not bad. I think they will be fine as long as they don't have an injury problem. I also like the looks of the true freshmen O linemen and the the kids that have committed for next years recruiting class.
The MSU roster shows 14 o-lineman. 6 frosh/rs frosh, 3 soph, 4 junior and 1 senior. MSU does not have 15-18 lineman.
The UM roster, which includes Poole and doesn't include Schmaing, shows 16 o-lineman. 4 frosh/rs frosh, 8 soph, 1 junior (Schmaing's class) and 3 seniors (1 hurt).
UM has more lineman than MSU. MSU has only 8 lineman above frosh/rs frosh. UM has 12 lineman above frosh/rs frosh (including Poole and excluding Schmaing).
Can anyone think of any example where UM has had a returning starter o-lineman academically ineligible? Or how about any o-lineman on the two-deep depth chart academically ineligible?
Don't let the facts get in the way of your arguments or biases, guys.