Wednesday, August 05, 2009

We looked at the defensive line yesterday so I thought today we'd see how things are shaping up for the offensive line going into camp.

The reason for moving Zane Taylor from center, where he was an honorable mention all-MWC player last year, to right guard is because of his versatility, coach Kyle Whittingham said.

Senior Tyler Williams and redshirt freshman Tevita Stevens, who will compete for the starting role at center, are more true centers in Whittingham's opinion.

"We wanted to try to get the five best linemen on the field," Whittingham said. "We could always move Zane back inside, but he could turn out to be an even better guard than center."

Sounds like the coaches are going to put some pressure on some of the newcomers/former backups to step up their game and prove they deserve to be on the field.

Overall, the offensive line doesn't have the depth or experience the defensive line has.

Right now, redshirt freshman Derek Tuimauga is slated to be Taylor's backup at right guard while junior Walter Watts, who had a strong spring, is backing up junior Caleb Schlauderaff at left guard.

Another player we haven't heard much from, but could in the coming weeks is Viliamu Nau, a JC transfer who played in just one game (Utah State) last year. The pressure is on for him to show he can be a dependable backup to Zane Beadles at left tackle.

Right tackle will be an interesting spot to follow too, with sophomore Tony Bergstrom, who played in 10 games last year, slated to start. His backups are currently listed as freshman Sam Brenner or junior Neli A'asa, who has seen time at defensive tackle and tight end in the past.

I have a feeling the two deep could be shuffled quite a bit in the coming weeks with all the inexperienced backups along the line.

CBS' Dennis Dodd ranked the Utes No. 10 in his decade rankings, in case you missed it.