Poor Offensive Line Execution Stymies Hokies' Offense

On the offense's first two plays against Miami, offensive line coach Stacy Searels saw exactly what he wanted to see from his group.

The line fired off the ball against the Hurricanes, helping RB Marshawn Williams pick up a gain of three yards and then one of six.

But facing third-and-one, the group faltered when it mattered most, as Williams got stuffed for a loss. Searels says that set the tone for much of the rest of the game.

"We got stopped because of a mental mistake up front and that was really frustrating," Searels said. "In crucial situations big time players have to step up and make big time plays. We've got to execute and we didn't and that had a lot of bearing on the way the game went."

While that one play was just a small part of the Hokies' 30-6 embarrassment at the hands of the Hurricanes, it's also pretty emblematic of the line's inconsistent play this year.

Against Miami, the line looked alternately dominant and helpless. The unit helped Williams run for 100 yards on the night (of just 134 total yards by running backs), yet it also let quarterback Michael Brewer get sacked twice for a combined loss of 22 yards and let the Canes defensive line pressure him all night.

"There's just little mistakes keeping us from almost gashing (the defense) on every play," said guard Wyatt Teller. "One inch this way, one inch that way, blocking this guy instead of the other guy. There's little things that we need to work on and perfect and I feel like we're going to get there."

Teller started for the first time against the Hurricanes, and his inclusion in the lineup, which shifted David Wang to center and Caleb Farris to the bench, seems to have been an initial success.

"The last two games Wyatt's probably been the most productive player on the offensive line, he's had the most pins, most knockdowns," Searels said.

The move is certainly encouraging for the embattled unit, but there's still a long way to before the o-line can be anything close to what the Hokies need to succeed consistently on offense.

"We're looking for a lot more out of the whole group," Searels said.

He's not wrong to have higher expectations. By every measure we have, the line has been underwhelming in most respects this year.

The Hokies rank 90 Football Outsiders' adjusted line yards, the group's measure that tries to separate the ability of the running back from the talent of the offensive line (less than 100 is bad), and they don't fare much better in any of their other metrics.

In stuff rate, the metric measuring the percentage of caries stopped at or behind the line of scrimmage, Tech ranks 91st (20.7%). In power success rate, which measures the percentage of runs on third or fourth down with less than two yards to go that achieve first downs or scores, the Hokies are 93rd.

The line shake up could certainly be a step toward improving these dismal statistics, even if it could've likely come a bit earlier, but it hardly solves the whole problem.

Searels can only work so much magic with a line that's been lacking the kind of talent that used to grace the program in its better years.

Curt Newsome is a popular punching bag around these parts, but while watching the way the line has performed over the course of the last three years, it's hard not to get angry all over again at the way his poor recruiting has had ripple effects that we're feeling even now.

It's not as if Newsome never did good work with the Hokies. Tech's lines were talented leading up through the 2011 season, when a starting five of Blake DeChristopher, Jaymes Brooks, Andrew Lanier, Andrew Miller and Greg Nosal paved the way for David Wilson and the Hokies' last great running game.

But then it would seem that he, or Bryan Stinespring, or absolutely everyone else on the offensive staff, floundered a few years off when it came to OL recruiting. And this squad, even in 2014, is absolutely worse off for it.

According to Rivals.com, from 2010 to 2012, the final three years of Newsome's tenure with the Hokies, he managed to sign just 8 offensive line recruits. Just two of those recruits were rated better than a 3-star prospect, 4-star OT Laurence Gibson and Mark Shuman. Adam Taraschke and Jack Willenbrock were 2-star prospects Tech wanted to develop, but as redshirt sophomores neither have been factors. 2011 3-star signee Jake Goins left the team before the 2013 season.

By 2012, four of the five starters that made the line so effective were gone, and Newsome hadn't re-stocked the cupboard.

In 2011, DeChristopher managed to earn first team All-ACC honors, with Jaymes Brooks coming in on the second team and Greg Nosal getting honorable mention status.

Hokies offensive linemen haven't come close to that kind of success since. Not a single player on the line earned recognition of any kind in 2012, while Andrew Miller and David Wang got honorable mentions a season ago.

That kind of stagnation had a direct effect on the offenses of the Logan Thomas days, and likely contributed quite a bit to the drop off in Thomas' performance after 2011.

The results bear themselves out in the numbers.

In 2011, the Hokies ranked 35th in the nation in Football Outsiders' Fremeau Efficiency Index (FEI), which measures a team's scoring rate and adjusts for things like strength of schedule. Specifically, Tech ranked 38th in the nation in its methodical drive statistic, or the percentage of drives that contain 10 or more plays.

This measure is particularly revealing about the play of an offensive line. If the line is opening holes for the running game consistently and keeping the quarterback upright, there's little doubt the offense is going to run more plays on the field.

That's what makes this precipitous decline in the offense's numbers seem so squarely attached to the line's performance.

In 2012, a year the Hokies had to replace four of five starters on the line, the bottom fell out on offense. The team ranked 69th in FEI overall and 112th in methodical drives.

The next year was much of the same story. The offense was 78th overall, and 63rd in methodical drives. This year, the numbers look even worse: 104th and 75th respectively.

There are certainly other factors to consider, particularly the drop off in the quality of skill position players after 2011. David Wilson, Danny Coale and Jarrett Boykin weren't lacing up their cleats for the Hokies anymore, but that's only one piece of the puzzle.

The line's pass protection numbers also took a dive starting in 2012.

In 2011, the line allowed 17 sacks in the whole year (T-24th nationally). By 2012, that number was up to 25 (T-63rd), and it skyrocketed to 33 (T-99th) the year after.

The OL has improved slightly in this area this year, with only 15 sacks (T-57th) allowed so far, but it's a depressing trend that can be mostly attributed to the lack of talent at one of the most crucial position groups on offense.

Searels, and Jeff Grimes before him, have made a concerted effort at turning this trend around, and they deserve to be commended for that. The Hokies have already managed to land six commitments from offensive linemen between the 2014 and 2015 classes, and Searels is chasing several other prospects this cycle.

But it's undeniable that the Hokies are playing catch-up in this area, and it's cost them.

There is hope for the future. If Teller performs well against Miami and holds down a starting spot for the rest of the season, then the Hokies can count on retaining three of five starters heading into next year counting tackle Jonathan McLaughlin and guard Augie Conte.

"I think Wyatt's got a bright future here, he's going to be a really good player," Searels said. "At times he gets a little bit sloppy with his technique, but I like Wyatt a lot."

But the team is painfully thin, and if players like Eric Gallo, Colt Pettit and Alston Smith can't come in and contribute right away after sitting on the bench this season, then the team will be in trouble once again.

No team can fix its offensive line overnight. It's a process that requires time and lots of planning, and its one that the previous bunch of offensive assistants bungled.

The Hokies are still paying off that debt, and they have to hope that Searels and company have taken the lesson to heart.