Four Weeks, Four Questions: What's up with the Offensive Line?

For the last six years, spring time in early April meant I got an opportunity to enjoy morning sunshine in Lane Stadium on a handful of Saturdays. I'd walk through the open gate, settle in on one of those metal bleachers and watch some football.

Well, technically football. There would be drills, some coaches yelling and a scrimmage juuuust entertaining enough to give everyone something to talk about for the next week. It wasn't much, but it fed my addiction as well as it could.

This year, however, is different. I, like many of you, am away from Blacksburg. For the first time in over half a decade I've had to rely on others to be my eyes for me. I constantly check on the Twitter feeds of TKP staff members (shout out to Will, Koma and Mason) and other beat writers. I watch as many highlights and clips as I can, gobbling up each one the athletic department mercifully throws the public's way.

All of these people do a great job covering the team and keeping fans as informed as they can (or in the athletic department's case, as informed as they want fans to be). Still, I can't help but taking these observations only semi-seriously. I'm used to making my own opinion and now I must rely on others to supply one, which makes me feel super under-informed.

So when the tweets about an offensive resurrection came flying midday on Saturday, it was honestly hard to believe. It was unnatural, news that flew against the first rule of every Virginia Tech spring scrimmage (defense dominates, there's two plays from the offense to make us think it won't be an unmitigated disaster). But there they were. Report after report of long touchdowns, chunk running plays and a performance from Michael Brewer enough to trigger unpleasant memories for the Buckeyes.

It was all well and good. Brewer looking like the mustachioed hero of our dreams and Brenden Motley scampering all over the place for untouched 50-yard runs means the quarterback competition is alive and well. Bucky Hodges, Isaiah Ford and Cam Phillips each hauling in touchdowns was enough to make everyone forget for a second that the wide receiver position is comically thin.

The most interesting part of the yardage explosion, however, isn't the play from the skill players or what it meant against a banged up defense. Instead, it's that it signifies one important detail: the offensive line had a good day.

It doesn't sound like much, but being able to say that they had a single good day in a public scrimmage is something which hasn't been uttered in eons. It's not a secret that the line has been a sore spot for the Hokies since the team took a u-turn towards mediocrity in 2012. The days of Tech running backs galloping to 1,200 yard seasons has been over for a while, and it's not a coincidence it came to an end in the same stretch.

There have been talented players on the last few iterations of Hokie linemen. Nick Becton and Vinston Painter are each having a cup of coffee in the NFL (Becton now on the Saints, Painter in Cleveland), and Laurence Gibson may be the only Hokie drafted next month. But the overall ability and cohesion up front has been lacking, and it has had a large part to play in the team's offensive struggles.

We could talk all day about how it got to this point, the recruiting misses or just sheer negligence when it came to signing the big boys. You know, like grabbing a commitment from a single tackle the year the team was losing FOUR STARTERS. I could write a rage-fueled thesis on how the group was set up to fail long before the players took the field.

(Like getting one viable starter out of the 2011 and 2012 classes combined. Man, the Curt Newsome era was pretty awesome.)

But instead of dredging up the past, let's look at the present. They return three and a half starters (what up, Wade Hansen) from a unit that got secretly decent at run blocking over the last four games of 2014. During J.C. Coleman's end-of-the-year uptick, he carried the ball 81 times. On those 81 carries he gained 491 yards and only lost 23, meaning he may not have been busting off runs in large swaths, but he wasn't being consistently met in the backfield either.

Some of the credit obviously has to go to Coleman, he hit his holes decisively and with a burst. But there still has to be a hole to run through, and they were consistently provided. Combine the end of last season with what we're seeing this spring, and I think it begs the question. Is this line good at run blocking?

We all know Wyatt Teller is a Monstar trapped in a human body. Country strong Augie Conte rallied from a poor start when called upon post-Jonathan McLaughlin injury, and seems to be capitalizing on that momentum at guard.

I'm not saying these guys are going to be a dominant force come Ohio State. And I know it's tough to shake all of those memories of Brewer dodging three rushers and still getting pummeled. Pass protection isn't even something I'm going to bring up, we know it's going to be hit-or-miss (and unfortunately for everyone's favorite Texan, there was much more hitting than missing).

I also know that much like the rest of the offense, the margin for injury is excruciatingly small. The two dudes who seem to be the back-up tackles played other positions as recently as a few weeks ago, and every reserve on the interior is young and inexperienced. None of these concerns are new.

But what if there's a corner being turned as we speak? What if this line is building itself from the inside-out? By all accounts, the interior of Teller/Conte/Eric Gallo has been impressive. And while it's easy to point out the injuries on defense can make them look good, remember that defensive tackle is one of the deepest positions on the team. Many ACC teams would love to have a rotating trio of Nigel Williams, Woody Baron and Ricky Walker. It's not like the battles in the trenches are between starters and walk-on scrubs.

Should we expect the type of mauling group which dominates a game from start to finish? No. But if they can simply turn in a run blocking performance between above-average and good week in and week out, it opens up the entire offense. Brewer wouldn't have to drop back 50 times an outing, the receivers would stay fresher and the running backs could get into a groove (you know, as long as they get enough snaps).

It's almost weird to want to run the ball more. After watching a carrousel of faceless runners plow into the back of their guards and tackles a countless number of times, it's not really something you'd want to see a ton of.

But this is a new year with a new line. And the best part? Only one out of the five of them is a senior. Just imagine, a young group that comes together and blocks for a bunch of stud young skill players for more than 12 games. It feels like a dream, but is actually a realistic scenario.

But maybe times are changing. Maybe there's enough talent up front offensively to turn a corner. Maybe, just maybe, the reports of offensive success will extend past spring and into the 2015 season.