Recruiting Line of Scrimmage Players

I added up the number of offensive linemen and defensive linemen that we've recruited over the last 3 years, plus who is already committed in the 2014 class.

I did the same thing for Alabama.


Keep in mind, 41% of the players on a 22 player starting roster are linemen.

The results were shocking.


UGA:

2014- 7 of 17 commits are LOS players (41%)
2013- 9 of 33 signees are LOS players (27%)
2012- 5 of 19 signees are LOS players (26%)
2011- 9 of 26 signees are LOS players (35%)

Total 30 Line of Scrimmage Players (32% of all recruits)



Alabama:

2014- 10 of 23 commits are LOS players (43%)
2013- 9 of 25 signees are LOS players (36%)
2012- 8 of 26 signees are LOS players (31%)
2011- 8 of 22 signees are LOS players (36%)

Total 35 Line of Scrimmage Players (36% of all recruits)



So the number of recruits that play LOS isn't alot different between UGA and Bama.


Then I counted up the star ratings of them all. I used rivals because their interface is easier to do my sorting and counting.


Of all the LOS recruits for Georgia during that time period, of the 30, 50% of them were rated 4 stars or better.

63% of Bama's LOS recruits are rated 4 stars or better.

That isn't incredibly significant either, is it?


But then I think about the fact they have MORE and BETTER guys coming to play the line, it's no wonder they dominate that phase of the game. I don't know that coaching would even make a difference, if we swapped defensive line coaches with them, I think we'd both get the same results.

It's not that having 5 more guys on the roster makes them better, or that they are a little higher rated. But both of those factors combined are a reason they are better on the line. I think we should be taking more linemen, which we are on track to do in 2014.

What inspired me to type this all up? Watching our lines get dominated by Auburn last night. Their gimmick scheme requires dominance on the offensive line and perfect blocking. It was clearly achieved.

Our offensive woes came from the same thing... poor run blocking and poor pass blocking.

I submit it is a direct result of how we've recruited the last 4 years.





ETA---- I finally unwrapped the twinkie