Oline.

[secneahog]

 :razorback:

http://arkansas.247sports.com/Article/Bret-Bielema-talks-Cameron-Jefferson-Sebastian-Tretola-29871986

[HogFanatic]

I suspect Arkansas will have one of the best offensive lines in the country this year if they can find a good fit at the center position.

[secneahog]

I suspect Arkansas will have one of the best offensive lines in the country this year if they can find a good fit at the center position.

Going to be interesting to see how it shakes out. I'm not going to predict anything at this point. As far as the starting rotation. Dan, Kirkland, Cook are starters but past that idk.

[Phil D]

our O-line will definitely be nasty this year but the center position is a big ? for sure.

[Hawk]

I have complete faith in Coach Pittman. He'll get it all sorted out among the best available players.

[onebadrubi]

I suspect Arkansas will have one of the best offensive lines in the country this year if they can find a good fit at the center position.

I think we are one year away from that.  Unfortunately starting a new center with you g guys around him will show it's nasty head a few times.  But think next year, that center will have experience with ragnow, Wallace, Koehler, skipper, and Kirkland plus others.  That's just NASTY!  Now that being said, I think we see some of the best protections since 2010 as a hog fan.

[lumphog]

I suspect Arkansas will have one of the best offensive lines in the country this year if they can find a good fit at the center position.

They WILL, what Pittman did with TN's O-line was miraculous. The O-line is the least of our worries. Pittman is worth every penny he's paid. Now, not if, but when Chaney gets the O rollin like he did at TN.... We will be hard to stop......It IS coming.

[bphi11ips]

The offensive line is a work-in-progress.  Bielema says they are a year or two away.  He also underscores the value of 4th and 5th year players.  This philosophy will pay off in 2016 and beyond. 

[PonderinHog]

I'd feel a lot better about it if we had an experienced center coming back, but there is talent everywhere else.

[chitwnhog]

The most telling thing is that again this season we will be counting on newcomers to produce day one.

[verticalhog]

Some folks claim that centers might need to be more knowledgeable about opposing defenses than even the QB.  I don't know about that but I do think there needs to be good football knowledge at the center position.  Does anyone on the board have thoughts as to which of the candidates to be the starting center would be more advanced in this area?  Can an inexperienced center rely on assistance from other linemen or even the QB in terms of getting the line into appropriate blocking schemes, etc.?

[31to6]

The offensive line is a work-in-progress.  Bielema says they are a year or two away.  He also underscores the value of 4th and 5th year players.  This philosophy will pay off in 2016 and beyond. 

This is why I say that the Auburn and Texas Tech games will NOT determine our season.

Winning one of those two would be huge for early-season momentum but I think both our OL and our defense will improve as the year goes on.

Our schedule is a little bit front-loaded. I say this with no disrespect to LSU or Missouri, but we have always played LSU well and by the time we meet Missouri both teams will have 11 games under their belts and will neither one resemble what takes the field in August.

We could very easily be a good enough team with a stiffening defense and a gel'ing OL to do very well in the stretch from Georgia onward even if the season starts out with a couple of heartbreakers.

I would prefer to win early because wins in the bag are always better and it will be easier to keep team morale up with early success, but I think this team is focussed and could go 2-4/4-2 and close out the season strong.

[Hawgzinbowlz]

Smothers will likely start the center position at Auburn with Charpentier as his backup, ready to take over if Smothers stumbles. They will both be adequate but a better choice at center may emerge by the time the heart of the SEC gets rolling.
Our OL should be solid all year with an opportunity to improve significantly.
Jefferson and Tretola may be guys that will contribute the most by being available to plug in where needed due to injuries, rotation or whatever.
Coach Pittman should have us efficient, productive and continually improving.

" GO HOGS "