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Aug. 30—Last year, the biggest weakness for the Idaho Vandals was the offensive line.
With talent all over the skill positions and a stout defense, it was easy to look down on a unit that was trying to find itself.
In 2023, the Vandals had only one upperclassman in the OL room and even had to move former defensive lineman Abe Christensen over to start on the right side of the line in the final 10 games.
With the start of the 2024 season just two days away, on paper the roster looks just as inexperienced with no seniors and only two juniors, but offensive line coach Cody Booth is starting to build something with the position group.
There are three crucial questions Booth and the offensive linemen will have to answer this year:
Who are the starting five?
Booth is keeping his starters close to the chest in a bit of gamesmanship with their Week 1 opponent, Oregon (4:30 p.m. Saturday, Big Ten Network), which does not release a depth chart until the day of the game. But it is safe to say four of the five were decided at the end of last year.
In the final six games of the 2023 season, Booth used the same starting lineup in five of them. Four of those starters are back this year and excited to have redemption.
Junior Nate Azzopardi, who was named as one of the team’s five captains, said that he was still angry with how he and his teammates performed last year. He said they have used that anger as motivation and have really pushed each other all offseason to not be looked at as the weak link this time around.
Azzopardi started every game in 2023 as a sophomore. He played all but two games at left guard and filled in at the center position for two games against Cal Poly and Montana.
Whether or not Azzopardi returns at center or guard, to his left will likely be junior Ayden Knapik, who started every game at the very important left…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/vandal-offensive-line-hopes-grow-121600965.html
Author : Lewiston Tribune, Idaho
Publish date : 2024-08-30 12:16:00
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