The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Blazers' O-Line The Backbone Of Team's Offense
10/14/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
By Steve Irvine
uabsports.com
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The question mark affixed to the UAB offensive line heading into fall camp was long ago erased. For the most part, the big guys up front showed during fall camp and during the first six games of the season that they can get the job done.
However, some other questions have arisen about the five starters - Brian O'Leary, Cameron Blankenship, Hayden Naumann, Roscoe Byrd and Victor Salako - as they move past the midway point of the season on Saturday at Middle Tennessee.
How do they do it? Do they ever get tired? How have they managed to play nearly every snap of every game this season? Is it difficult?
"It's difficult if you make it difficult," said Byrd, a 6-foot-3, 325-pound junior from Albany, Georgia. "If you embrace it, it's not going to be too difficult. We've got a veteran line, we're used to it. We enjoy staying out there because we know we have to get it done. We're the guys who have been here, been through it all, been through the ups and downs, so we take pride in getting it done ourselves."
Any concern of the group's durability and ability to handle the heavy work load should be long gone. In case it wasn't, though, we'll offer you proof from the 42-39 win at Western Kentucky on Oct. 4. The offensive game plan called for tempo quicker than any point this season. For an offense built on quick tempo, that's saying something. They went fast early and they went fast often.
Which brings us to another question. How did they do once the game reached the final 15 minutes?
"They were rolling guys," said UAB head coach Bill Clark. "I think that's a mark of how they worked this summer, how they practiced."
UAB gained 180 yards on 26 fourth-quarter plays, holding the ball for 12 minutes, 21 seconds of the final 15 minutes, and converted on two fourth down plays. The second fourth down play came on a 4th-and-1 quarterback sneak with less than a minute left from the Western Kentucky 48-yard line and Cody Clements pushed for two yards to seal the win.
"We watched it on film and we pushed the line scrimmage a whole yard and a half, two yards back," said Blankenship, a 6-foot-4, 297-pound junior from Alexander City, Alabama.
So how does that happen? How is the offensive line fresh enough to give running backs Jordan Howard and D.J. Vinson room to run in the final quarter? How are they able to give Clements time to throw and room to convert some key third down plays with his feet? How do they appear fresh at the end of playing all 89 snaps in that game?
"It comes down to Coach (Zac) Woodfin and all his strength coaches just really pushing us over the summer," said O'Leary. "And our position coaches and Coach Clark pushing us throughout practice and really pushing the tempo and making us work hard and get quality reps. Guys are still out here working extra. I think we're in really good shape."
Practicing quickly has been a focus of Clark's since he took over the program in January. Plays and drills move at a quick pace and everyone has to follow. Saturday seems like the easy part.
"At times, it's tiring and you got to think `Come on, just push through it,'" said O'Leary, a 6-foot-2, 282-pound senior. "But really, with the refs, they slow us down. Out here on Tuesday, with no refs, we get going so fast sometimes that in a game you're just into it. You're not thinking anything but how to execute your play."
Obviously, it still takes plenty of preparation.
"First I hydrate," Salako said. "I start hydrating on Monday and Tuesday, drinking two or three gallons of water a day. Also I do extra flexibility work and go hard in practice because if you go hard in practice, the game will be really easy.
It helps that offensive line coach Mike Bennefield can put a veteran and versatile group on the field.
*O'Leary saw in action in 29 games heading into the season and has started 15 of the last 17 games. He's played guard and tackle in the past and is the team's starting center this season.
*Blankenship has played both guard and tackle during his career. He is the team's starter at right guard but also slid out to tackle a few times early this season. He started the final nine games of his true freshman season and was selected to the C-USA All-Freshman. Overall, he's played in 24 games at UAB with 18 starts.
*Byrd played in 10 games at defensive tackle as a true freshman. He moved to offensive guard the following spring and started the first eight games last season before breaking his leg.
*Salako, a 6-foot-6, 315-pound sophomore left tackle from Grissom High in Huntsville, Alabama, played in all 12 games during his redshirt freshman season last year. He started in 11 of those games.
*Naumann, a 6-foot-5, 280-pound junior right tackle from Decatur, Alabama, was the least experienced starter coming into the season. He played one game in his first two seasons on campus and didn't play last season until the final three games.
Mix them together and they are a solid group.
"I'd say each one of us has our own unique personality but, at the same time, we fit well," Blankenship said. "We're like five brothers, we really are. There is no bad chemistry at all. We all love each other, joke around. There is really no other way to say it but they're the best brothers I've ever had."
UAB has some talent behind the starters but the second group is either freshmen still needing college seasoning or junior college transfers still making the adjustment to the FBS level. So the starters will continue their Ironman ways for an offense that is averaging 490.0 yards per game and ranks 22nd nationally in total offense. They haven't been perfect, obviously, but have played well for the most part. They've also got the attention of teammates.
"They are workhorses," said linebacker Jake Ganus. "O-line, they come out to practice before anyone else, they start their drills before anyone else and it shows. It pays off. I think every Saturday they are great. They come off to the sideline after just running like a 16-play drive but they're smiling and jumping. I love those guys. I just think they are the backbone of our offense." They are also a quarterback's best friend.
"Even in practice, I think `I'd hate to be a lineman,'" Clements said. "You just look at what they're going through. They're working their butt off every day, day in and day out, so by the time the game hits they're prepared to go however many plays are needed."
O'Leary acknowledges that life isn't always easy for an offensive lineman but he's having the time of his life.
"This is the greatest experience you could have," O'Leary said. "Offensive line, it's a tough position to play, because you're in there battling 24-7. You're pounding every play. It's different because you don't get any of the glory. There is none of the glamour. There is no `look at me' type stuff. It's really just about going to war with the five guys you have next to you."
