CSU Offensive Line Set on Incremental Improvement

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FORT COLLINS -- Though already much improved, Colorado State football's offensive line knows it's still a work in progress.

By this time last year, the offense had taken 16 sacks for a total of 120 yards after the first two games. One of those was against Middle Tennessee, when the Blue Raiders sacked quarterback Clay Millen a season-high nine times for a season-high 70 yards.

Through two games this season, the offensive line has dropped those numbers down to four sacks for 19 yards. Even then, head coach Jay Norvell doesn't attribute any of the sacks taken to the linemen.

"We've given up four sacks and they all should have been throwaways from the quarterbacks," Norvell said. "None of the four sacks we've had so far this season have been on the offensive line. I think we're much improved, I think we'll be able to handle the pass rush much differently."

Center Jacob Gardner, who moved to left tackle and played there for the majority of last season, remembers a disorganized Rams front which had to deal with a Blue Raiders defensive line which specialized in disguising their looks. The Rams were ridden with injuries already at that point in the season. Combined with the toil of not always knowing what looks were being thrown at them, nine sacks was the result.

This year is different; the line features more depth and experience than it has in the Norvell era, something Gardner said feels much more comfortable. He also senses the players in his room are more capable, both physically and mentally, of taking on the same kinds of things which buried them a season ago.

So far, they've protected their quarterback — whoever it's been — with much more success, which will no doubt be an aid against Middle Tennessee should it continue to carry over.

Pass protection is essential for the Air Raid offense, but to truly succeed in the passing game, there needs to be a complementary running game to keep defenses honest. Rushing for less than 70 yards per game, it hasn't quite taken hold yet.

"The running game is one of the bigger emphases this week," Gardner said. "For the past couple of weeks, it has been. We want to give our receivers a chance and they need to respect our run and our pass at the end of the day. The O-line's got to do a better job at picking their defenders up, being physical and moving them off the line of scrimmage."

Respect and organization are what Gardner is looking for this Saturday, but he knows it will take a five-man effort at all times to earn those things. He said cohesion was another missing piece of the puzzle which was last year's 34-19 loss.

All the individual experience in the world doesn't necessarily make an offensive line able to be a close-knit unit. It takes game reps and constant film review, two things which build up over time and have over their first two games. Connectedness is a skill of its own – even if everyone is collectively wrong on a play or two, at least they're all in step.

"We're getting there. What (offensive line coach) Bill Best talks about a lot of the time is, we all want to be able to see things through the same set of eyes," Gardner said. "It's almost better to all be wrong, rather than some wrong and some right on certain calls, because we want everyone to be on the same page."

Part of getting to where they want to be in terms of cohesion and facilitating a better entire offense is to not convolute things too much. If everyone is thinking at a thousand miles a minute, it's nearly impossible to synchronize in the trenches against a team like Middle Tennessee.

Gardner is the only returning Ram this season, but left tackle Oliver Jervis is familiar with the frustration the Blue Raiders can cause. In 2021, while still at Monmouth, he suffered a 50-15 loss in Murfreesboro.

"Middle Tennessee has a really good defense, they're one of those teams who if they smell blood in the water, they're gonna send blitzes," Jervis said. "(Best and Gardner) said to just stay back and at the end of the day we just have to do the simple things. … They're good, they're talented; we just can't overcomplicate it."

If they fixate on only the things they can control, the Rams' offensive line's development can blossom – one game, one, one snap at a time.

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