Falling Into Line Through Changes

As Christian Pace walked by, he mentioned something about an Easter egg hunt and all John Holthaus could do was roll his eyes.

As the story goes, on a family trip to Hawaii during the holiday when Holthaus was young, he wasn't paying attention when the egg hunt started. By the time he joined the search party, all the eggs had been found, he cried and then the other children shared their eggs.

This will remain constant ammunition for Pace, Colorado State's offensive line coach, to use against his third-year lineman whenever the coach feels it is time to poke the bear.

"There's a lot of things he'll never let me forget," Holthaus said.

Which is the way Holthaus prefers. He says it's what the entire offensive line room has come to expect and what it has needed in order to form a group which is playing well and improving regardless of outlook or circumstances.

Like their coach, they believe they can always play better.

"It's having that edge to just always go play better. We had a bye week this week and we're coming off one of our best games, and I don't think we've been cussed out more," Holthaus said. "And in a loving way. If he lets us become complacent and just doing what we're doing, then how will we become what we can become?

"A lot of people, they get complacent and, 'oh, I'm doing good in this,' So it doesn't matter. For a while I was thinking I'm really good at pass blocking, but I'm not really good at run blocking, and Coach Pace kind of came at me. He said, 'no, we're going to be great at everything.' Nothing's going to be perfect. It'll never be enough for me, but that's what makes you better."

Colorado State is tied for second nationally for the least amount of sacks allowed at two. Duke has allowed but one; Kansas State, Notre Dame, Army and Georgia State are tied with the Rams, who have thrown more passes than any of those teams.

It's a unit which not only protects the quarterback, but generates lanes for an improving rushing attack, one which has produced explosive runs and ranks 14^th nationally in yards per carry (5.84).

It's also a unit which has been anything but stable. Pace has had to design three different versions of his starting five through five weeks and he used 11 players overall.

"It can always be better, and I think the guys have done a great job of cross training, different positions, different side of the ball, so that's why it's kind of a plug-and-play right now," Pace said. "Obviously, continuity helps a lot, and we've kind of had that the last couple of weeks. You could see them starting to gel a little bit, but we're always going to find the best five for the opponent that we're playing against, and that might not always be the same five that played the week before. It's been moving parts just for different reasons, but the guys, they continue to show up and work, and that's all I can ask for."

Pace looks at all which goes into protecting a quarterback, and he says it's not just his guys. He credits the wideouts and the quarterbacks for clicking on time, running backs and tight ends for helping in protections and the mobility of the guys throwing the ball, with both K'saan Farrar and Hauss Hejny evading trouble at times.

The quarterbacks have taken hits, and Pace said each time it is a wake-up call for his guys.

"There's a bunch of guys who work their tails off in that role. Just week in and week out, we're getting better, and Coach Pace tries to give us a mantra," center Phillip Ocon said after the Oregon State game. "Every guy on our offense talks about you win your six seconds. There were some good pass rushers tonight – (Takari Hickle) is a really, really good pass rusher. He's been real, real productive for Oregon State. Our guys on the edge won their six seconds and did a great job of that. So we're going to keep trying to just win our six, reset, win our six, reset, and keep going."

An offensive line's superpower can be its cohesiveness and continuity, something the Rams have not had the luxury of experiencing. Not just during the season, but since they all came together back in January. New coaching staff, some new players and a group of holdovers.

In practice, Pace's process was mix and match. Some of it on purpose, some by necessity. Whether by design or not, that's become the glue which ties the group together.

"We've been very versatile in like, how we switched positions in the spring. Coach Pace would just put us all over the place," Holthaus said. "I was left tackle all last spring. It worked out in my favor that I got to play right tackle now, because I've been playing right tackle for my whole career. But just like that, switching around and not keeping us concrete in our positions ... Braden Hales is probably the most versatile guy out there. He's played guard, left guard, right guard, center. He's played tackle before when I got hurt last year.

"It's just having dudes who can just say, all right, let's just go play. Let's just go hit. It's really the physicality. It's not anything special; it's just dudes who are just going to be dudes no matter where you put them."

Which is why Pace has to tip his cap to the group, if just for a moment. The coaching staff tries to create adverse conditions, so the team is ready for it in a game, but the line has seen the obstacles formulate naturally.

It's not like the group is falling back on experience either.

"Even since the spring, it's been kind of that. And obviously with how you practice, you rotate and get guys, but very similar conversation with how this season has gone," Pace said. "When you do have the same two playing next to each other on the side of the same center, the verbal becomes less important because you just know that guy's going to be where you expect him to be.

"That's where we're still a younger group. I mean, our most starts right now up front is eight, and that's heading into game six of this year. So that is part of it, a young group that's still trying to gel together with all that. And I give them credit. They continue to show up to work, even if their standard of work is not mine."

Not from a lack of effort, however. And whatever Pace has them hunting day to day, game to game, Holthaus is determined not to be left behind, and that's become a bond he feels has kept the whole crew together.

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K'saan Farrar

Braden Hales

Hauss Hejny

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