Position: Offensive Line

Projected Starters: Mike Turkovich (LT), Eric Olsen (LG), Dan Wenger (C), Chris Stewart (RG), Sam Young (RT)

Backup(s): Paul Duncan, Thomas Bemenderfer, Trevor Robinson, Taylor Dever, Matt Romine

2008 Outlook:  The Irish offensive line are looking to improve after a disastrous 2007 season in which the Irish were almost dead last in every statistical category.  Some of it you could blame on experience and youth, as they started four new starters, but the problem lied in the development of the unit over the course of the season.  They did not improve that much and this was against the easiest part of the schedule.  It’s a new season, however, and Charlie Weis has vowed that practices have become more physical and should prepare the young line for gameday.  Anchoring the line is junior Sam Young (below), entering his third season as starter and coming in at about 330 pounds, up 30 pounds from a year ago.  He and junior right guard Chris Stewart (left)should be a force on the right side of the ball in running situation.  Stewart almost left the program last year but has come in to the preseason in the best shape of his career.  The center position is filled by junior Dan Wenger, who started a number of games last year and should hold down the spot if he stays healthy.  On the left side of the line is junior guard Eric Olsen and senior Mike Turkovich.  Olsen started some last year as well and has been one of the more impressive players this preseason.  Turkovich started at guard last year but was moved to left tackle during the summer.  He has been battling fellow senior Paul Duncan for the position and has been running with the first team for most of the preseason.  He has always been a good run blocker but has struggled in pass blocking. 

The worry at offensive line is more about the passing game than the running game – not just for Turkovich but for the entire squad as well.  Left tackle overall is a major concern and both tackles have had problems pass blocking in the past.  There is some depth but they are young and unproven.  Thomas Bemenderfer is a solid backup and true freshman Trevor Robinson could be the first one off the bench at guard but there is little depth at tackle.  Sophomores Taylor Dever and Matt Romine are both young and Romine has battled injuries for most of his short career.  This squad has a lot of starts under their belts but it is still a question mark overall.

Grade: C.  This offensive line was one of the worst lines I had ever seen last year and they are lucky that I’m only giving them a ‘C’.  They battled inexperience last year but this year they are older and more experienced.  The entire squad is pretty big – all of them are well over 300 pounds and have been part of a serious lifting program for the past three years.  There is no excuse for them to have difficulty over defensive lines the size of Navy’s like they did last year.  Run blocking should improve but they will need to be able to give Jimmy Clausen some time to throw the ball if this offense wants to be anywhere near as good as it needs to be.  We likely won’t be able to gauge the progress until the Michigan game, where they will meet a talented defense that caused them many problems last year.  The play of the offensive line will be instrumental in the success of the entire team and should give a clear indication over Weis’ future at Notre Dame.