When the NCAA announced last year that players would have the option to use an extra year of eligibility, most assumed it would change the complexion of college football.
Each team had its fair share of “super seniors” return for one more go. At UVa, the Cavaliers got a boost in a variety of ways but none bigger than what those decisions meant for the offensive line.
“Having everybody back is a great feeling,” center Olu Oluwatimi said last week, “just because we have a lot of continuity really.”
You could say that again.
In Oluwatimi, the Hoos boast one of the league’s best centers. But bringing back seniors Chris Glaser (OG), Ryan Nelson (OT), and Ryan Swoboda (OT) to join not only Oluwatimi but also Bobby Haskins (OT) and Joe Bissinger (OG) meant Virginia returned some 122 career starts.
Gone are the days when OL coach Garett Tujague had to rush to get a guy like 2020 early enrollee Logan Taylor ready to play this fall. But it took a while to get to that place, that’s for sure.
“You can’t take shortcuts,” Tujague said. “Sometimes it’s like drinking water out of a firehose.”
After several years of working to get the position group up not only to a place where there was enough depth but also where the group was able to play well, much is expected from UVa’s experienced, deep, and cultured offensive line.
That it’s been the journey it has been certainly has had its rough spot.
“I’m not known for my patience,” head coach Bronco Mendenhall said earlier this week. “And so it was beyond challenging and there was every option on the table as to what might happen with that group. It's leadership, quite frankly, right? Division I football and Power 5 football….I wouldn't describe patience as one of the things that fits in with that very well. And so it's a results-oriented business and to see Garett fight and battle and coach and recruit as hard as he has and now have stability has been really gratifying for me to watch.
“I’m appreciative of his efforts, thankful that we've reached this point,” he added. “There have been touch-and-go moments for all of us from the very beginning and in this case, patience did pay off. It's one of the strengths on our team, as it was last year in my opinion.”
“The best part about the whole thing is the culture,” Tujague explained. “That starts at the top and works it all the way down to the O-line. For me, it’s been a lot of fun. There were some rough, rough, rough years. And again, it takes time. And I’m grateful for the opportunity to have the time to build the room to where it’s at. I love the leadership from Swoboda, from Glaser, from Olu, from Nelson. Those guys are doing a great job of holding the younger guys to the fire and making sure we’re getting what we need. It’s been a lot of fun to be able to start with nothing and build it up to what it is.
“We’ve got a long way to go,” he added. “We’re not there yet and I know that. And we’re working every day to get better. But it’s been a lot of fun to see them take ownership really. I’d love to say ‘It’s all Coach Tujague’ but really it’s them taking ownership on their position group and being the guys that for years [heard] ‘Fix it.’ People walking by saying ‘Fix it.’ So it’s been fun for them to own that, embrace it, and run with it.”
Oluwatimi, who returns for his third year in the program after transferring in from Air Force, has been the rock in the middle of the line. He believes he benefits greatly from so much stability around him.
“This is about to be my third year playing with basically the whole same unit…so, it’s definitely helpful,” he said. “It’s helpful for the QB. It’s helpful for the running backs. It’s just helpful for the whole offense and it gives Coach (Robert) Anae confidence to rely on us as a unit.”
Having experience is one thing. Doing something with it? That’s the true challenge. It’s one the Wahoos and their coaches understand.
“I think it’s time,” Tujague said. “It’s time. There are some things that need to happen and we’re close I think. But it’s time. It’s been long enough. It was Bryce (Perkins’) first year where we were trying to find ways to get him away from the weaknesses. You can only hide so many things.
“I think it’s time,” he added. “But again, that’s something that’s been earned and will continue to be earned, so I’m looking forward to that.”
One thing the offense must earn this year is a better, more consistent traditional running game. It’s something that hasn’t been seen in Charlottesville in a while. That’s a focus for Mendenhall, Tujague, Oluwatimi, and all involved. And it’s a reality too, one they will not shy away from this year.
“Having a standard,” Tujague said when talking about the emphasis on the running game, “having a measurement. The things that get measured usually get utilized.”
“Mindset,” Oluwatimi said simply when asked what needs to change. “It’s mindset on the O-line. The run game, it starts with the offensive line first. Obviously, you’ve got to have a great back back there and with great patience and all that. And we have great talent in the backfield. So now it’s just on us really to open up holes, to sustain blocks, to just be nasty in the run game.”
The benefit of so much experience is that players don’t need to spend the same amount of time being instructed on how to play the scheme. Instead, it’s about the small things or as Tujague called it being a “tactician.” It’s about turning paraphrase into one word.
“Every day, it’s trying to find a better way,” he said.
The reality too is that hiding from the expectations won’t help anyone meet them or shelter you if you don’t meet them.
“We have a chance to be the best unit in the country, honestly,” Oluwatimi said. “We have that confidence, we have that swagger. We’re just trying to live up to everything that all the media and our coaches put on us. At the end of the day, we’ve got to earn it and we’ve got to grind to get there. Each year, you start anew. We’re just trying to grind and really trying to be just the best unit in the country.”
JOIN CAVSCORNER TODAY!
If you are not already a member of CavsCorner, come join us and see what all of the buzz is about.
Click HERE to subscribe and get all of the latest news and join hundreds of other UVa fans in talking about Cavalier football, basketball, and recruiting. You won't be disappointed!
