5 reasons why OSU's D-Line will be much improved
The defensive line has struggled with consistency under Gary Andersen in his first two seasons, but in 2017, the position group looks prime to make a big jump and rise out of the Pac-12 cellar for pressure and sacks. Here are the five reasons BeaversEdge.com feels that the defensive line will be better in 2017.
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1. The group is more experienced and mature
With the exception of Noke Tago, who played sparingly in his last season, the group returns all major contributors in 2017. Elu Aydon, Kalani Vakameilalo, Baker Pritchard, Philip Napoleon, and Paisa Savea all return with a large amount of in-game experience. Plus, they get an extra boost with Titus Failauga moving back to the D-Line. JC transfer Craig Evans is also expected to be a major contributor right away. Given the amount of extra experience that these guys all have headed into 2017, they have all had a chance to get bigger, faster, and stronger in OSU’s strength and conditioning program. I expect this group to be much improved physically and mentally heading into 2017.
2. They have a full-time D-Line coach
No disrespect to coach Andersen, who deserves kudos for experimenting with different set ups, but the defensive line is better suited with Chad Kauha’aha’a running the show. He started as D-Line coach in year one under Andersen before he moved to outside linebackers last season when Andersen took over coaching the D-Line. This season, Kauha’aha’a is coaching both the outside linebackers and the defensive line. Coach Chad has coached on the D-Line for his entire career, and I think this is a smart move by Andersen. He was able to come in and teach them some different things and offer different perspective last season, which in the long term is going to be huge for development, but I think having an assistant coach with this group is a must. Andersen has a lot to think about during the season and having coach Chad take over the D-Line is the best move for everyone involved, in my opinion.
3. Craig Evans is a game-changer
When Evans committed to the Beavers, they knew they were getting a star. In fact, Andersen knew how special of a talent Evans was when he nearly enrolled at Wisconsin when Andersen was there. Unfortunately for Andersen, it didn’t work out because of issues at Wisconsin. Sometimes things happen for a reason, and Andersen mentioned to me when I interviewed him back in spring - that perhaps he and Evans were meant to be together. Evans brings a massive body (6’3 305-pounds) that can immediately help the Beavers with their QB pressure problem. Evans is versatile enough to play nose tackle for the Beavers or line up as a defensive end. I think his future is at NT where he can be a “plug” and take on double team’s and free up his teammates for TFL’s and sacks. His stats might not be uber-impressive in 2017, but his impact will be massive for the Beavers when he is on the field.
4. The Beavers' use of different sets
In the spring session, the Beavers sometimes went with a two down lineman look, opting for their more versatile players to work the edges while in a bit of a hybrid position. I wrote in spring that I thought this was a very good thing for the Beavers because it gives them the ability to use their strengths. If you only have two or three down lineman, you give yourself an extra linebacker to make plays in space. Also by using two defensive lineman, you are able to keep your subs fresh and can rotate in and out with relative ease. Keeping lineman fresh is crucial when facing the up-tempo offenses that the Pac-12 has to offer. Andersen told me back in spring that they may use this set from time-to-time and I think if used in moderation, it can be a unique set that very few teams will be able to adjust to and have success against.
5. They looked really good in the spring
I mentioned this a ton back in March, but this group really impressed me in the spring. Elu Aydon, Paisa Savea, and Kalani Vakameilalo were the guys that stood out to me as gamers in all of the spring practices. They were able to pressure the QB and get to the running backs, but most impressively was their ability to play in space. Savea was the most impressive in space as there were multiple times where he was able to break up a Run-Pass-Option by getting out of his stance and chasing down Artavis Pierce or Jaylynn Bailey. In addition to those improvements, it really seemed like their footwork and upper-body strength improved. Aydon and Vakameilalo are huge bodies in the middle, and their footwork was much better in the spring compared to the end of the 2016 season. I don’t want to over-inflate expectations because it was spring ball, but the unit as a whole looked determined to defeat the stigma that they can’t get pressure on the quarterback. Sometimes negative press can be a huge motivating factor for a player, and it seems like the Beaver D-Line is determined to make huge leaps in 2017.