Football Position Preview: Offensive Line

Photo by: Jon Lambert

8/9/2018 11:08:00 AM | Football

LEWISBURG, Pa. – As a former offensive lineman at the University of Delaware, head coach Joe Susan knows success in the trenches, more often than not, comes with experience.

"At this level, one of the most important things an offensive line can have is birthdays," Susan said. "Last year, our offensive line was very young, and they had to learn by experience. They battled some great defensive players in our practices and also learned by fire in playing against our opponents. Everything went into their experience bank, and they gained a greater understanding of how to work together in combination blocking, man blocking and protections."

A year ago, the Bison not only had to replace All-American Julién Davenport, now a potential starting left tackle for the Houston Texans. They also had to find replacements for four other starters from a group that featured just two players, Chase Watkins and Pat Finn, with game experience.

By the end of the campaign, seven different Bison had started in the trenches, including four sophomores and one freshman. While Susan is the first to admit the offensive line took its lumps in 2017, he believes that experience has set the group up for success this season, which will help Bucknell's running game in particular rebound.

"The starting five is important, but you also need to be able to play your sixth and seventh guys," Susan said. "We now have depth and possibilities."

Entering camp, sophomore Justis Peppers (left tackle), junior Erik Lukner (left guard), Finn (center), sophomore Simon Krizak (right guard) and junior Noah Stephenson (right tackle) were listed as the starters. Sophomore P.J. Barr, who started 2017's final eight games, and senior Derek Bastinck, who was named Bucknell's Most Improved Offensive Player during spring ball, remain in the mix to start.

"We're excited to have six guys who have started for us," Susan said. "Our challenge will be to put them in the right positions, and we may shift some guys around during the preseason. We're also excited to see Justis and Simon enter our lineup. Justis has the athletic ability to be a left tackle in our league while Simon is a physical force at 6-foot-4 and 305 pounds."

Preseason All-Patriot League selection Finn is expected to be the offensive line's leader. Though Susan joked he didn't hear him say more than two words before his junior year, he praised the senior center for stepping out of his comfort zone to become an effective communicator.

"I'd like to take more of a leadership role this year."

Check out our latest #BandOfBison Spotlight, featuring OL Pat Finn. #rayBucknell pic.twitter.com/v3bewzj6Nw
— Bucknell Football (@Bucknell_FB) August 9, 2018

"Pat is a former high-school wrestler, and his understanding of leverage has made him a better center," Susan said. "He's a physical presence up the middle and has done a great job of making all of our line calls. He's definitely come into his own as a leader, and we're glad to have him on our side."

Finn credits the offensive linemen who graduated in 2017—Davenport, Griff Barth, Ned Bent, Devlin Brennan and Cary Hess—for showing him the ropes when he was an underclassmen. He said he aspires to become a leader and a mentor on the line like they were.

"All five of those guys were great," Finn said. "They all had great technique and were really good about helping us out when we were younger. Now that I'm the older guy who has the experience, I'm trying to pull the younger guys along. And, so far, they're doing a really great job"

Junior Chuck Sanders can play all of the positions and will be a valuable backup, particularly at center. In addition, four talented freshmen will provide always needed depth.

NOTES: This year, the Bison are three deep at offensive line with 15 on their roster: two seniors, five juniors, four sophomores and four freshmen ... The offensive linemen have a new coach this year in David Galante, who most recently worked at Rutgers ... Stephenson (11) and Finn (10) are two of six players on Bucknell's 2018 roster who have reached the double digits in career starts ... Stephenson, the only underclassmen to start all 11 of the Bison's 2017 contests, is the lone junior of that group ... Krizak is the only foreign-born Bison; he is a native of Stuttgart, Germany and spent a post-graduate year at Pennsylvania's Hill School in 2016-17 ... Galante praised Finn for his leadership and work ethic, saying "he does a phenomenal job of motivating his teammates" ... Peppers has shown athleticism and explosiveness, and Galante said he's improving every day in his communication with his teammates and understanding of his assignments ... Stephenson, currently listed as the starting right tackle, can also play left tackle; he is one of multiple offensive linemen who can line up in different spots, giving Bucknell always important flexibility ... Galante said freshmen Michael Killiri, Sean Norton, Jacob Russ and Noah Sansalone have shown promise, aggressiveness and willingness to learn, noting he's "been impressed with the young guys' commitment level" ... Finn said Russ, also a center, has done a good job of picking up Bucknell's line calls thus far.