The Big Nasties

Football games are won up front at the line of scrimmage. I know this is a cliche, but nothing is truer.

Often times, the big fellas up front are forgotten about during the course of a game. It seems nowadays that the only time an offensive linemen's name is called is when he commits a penalty.

I can't blame fans for overlooking the big boys because their position is anything but a glamour one.
I probably don't spend as much time as I should acknowledging them. Well here is one of those rare occasions when I do.

These are the top 25 offensive linemen heading into this season.

1. Jonathan Luigs Arkansas
2. Michael Oher Ole Miss
3. Duke Robinson Oklahoma
4. Andre Smith Alabama
5. Herman Johnson LSU
6. Antoine Caldwell Alabama
7. Cedrick Dockery Texas
8. Ryan Stanchek West Virginia
9. Anthony Parker Tennessee
10. Jim Tartt Florida
11. Alex Mack California
12. Max Unger Oregon
13. Andrew Gardner Georgia Tech
14. Alex Boone Ohio St.
15. Ciron Black LSU
    
16. Phil Loadholt Oklahoma
17. Eric Wood Louisville
18. Jeremy Perry Oregon St.
19. Kraig Urbik Wisconsin
20. Eugene Monroe Virginia
21. Tyrone Green Auburn
22. Greg Isdaner West Virginia
23. Brett Helms LSU
24. Rodney Hudson Florida St.
25. A.Q. Shipley Penn st.

Notice how many players on this list reside in the SEC West? There are 3 from LSU alone. I think I know which conference will have the best running teams this season...