Ideal Lineman
June 13, 2006 09:18 AM | General
June 13, 2006
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – So what constitutes the ideal composite of a West Virginia University offensive lineman? According to All-America center Dan Mozes, he stands 6-2 or 6-3 and weighs about 285 pounds. He’s got to be able to move and most importantly, he’s got to be tough.
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| West Virginia's ideal offensive lineman has to be mobile, tough and he's got to have brains.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparksphoto |
“You not only have to be physically tough but also mentally tough,” Mozes said. “Waking up every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at 6 o’clock in the morning and getting here to meet before you go to class … and then coming back out here for practice right after that. You don’t get out of here until 8 o’clock.”
Mozes has become the standard for what West Virginia coaches expect of their offensive linemen. He fits their ideal profile both physically and mentally. Whenever the coaching staff recruits promising offensive line prospects they always measure them in terms of Dan Mozes. Are they as tough as Mozes? Are they as smart as Mozes? Do they have that competitive streak Mozes has?
“It makes me feel good but the new guys coming in here have to realize that they have to make their own impact,” Mozes said.
Like redshirt sophomore guard Ryan Stancheck, who shows signs of developing some of the same traits that has transformed Mozes into one of the best blockers in the country. From the beginning, Stancheck displayed a nasty streak on the football field that offensive line coach Rich Trickett looks for in his offensive linemen.
And when Trickett doesn’t get it, he gives it to them.
“I never had doubts … I’m not a quitter … I wasn’t raised that way,” Stancheck said. “You just get through it.”
Others do have doubts and some don’t make it. Being an offensive lineman at West Virginia University isn’t for everyone. Number one, your manhood gets challenged every day, and number two, you’re going to work harder than you’ve ever worked in your life. Trickett demands it.
“I think it takes a special person to be an offensive lineman here,” Stancheck says. “We live and die by hard work and it’s not for everybody.
“Every day you have to come out and prove yourself. I think that’s the great thing about this program is that you have to prove yourself everyday,” Stancheck said.
The players all realize that if they can get through a practice with Trickett on Tuesday and Wednesday then it’s a piece of cake by the time Saturday rolls around.
“If you can handle it out on the practice field you can handle anything during the games. I think that’s one of Coach Trickett’s methods. He tests us mentally,” Stancheck said.
Offensive linemen can overcome poor technique and inexperience in West Virginia’s system. What they can’t overcome is being soft or lacking aggression. Even the mention of the word ‘soft’ causes the veteran players to cringe.
“Look at the guys that are out there now -- they’re all tough. Just look at our leaders Dan (Mozes) and (Jeremy) Sheffey,” Stancheck said. “You can’t find two tougher guys than that.”
Of the five offensive linemen in contention for starting jobs this fall, Stancheck has probably the most room for improvement technically. Right now he’s considered more of a brawler on the field, meaning he isn’t afraid to mix it up with anyone but that he also doesn’t always use the proper technique when he executes blocks.
More often than not, Stancheck uses the old when-in-doubt-hit-them philosophy.
“My technique is not as good as some of the other guys,” Stancheck admitted. “I just play as hard as I can. Sometimes I don’t take the proper steps and I need to work on my flexibility.”
Mozes says the ideal offensive lineman in West Virginia’s offense has to be versatile and athletic enough to get past the first wave of defenders and get down field to execute the next block. Often times it is the second block they make that can be the difference between a first down and a touchdown.
“That’s the main thing in this offense … you’ve got to be able to move … hitting one guy and then going up to the second level and hitting that guy,” Mozes said.
Stancheck admits he isn’t quite there yet but he’s improving. He’s also learning to tune out the older defensive players that try to bait the younger players into making mistakes by constantly talking to them during games.
“There was one team that had a guy that wanted to talk about my mom,” Stancheck chuckled. “As it turned out, he was actually talking about John Bradshaw’s mom instead of mine. I said, ‘That’s not my mom, man.’ He thought he had something on me. I’m in my stance and he’s talking about the wrong mom.
“That didn’t bother me; I just laughed.”
And then when the ball was snapped Ryan Stancheck went out and hit him as hard as he could. That is what tough guys do.
