5 of the Best Offensive Line Units in the State

Games are won and lost in the trenches. It doesn’t matter what level you look at. The majority of playoff and state qualifiers have had dominant offensive linemen. Joe Burrow and the LSU Tigers had one of the greatest seasons thanks to their skill players’ performances behind their stout offensive line made up of five NFL caliber players. Last offseason, the Browns were considered a Super Bowl favorite by many. Fast forward a year and you can see that they spent big free agency money and high draft capital to rebuild the offensive line that held them back in 2019. In the end, it all comes down to who can set the tone in the trenches. In this article we will take a look into five of the best offensive line units hitting the field across the state. We will look at what they return from 2019, who could step up if replacements are needed for graduated seniors, and an outlook on how I expect the offenses behind those lines to perform. Indian Trail Hawks Returning Starters: Gavin Powell, Luis Delvale- Vera, Mason Kochenberger, Dreu Steinmetz, Indian Trail looks to have hit the jackpot with their returning offensive line unit. Most of the time teams are lucky to return three or four offensive linemen from the previous year. Indian Trail returns all five major starters from last year, including intriguing recruit ! Having that much experience and trust that everyone will do their job in that group and not having to replace a single piece is going to be paramount as they make a playoff run in 2020. When you dig into the unit even further you see that the average of the five linemen is roughly 265 lbs, and individually 3/5 of them are over over 280 lbs. That is a ton of mass working as one. If they continue to work together they will be able to enforce their will and set the tempo over any defensive front seven they will face. Overall, it is going to be huge for an offense that is ready to explode with the returning of QB , WR and WR/DB . It will be exciting to watch the Hawks’ offensive line set the tone with their physical play. Senior leadership and experience are keys to winning in football at any level, but especially in high school. The Indian Trail Hawks are overflowing with both. This will be a team to watch thanks in big part to the offensive line they will be fielding. Whitefish Bay Blue Dukes Returning Starters: , Joe Bakken, , The Blue Dukes are another team hitting the lottery with their returning offensive line unit. They return four starters from last season, including possibly the best offensive lineman in the state in . Their unit is an interesting one. Obviously Brunner is has elite size and athleticism, but the rest of the group aren’t overwhelmingly huge. They win, instead, with top end athleticism. The east-west movement they are able to generate along the line of scrimmage opens up huge lanes for the QB and RBs. Their ability to get out and pull one or multiple linemen is top notch. It takes a long time to have the continuity and knowledge of the playbook to be able to execute how they do in those areas. It will be interesting to see how they replace their center after he graduated this spring, but they have the leadership and experience to handle a new piece to their unit. The returning of this unit is going to be huge when it comes to returning to the playoffs and advancing farther than they did last season. The offense goes as their run game goes, so the season will ride on how effectively the Blue Dukes’ offensive line can continue to create the flow and movement that it does as well as set the tone. 2500-3000 rushing yards is a legitimate outcome at the end of the season for them if they live up to what their potential is along the line. Kaukauna Galloping Ghosts Returning Starters: , Trenton Verhagen, Brennan Kuske, Kaukauna returns 4/5 of their key offensive linemen from last season, and the ones that they do return are absolute beasts. Looking at the four returning starters, they have an average of over 290 lbs! Insert like 10 eye emojis here because that is amazing to find at the high school level. The best part is that they are versatile linemen. They don’t just attempt to run over people every play. The line has proven that they can provide those holes in the run game, but also provide sound pass protection for their QB and balance offensive attack. As for the replacement, the Galloping Ghosts have a lot of great looking options. Daniel Disterhaft, Jonah Brittnacher, Dustin Drawenek, Brock Kosmosky, Nathan Jansen, Thomas Carrasco, and Alex Ashauer will provide consistent competition, which should push the offensive line to reach even higher levels of success. The potential for this offensive line is through the roof, and in return, so is the offense’s potential as a whole. The physical performance of the Kaukauna line is going to be one to watch as they look to dominate the opposing front sevens this season. It will also be exciting to watch their recruitment as many of the linemen in this unit have next level skill, especially Kiefer and DeGoey. The leadership, depth, and competition is all coming together perfectly for this team. Keep an eye on them this season. Sun Prairie Cardinals Returning Starters: , Zackery Hackett, Mason Sutton, This season, the Cardinals will be fielding a big and reliable offensive line. They are lucky enough to return four key starters from last season. They are even more fortunate to have those linemen be athletic and big. The four returners average 250 lbs and only one of them looks like he will come into this season under 250 lbs. That is going to be an imposing unit if they play as one like they did last season. They have proved that they can do whatever is needed to succeed. They can pull, they can win with power, and they can win with athleticism. It won’t be easy slowing down this offense in 2020 because it is going to be hard to stop the front five. As for the fifth spot replacement, the Cardinals have plenty of depth from last year that are built in a similar fashion to these other four. That should make for plenty of competition that brings out the best in the unit. Some of the possible players to step up are Jason Borges, Tyler Horton, and Brandon Tamez. Sun Prairie looks like they are set up for another strong season. They have the offensive line that is ready to set the tone and they have the returning backfield pieces to implement an imposing run game. The Cardinals also have one of the top QBs in the state in returning to lead the way. This is shaping up to be an exciting blend of talent, experience, and leadership that could end up with the team going deep into the playoffs. Milwaukee Marquette Hilltoppers Returning Starters: , This is probably a surprise to see on this list. A team with only two consistent starters returning along the offensive line. However, while only two key contributors return, the Hilltoppers have several players that were excellent depth last year ready to move up after getting a good amount of varsity experience without starting games. The major factor that will decide how this unit works out is how well they play together. The talent is there. Timmis and Robinson are some of the better linemen in the state. The newcomers, made up of , , , and Don Kleine, are all also very talented. Beidatsch and O’Keef are especially intriguing as they will be juniors this season. It is going to come down to how well they gel together. I have faith that they will be up to the task. As for the team outlook, how well and quickly the offensive line can band together will be the biggest key to the offense’s success. They will be having several new players at the skill positions, so they will need a reliable unit to lean on as they gain experience. That is great news for the Hilltoppers though because they have the pieces along the line to be the foundation they need. This is the strongest case in this article of the offensive line taking the team as far as it wants to go. If they can set the tone on a weekly basis then they will be very happy with the season’s outcome.