On a football Friday edition of the Colin Cowherd show, Urban Meyer joined the national radio host to talk Big Ten football. Meyer had a stern evaluation of the new West Coast entrants and their readiness for the Black and Blue Division of college football.
Meyer speaks with some authority on the subject. He currently watches college football for a living, and prior to that he was a national championship winning coach at Florida and Ohio State. He led the Buckeyes from 2012-2018 before being forced into retirement due to health concerns and various scandals, not before compiling an 83-9 record, 54-4 in conference play, hoisting the College Football Playoff Trophy in 2015 after OSU pounded Oregon 42-20 in Arlington, Texas.
Meyer told Cowherd, "The Big Ten, and certainly the top half of the league, had better offensive and defensive linemen than I saw in the Pac-12. As far as skill, quarterback play, skilled athletes on defense, I think certainly the four teams coming into the Big Ten, they have that skill.
"But the question I have is will they have the guys up front to compete at the highest level, because they're going to jump right in and be one of the top half of the Big Ten, but those teams at the top of the Big Ten, the offensive and defensive lines are pretty rugged."
That's a concern echoed by many observers, but in Meyer's case, the data it's based on is six years old. In 2024 Oregon is as physical as any team in the country, more physical than the three other schools in college football's great migration.
Dan Lanning's squad has the size, experience and strength to compete in the rock 'em, sock 'em Midwest, but it does point to a critical need in Oregon recruiting over the next three years:
They've got to do better on the offensive line.
This year's o-line is solid but its depth is being tested by injuries to guards Matthew Bedford (knee) and Dave Iuli (toe,) who may be available later in the year, hopefully before the October clash with the Buckeyes.
They graduate five seniors after this campaign, however, and star left tackle Josh Conerly is a draft-eligible junior.
The real problem is that the last three recruiting cycles up front have been just shy of stellar. They've whiffed on some big targets like Kelvin Banks and Earnest Greene. As elite as they've been at wide receiver and safety, the o-line recruiting lacks star power outside Conerly and Iapani Laloulu. The previous regime landed award winners Jackson Powers-Johnson and Penei Sewell, but the Hatfield-Dowlin Center hasn't seen that caliber of talent in the offensive line room since.
They're okay this year, great even. Line coach A'lique Terry returns 144 starts and the unit earned Joe Moore Award finalist honors in 2023, giving up just five sacks all season. After this playoff run in 2024, they'll have to say good-bye to Ajani Cornelius, Marcus Harper II, Bedford, Nishad Strother, George Silva and possibly Conerly. That's a painful set of good-byes.
The key point is that offensive lines have to be developed. They are the Marines of football, the guys who take on the toughest duty and get the least credit. Their training requires a high degree of cohesion and creates a fierce loyalty to the unit.
It's very difficult to fashion an offensive line out of the portal, though you can augment one. Offensive line play demands scouting and development. You have to sign 5-6 a year while understanding the rule of thirds: a third wash out, a third transfer or flounder, and if you've evaluated and trained well, a third will become starters and stars.
Rarely does an offensive line coach achieve what former Oregon staffer Steve Greatwood achieved in 2015. He brought in four freshmen, Jake Hansen, Calvin Throckmorton, Shane Lemieux, and Brady Aiello, added Alex Forsyth the next cycle, and crafted the foundation of the Duck offensive line for the next four seasons. Only one recruit proved a miss, Zach Okun, who was highly rated but suffered injury issues. The other five won a Rose Bowl and made it to the NFL.
It's too early to tell about Terry/Lanning's 2023, 2024 and 2025 classes, but the lingering sense is that it's time to pick up the pace, or they'll risk making Meyer look like a prophet. A great offensive line needs big guys with great feet and the stubborn determination and technique to battle a superior athlete to a standstill on pass plays for four seconds, the strength and intelligence to move superior athletes against their will on run plays.
In the sorting process, the best big athletes go to the defensive line. The smartest and most resilient ones wind up on offense. If they are gifted athletically and want to become rich, they turn out for edge rusher or offensive left tackle.
A great offensive line needs big guys who can move and block downfield. In 2026 tackle Kodi Greene and 2025 tackle Ziyare Addison A'lique Terry has found a couple of those guys, but so far the Ducks are not getting enough of them. They need some recruiting wins on the offensive line, this year and next. The Big Ten will punish mediocrity.
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