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University of Minnesota Athletics
2018 Spring Preview: Offensive Line
4/9/2018 12:00:00 AM | Football
Roster // Schedule // Season Tickets
A year ago at this time, Minnesota was running seven on seven drills in spring practice because of a lack of offensive linemen. The Gophers often practiced with only four linemen last spring (and never more than six) as many players were recovering from offseason surgeries.
Minnesota had 16 offensive linemen on its roster last season, but only nine saw action during the year. This fall, Minnesota should have 18 offensive linemen on its roster and 15 of them are on campus for the spring. That includes three early enrollees in Nathan Boe, Curtis Dunlap Jr., and Daniel Faalele.
In addition, the Gopher offensive line will be led by coach Brian Callahan. He worked with the tight ends last year, but coached the offensive line under P.J. Fleck at Western Michigan from 2013-17. He was named FootballScoop's offensive line coach of the year in 2016.
The Gophers will have only five upperclassmen offensive linemen on the roster this fall. The most tenured of group is Donnell Greene and Jared Weyler. Greene, who joined the Gophers as a junior college transfer in 2016, has started 19 of the 26 games he has played in. He started 11 of 12 games last season and the final eight of 2016. Last year, Greene protected for an offense that rushed for 2,189 yards and 20 touchdowns and passed for 1,513 yards and nine scores. He anchored an offensive line that allowed only 22 sacks and 62 tackles for loss and was named All-Big Ten Honorable Mention.
Weyler has played both guard and center for the Gophers, but has also missed time with injury during his career. Last season, he started six games at center, but also missed six (including the final three of the season) with an injury. As a junior in 2016, he played in 10 games, but missed the final three games on the season with an injury.
Minnesota's other three upperclassmen are Bronson Dovich, Quinn Oseland and Jason Dickson. Dovich has played in 21 career games, but most of that action has come on special teams. He did see reserve action at guard and center last season in a few games.
Oseland has played in 11 career games (eight in 2017 and three in 2016) and started two game last season. Oseland started at left guard against Middle Tennessee and at right tackle against Nebraska when Minnesota rushed for 409 yards (eighth most in school history) and six touchdowns (most since 2013).
Dickson signed with Minnesota in December out of Diablo Valley Community College in California. The 6-6, 300-pounder was ranked as the No. 4 junior college offensive tackle by ESPN and was ranked No. 41 in the ESPN JC50. He helped the Vikings average 25.3 points per game last season and was named NCFC Bay 6 All-Conference Team in 2017.
Ten of Minnesota's 13 underclassmen in 2018 will be either true freshman (6) or redshirt freshman (4) in the fall, which means there are only three sophomores on the roster. Those sophomores are Conner Olson, Sam Schlueter and Ben Davis.
Olson started all 12 games (six at center and six at guard) last season as a freshman and received team's Outstanding Offensive Freshman of the Year award. Schlueter played in 10 games and started the final six of the season (one at left tackle and five at right tackle) last season. Davis spent one season at American River College before redshirting at Minnesota last season. While in junior college he blocked for an offense that averaged 380.2 yard per game including 155.4 yards per game on the ground. He helped lead American River to a NCFC conference championship and a state championship appearance.
Four players who redshirted last season and are anxious to show the staff what they can do are Blaise Andries, Kyle Sassack, John Michael Schmitz and Axel Ruschmeyer.
Andries is from Marshall, Minn., and was a four-star recruit and the No. 1 prospect in Minnesota in his class. He was named First Team All-State and earned the Marshall Area Co-Player of the Year in 2016 and was a top-ten finalist for the 2016 Minnesota Mr. Football award.
Sassack is from Michigan, while Schmitz hails from Illinois. Sassack attended Notre Dame Prep and was named to the Associated Press All-State Team twice in high school. As a senior, he blocked for an offense that averaged 35 points and 400 yards of offense per game. Schmitz attended Homewood-Flossmoor High School. He started at left tackle his junior and senior seasons and helped the Vikings to a 20-3 record. His offense averaged more than 40 points per game and he was named IHSFCA 8A All-State.
Ruschmeyer walked-on to the team prior to last season after attending Holy Family Catholic high school. He was named two-time All-District while in high school.
Three freshman - Boe, Dunlap and Faalele - enrolled in January and are participating in the spring. Boe was the No. 6 recruit in Minnesota in his class and the No. 12 ranked center according to ESPN. He attended Lakeville North High School and was named All-Metro Second Team in 2016 and 2017.
Dunlap and Faalele were coveted four-star recruits who came to Minnesota from IMG Academy in Florida.
Dunlap helped IMG Academy to three straight undefeated seasons and as a senior his offense averaged 27.8 points and 177 rushing yards per game. He helped IMG Academy reach No. 2 in the MaxPreps High School football rankings and was named a 2017 preseason All-American by MaxPreps. He also competed in the 2018 Under Armour All-America Game.
Faalele also helped IMG Academy to an undefeated season in 2017, which was his first season of playing competitive football. Like Dunlap, he also competed in the 2018 Under Armour All-America Game. He was at IMG Academy in 2016, but only practiced with the team as he became acclimated to the sport after moving to the United States from Australia.
Incoming freshman Austin Beier, Grant Norton and Jack York will join the team prior to the 2018 season.
