by Caroline Domecq
LSU Sports Information
They are not usually the ones in the spotlight, but some of LSU’s premier players can be found side-by-side on the offensive line.
But just because their statistics are not flashed on television screens across the nation or used as water-cooler conversation pieces does not mean they are not appreciated by the rest of the team.
“The offensive line deserves all the credit because if it weren’t for the o-line, the wide receivers, running backs and quarterbacks wouldn’t be able to get their job done,” LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell stated. “They deserve just as much credit as anybody.”
And this year, certain members of the offensive line have received their fair share of recognition.
The Sporting News and Lindy’s ranked the line as a whole No. 1 in the country in their preseason magazines. A number of other magazines and polls had them listed in the top 5 as well.
Individually, left tackle Andrew Whitworth racked up on preseason honors. He is a candidate for both the Lombardi Award, given to the nation’s top lineman either offense or defense, and the Outland Trophy, given to the nation’s best offensive lineman.
He has also been placed on numerous first-team all SEC lists, first through third team All-America lists and in the top 5 offensive tackles in the nation.
Guard Nate Livings earned recognition as part Collegefootballnews.com All-American Watch List and The Sporting News Second Team All-SEC. Center Rudy Niswanger rounds out the list of linemen receiving preseason honors, as he is on the Rimington Award Watch List, given annually to the nation’s best center, and was named part of Rivals.com Second Team All-SEC squad.
Head coach Les Miles, a former offensive lineman himself, understands the pressures these players are facing, and said they have handled them well thus far and will continue to do so.
“I think they’re playing well, and that they’re going to continue to benefit this team and be leaders on this team as we go forward,” he commented.
A look at the line
This year’s line features a slew of players with both talent and experience. Anchored by seniors Whitworth and Niswanger, the Tigers’ offensive line is slated to be one of the best in the nation.
At 6-foot-7 and 325 pounds, Whitworth is one of LSU’s most physical players and is also considered one of the top linemen in the country. He was a preseason All-America selection heading into this season and also was rated as the nation’s third best offensive tackle by the Sporting News.
In his junior season, the SEC coaches named him to the all-conference first team and the Associated Press placed him on the All-SEC second team. He allowed only one sack and was whistled for a mere five penalties the entire season. He also recorded 30 pancakes and 66 knockdowns in the 2004 campaign.
But maybe just as impressive as those statistics is the fact that Whitworth has started 47 straight games for the Tigers on the offensive line. He has the possibility this season to become the first player in LSU history to start or even play in 50 games in a career.
“That’s really impressive,” Miles said of Whitworth’s possible accomplishment. “He’s done a great job, and he’s going to have a long, successful football career, not only college, but at the next level as well. He’s certainly a guy that’s enjoyed his college time and had enough playing time to enjoy it.”
While he garnered many awards this preseason, Whitworth is more concerned with the team’s performance as a whole and doing his part to help gain positive results.
“I don’t really believe in all the award stuff because I think that’s all opinionated,” he commented. “For me, I need to do what I can to feel like I did everything I could to affect my team.”
Niswanger returns as another familiar face on the line though his spot on it is relatively new. He serves as the team’s center, replacing 2004 All-American and Rimington Trophy winner Ben Wilkerson at that position.
He is not completely unfamiliar with the role, however. When Wilkerson went down with a season-ending knee injury in the Vanderbilt game last year, Niswanger moved from right guard to center and started the remaining four games there.
Aside from his talent, Niswanger is possibly the most intelligent member on the LSU football team. He graduated in May with a 4.0 GPA in pre-medicine Summa Cum Laude as a University Medalist. He already has been accepted to medical school.
“Rudy’s a great guy and a great player and always has been,” Whitworth commented on Niswanger. “He’s been a great example to all the guys around this program. He’s the guy that’s taken care of business on and off the field and he gives it to you every day.”
Two more seniors join Whitworth and Niswanger on the offensive line. Livings and Terrell McGill will also be concluding their LSU careers this fall, and both are looking to finish on a high note.
“You have to give your all to the whole team and not accept anything less than giving it your all,” Livings explained. “On a personal level, I don’t think I could live with myself knowing I didn’t give it my all my four years here because I made a four-year commitment. That’s what I wrote my name on the paper for. I’m my biggest critic and I don’t think I can settle for anything less than my best.”
Livings is this year’s starter at right guard, but possibly his biggest asset is his versatility within the line. He played on the left side of the ball his sophomore year in 2003 and then alternated positions on the right side in 2004.
“Basically I just want to help out the team and do whatever the team needs me to do,” he said. “It’s been like this since I’ve been here. If the team needs me to play anywhere I will. If they ask me to play wide receiver, I’ll give you what I got. I can’t promise I’ll be the best at it, but I’ll do my best. That’s just my mindset.”
McGill is also a very versatile player for the offensive line. He has played both guard and tackle while alternating sides of the ball.
“I am pretty versatile because I play roughly every position on the line except for center,” he said. “I came here as a tackle, they moved me to guard, then they moved me to the right side. So I’ve been back and forth. If they need me to go in any spot, I can do that with no problem.
“Personally I just want to play every play like it’s my last and do all I can to help my team come through,” he added.
Miles said this group of players works very well together, and the offensive line is critical to the Tigers’ offensive scheme.
“I think that our offensive line is fundamental to the success of our football team,” he commented. “As they continue to have success, we’ll continue to move the football on offense.”
Together again
Sometimes the hardest thing for an offensive line can be learning each individual player’s habits and building a trust with each other. Since the majority of this line has been playing together for a few years, trust should not be an issue for this season’s offensive line.
“In a position like offensive line you’ve got to learn how to trust the linemen next to you, and that’s what we’re really blessed with,” Niswanger explained. “We’ve played a lot of games here together, so it’s a lot easier to rely on the person next to you knowing the type of abilities they have. We’re used to making calls to each other and talking to each other and just handling all the different situations we’re going to face out there because we’ve been able to do it together for so long.”
“Everything that we do offensively starts with what the guys up front can do,” Miles explained. “Certainly the continuity of their play gives us advantages on offense, run or pass. We’ve been fortunate that if we’ve had to move guys to other positions, they’re veteran enough to know what to expect from them and they do a good job.”
Three of the current linemen remain with playing experience in the National Championship game in Whitworth, Livings and McGill.
“Any time you have experience you can’t substitute for it,” Whitworth said. “There is no substitute for experience, so it’s something we’ll definitely lean on.”
Someone else they will lean on is offensive line coach Stacy Searels. One of two remaining coaches from the Nick Saban era, he enters his third year as the offensive line coach at LSU.
According to Miles, keeping Searels on staff has really helped the line with its consistency.
“It’s really helped out, because everything we do, he’s already taught it and knows what our guys can do and what they can’t do,” he said of his offensive line coach remaining at LSU. “He’s a very, very good football coach, and having a good football coach on staff, period, is an advantage to us.”
Looking forward
Being rated as the top offensive line in the country leaves some high expectations to live up to, but the players are ready to show how they earned that rating.
“For the offensive line, our goal without a doubt is to be the best in the country,” Whitworth said. “That has to be our goal and that has to be what we want to be.”
In addition to the years of experience this group of players have together, they also spent a lot of time preparing both mentally and physically for the season way before it officially began.
“The season doesn’t start in the first game,” Niswanger commented. “It started in January when we started workouts and in spring practices and summer workouts. But while there’s a lot of physical preparation, there’s also a lot of mental preparation that goes into it, like mentally preparing yourself for different defenses you’re going to face or different blitz packages, learning how to pick things up better and just being a total player.”
Miles said there are different ways in which the offensive linemen have to prepare to face the SEC’s best defenses.
“There’s the technical preparation and then there’s the emotional part,” he described. “The emotional part is saying ‘take the challenge’. Our offensive line does that.”
With so many of the players and also the position coach remaining the same, the only very noticeable change could be the offensive-minded head coach in Miles as opposed to the defensive-minded Nick Saban.
But, as Whitworth explained, “I don’t think that really changes us as a line group. Maybe with Coach Miles being more of an offensive coach we’ve had a better chance to do some offensive things that we didn’t have a chance to do under a defensive coach. But that’s the only real difference.”
He, instead, goes back to the team’s level of experience as what will bring them success this year.
“I think it’s the experience that this line has that will really help us,” Whitworth added. “And that’s what’s going to make the difference of us being successful.”