You know that there are five guys on an OL, right? You know that backs and TEs are also responsible for pass pro, correct?
Rutgers certainly has more proven talent, there is no doubt about that. But I definitely think that PSU has more pure talent.
Saying that just because Mangiro was part of the OL means that he was part of the problem shows a real lack of knowledge. Mangiro was excellent, even when forced to play other positions due to injury (he played at four positions on the OL last year). Your comment about Mahon is pretty unfair as well since he was a RS FR playing for the first time. Experience and age mean everything on the OL... it trumps pure talent most of the time. That is why a guy like Denman couldn't knock Alexander from the starting spot. I don't think anyone here would say that Alexander has more talent than Denman.
It's legit, we have heard that Mahon was soft when he came in and needed work in the weight room. He made strides but in a non-sanction year, he wouldn't have been starting on our OL (probably would not have played). Ideally, he would have spent last year improving himself in the weightroom.
You have no clue what you are talking about. Smith sucked and played far below his potential. He was way overweight and got beat to the outside far more than he should have. Mangiro was, by far, the best performer on the OL and it's not even close.
Mangiro was absolutely better than Smith last year. His success rate was well over 90 percent while Smiths was in the mid eighties (which is poor considering his natural talents). Look, smith was a great kid overall but he simply was not motivated last year. From what I have heard, PSU coaches were not upset when he declared for the draft. It doesn't matter how talented he is, he is a liability if he is not on the same page.
but only averaged 2.4 yds per carry . Your Nits averaged 1.9, so Belton was big time compared to the rest of
I did grade them out during our losing streak last year. What I found was that Mangiro was the best followed by Smith but the gap between the two was significant. Third was actually Gaia and he was very close to Smith. Nelson was fourth, Mahon was fifth and Dowrey was last but was waaaay below everyone else. Miles wasn't playing yet when I stopped grading but I am sure he would have been near the top. Point is that anyone saying Mangiro was a problem last year doesn't know what they are talking about. He would have started on most of the teams in the Big Ten, including Rutgers.
I was a member of this board long before Rutgers gained entry into the Big Ten. It has nothing to do with a "rivalry".
Yes, why wouldn't a fan assume that with 4 returning starters the OL would show some improvement?
There will be improvement. Last year most were simply not ready to start. You had two redshirt freshmen, a redshirt sophomore who spent the past two years at DT starting. Defienbach only played in 3 games. So essentially you had 4 first year starters all learning a new system. This year they all are experienced. They know the system. Preseason practice will be getting reps as a unit not try 100 different combinations. So you should see some pretty good progression. I don't think they will be dominate but a serviceable online. There is also depth and back up this year. Last year they had 6 scholarship linemen excluding true freshmen.
