Murray State University Athletics
Offensive line seeks to improve and build towards outstanding year
8/9/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
During the 2002 Ohio Valley Conference championship season for the Murray State Racers, an experienced and talented offensive line paved the road to the title without much fanfare.
“Two years ago, we took a lot of hidden credit for how good the football team was,” said offensive coordinator Jeff Menage, who also coaches the offensive line. “Last year, there was a lot of public blame, but that comes with the job. Chemistry on the offensive line means so much."
With four new transfers on the offensive line, it was well into the season before that chemistry developed. The result was a line that yielded 28 sacks and a running game that picked up only 3.2 yards per carry.
“We led the OVC in sacks allowed,” said senior center Dustin Hughes. “We must get that number down, but we also know that to win the OVC, we have to be able to run the ball.”
Senior lineman Justin Ard believes that this season will be different.
“We've got a season under our belts, plus a spring practice and summer workouts on our own,” said Ard.
Hughes agrees. “Now that we have a full year, it's going to be better. Now, we trust and believe in each other's abilities.”
In addition to a year of experience comes some much-needed depth.
“Last year, there was one or two backups," Ard said. "We didn't have anybody behind us to push us. This year, we have a full second team, including some great guys to provide the depth we were lacking.”
Menage agrees. “Our second team are players that have been brought in here to become starters,” he said.
With a lack of depth last season, some linemen approached practice with an “I must survive” attitude. This season is different.
“Now a player must say, ?I must excel, because there is someone right behind me who would love to beat me out,'" said Menage.
Menage said the work ethic has been unbelievable since last season, and it is now carrying over on the field. Hughes has the additional challenge of having a new quarterback underneath him in Adam Fisher.
“During the spring, we had our ups and downs, but we worked through that, and Adam has done a great job in taking a leadership role,” said Hughes.
While wins will be the ultimate measure of the team's success, offensive linemen always know when they have done their job.
“We know we've had a good game when all the skill guys get in the newspaper,” said Ard. “Seriously, we want to out-rush every opponent, dominate the time of possession and protect our quarterback.”
If that happens, the skill players should work very hard this fall in their interview skills.
