Shawn Elliott and the offensive line

[bigduff32]

I know some of you on here were saying that this year Elliott may indeed be on the hot seat. while I didn't agree with that statement, I saw where some may have been coming from. I stated before the season that I believed that we will have the best o-line we've ever had here at South Carolina. This thread is meant to be a simple shout out to the hard work coach Elliott has put into developing a BEASTLY line, and a great big pat on the back for the effort that these young men have put in to develop into the unit they have become. Go Cocks!

[FilchCock]

I was thinking the same thing. Elliot has made good on his hype.

[CoverTwo]

Gamecock fans may need to enjoy it while we can. There was message board fodder starting up over the weekend that we could lose 3 guys to the draft this year (Cann, Shell, Robinson) in addition to Patrick who is a Senior.

[Roosterboy]

Yes.
Out of all the coaches who had a bullseye on his back heading into the season, Elliott has coached his guys up, and these are HIS GUYS.

I'm very excited now about the crop of guys we have coming up, and think we could be seeing the beginning of some strong OLine play over the next few years. (really excited to see Park, Knott, King and Rogers).

[bigduff32]

Originally Posted by CoverTwo

Gamecock fans may need to enjoy it while we can. There was message board fodder starting up over the weekend that we could lose 3 guys to the draft this year (Cann, Shell, Robinson) in addition to Patrick who is a Senior.

Yeah i've been thinking this all year.... hopefully we can convince a couple to stay! If not, we've been recruiting well on the line the past couple of years so we should be ok (if you don't agree just let me think it)

[Roosterboy]

Originally Posted by CoverTwo

Gamecock fans may need to enjoy it while we can. There was message board fodder starting up over the weekend that we could lose 3 guys to the draft this year (Cann, Shell, Robinson) in addition to Patrick who is a Senior.

Isn't Shell a true sophomore?
Dont think he is even eligible this year.

I also don't see Robinson going..still needs work on pass protection.

[CoverTwo]

Originally Posted by Roosterboy

Isn't Shell a true sophomore?
Dont think he is even eligible this year.

I also don't see Robinson going..still needs work on pass protection.

Shell is a RS Sophomore. He is eligible.

[Acockolypse Now]

I said at the beginning of the year that this was Elliot's "show-me" year.

He has, and he's getting the job done.

I hope we don't have that kind of attrition on the o-line. I'm all for guys living their dreams but just once I'd like to see a talented senior-led team.

[Dizzy01]

It's amazing what happens when you actually try to recruit for this position.

[OldPat]

Originally Posted by Dizzy01

It's amazing what happens when you actually try to recruit for this position.

Picky picky, Diz.
Guess that hot seat's keeping Shawn's buns warm on these cool Oct nites.
O-line's not so offensive anymore.
LOL.

[qcgamecock]

Originally Posted by CoverTwo

Gamecock fans may need to enjoy it while we can. There was message board fodder starting up over the weekend that we could lose 3 guys to the draft this year (Cann, Shell, Robinson) in addition to Patrick who is a Senior.

Sounds like one hell of a recruiting tool to me! With Stanley and Young this year already, get ready to pile them up next year but something tells me Shell and Cann will want to come back to repeat.....

[kingjgd]

How is Mason Zandi working out? My daughter went to high school with him.

[b381l]

Originally Posted by kingjgd

How is Mason Zandi working out? My daughter went to high school with him.

he has become a situational player on jumbo packages......but still a work in progress....

[Flameout12]

Originally Posted by Dizzy01

It's amazing what happens when you actually try to recruit for this position.

....and give them a year or two to develop.

[ConwayGamecock]

Originally Posted by kingjgd

How is Mason Zandi working out? My daughter went to high school with him.

He's getting into games now, at least. They have utilized him as a power-package TE for blocking, where they have him added to the 5-man OL. That's the most I've seen him on offense. He has also played some on the OL in backup situations - played a ton versus Arky last week in the 4th qtr. But he's still younger and still needs to keep working on adding good weight to his frame...

I've been quite pleased with Coach Elliott and the OL this season. It hasn't been too big of a surprise, but it's definitely pleasing. Building a solid OL takes time - especially after the hole USC had been put down in with the position. Coach Elliott had to almost start totally from scratch.

He had help from Eric Wolford's lone year in the program in 2009: as soon as Wolford put on the Garnet & Black and rolled up his sleeves, you could almost smell it in the air how the OL position turned totally around in every phase. Then Coach Elliott took over and has taken it further.

Patrick, Cann, Robinson, and Gibson were all brought in by Wolford initially in the 2010 class he started, and then Elliott came in and kept them from scattering. Hopefully they don't all bolt after this season, because we've finally gotten to the point where we're fielding a OL that is mostly experienced as a unit, just like most of the SEC typically fields. Next season should be even better avoiding any major injury: IMO both Shell and Robinson could benefit from the extra season. Cann IMO should go after this season: he has been a starter for 3 years, and is pretty developed out. He could stand to improve a bit physically and consistency-wise, but it would'nt be a lot of difference....

[Flameout12]

Originally Posted by CoverTwo

Gamecock fans may need to enjoy it while we can. There was message board fodder starting up over the weekend that we could lose 3 guys to the draft this year (Cann, Shell, Robinson) in addition to Patrick who is a Senior.

None but Ron show up in two of the mock draft sites I looked at.
There are a lot of high profile OTs in the '14 draft. Not sure if any of our OTs would leave for 4th-7th rd money. A.J. is the one I'd expect to leave....he likely will not move up any more.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/p...nkings/2014/OT

http://www.draftcountdown.com/Rankings/OT.php

[Taco Tuesday]

Originally Posted by CoverTwo

Gamecock fans may need to enjoy it while we can. There was message board fodder starting up over the weekend that we could lose 3 guys to the draft this year (Cann, Shell, Robinson) in addition to Patrick who is a Senior.

I have had zero convos or any reliable sources make me believe this but with the relationship Thompson has with the oline (especially Cann) I think they all will come back.

[thekob]

I've been impressed with the OL this year. Not only the starters but the backups have been awesome! I really hope they don't bolt, we need a good OL with Thompson as the starter...much less mobile.

Just realized I posted stuff that goes without saying. Regardless, I'm proud of Elliot and this OL!

[Dizzy01]

Originally Posted by OldPat

Picky picky, Diz.
Guess that hot seat's keeping Shawn's buns warm on these cool Oct nites.
O-line's not so offensive anymore.
LOL.

I never understood why people wanted to question Elliot to begin with. The oline issues were squarely on recruiting neglect. The staff focussed on skill positions the first few years and didn't really try to recruit the oline until Wolford got here. Elliot has done a tremendous job selecting and developing guys but you aren't going to fix a couple years neglect overnight. I think he wants to stay which only means good things for this team going forward.

[behindenemylines]

Wait...you mean to tell me Coaching has to do with our success? IMPOSSIBLE! Only our failures are due to coaching.