O-line to anchor new offense

The IU football team features many new parts this year. They have a renovated stadium, a new offense, and some key players switching positions.

But one part will look appear very similar to the past – the offensive line. With two seniors and a junior anchoring the line, the group is looking to its experience as a major factor this season.

Seniors Pete Saxon and Rodger Saffold have been starters on the line since they were freshmen.

“Just the fact that we’ve been here so long, the cohesiveness of the group is strong,” Saxon said.

IU coach Bill Lynch was reminded of the group’s experience earlier this summer when Saffold was carrying a birthday cake by the office for his 21st birthday. Lynch figured his three-year starter had to be older than 21.

“We played them (Saxon and Saffold) as true freshmen before they were ready, but that’s what we had to do,” Lynch said at his press conference during Tuesday’s annual media day. “Now we look like a Big Ten team.”

Junior James Brewer, sophomore Justin Pagán and redshirt freshmen Will Matte will begin the season as starters.

The group has spent the preseason practices preparing for the team’s new ‘pistol’ offense. The offense features quarterback Ben Chappell in a mini-shotgun formation and will allow for more running plays down the gut of the offensive line.

“We’re excited, truly excited,”  Saffold said of the new offense. “(The running backs) don’t have six or seven yards to reach the line of scrimmage, and that’s great. They see the hole, and they hit it.”

Lynch said the team avoided this strategy reliant on the offensive line in the past because he felt the line did not have enough experience. Last season, there were no fourth or fifth-year scholarship offensive linemen.

“We were always a little bit young or a little bit inexperienced in the offensive line,” he said, adding that the spread offense worked better in those situations. This year, Lynch said, “we’ve developed a little bit of physicality and it starts with (the offensive line).”

This season the line hopes to be more physical - the coaches have been working on footwork with the linemen that attack the defense.

“We’re bringing it to them,” Saxon said.

One goal for the unit is to avoid injuries. Brewer missed all of the 2007 season with a foot injury and the second-half of 2008 due to a season-ending ankle injury. Saffold missed two games last year, while battling a back injury the entire season, and Saxon had nagging pains all season.

Saffold emphasized the importance of ‘prehab’ – preparing the body for the punishment of the season.

“You want to handle the things you can control,” Saffold said. “It’s really good to know if you take care of the things now, it won’t happen in the game, but unfortunately you can’t protect everything.”

The coaches have emphasized that offensive linemen will get hurt during the season.

“You’re going to be hurt,” Saxon said. “There’s a difference between being hurt and injured. You can play through hurt, you can’t play through injured.”