FB : Orange offensive linemen forced to lose weight or ride bench
Ryan Durand perhaps put it best when asked to describe how the offensive line will be different this year under new offensive coordinator Mitch Browning.
‘We’re going to be lean, mean fighting machines,’ he said.
Durand, who will likely be Syracuse’s starting right guard next season, probably should’ve put the emphasis on ‘lean.’ When Browning was hired to replace Brian White in December, his first order was to make sure his linemen slimmed down. No longer would big, bruising 330-pounders lumber around the field like fans at the Carrier Dome had seen last year.
It was a simple edict: Lose weight or don’t play.
With a smaller and quicker offensive line, Browning hopes to start improving on Syracuse’s mind-boggling 54 sacks allowed in 2007, which ranked 118th of the 119 Division I teams, ahead of Notre Dame’s 58.
And even though he’s had the reigns for just four practices so far, Browning already has a lofty goal for the upcoming season.
‘I’d like to cut (the sack total) in half,’ Browning said. ‘At least.’
But first the Syracuse players needed to start shedding pounds to reach Browning’s ideal weight of around 305 pounds. Considering left tackle Tucker Baumbach and right tackle Jonathan Meldrum weighed as much as 340 last season and right guard Adam Rosner was at 330 in December, it wasn’t an easy task.
Before Rosner left for the semester break, SU head coach Greg Robinson and Browning wanted him to come back less than 320 pounds. Rosner spent the next month focusing on losing weight by eating lots of small meals throughout the day accompanied with daily workouts followed by 20 minutes in the sauna. He weighed himself every day to monitor his progress.
When he returned to school in January, Rosner was down to 308 pounds -12 pounds lighter than the coaching staff requested. Meldrum and Baumbach have also lost considerable weight since Browning took over.
Last season, the overweight Syracuse line struggled to contain the small and fast defensive lineman of the Big East, a conference known more for speed than brute force. Rosner singled out Cincinnati’s Terrill Byrd, who had 1.5 sacks against the Orange last season, as the type of player he thinks the smaller line will have more success against this year.
‘In the Big East, the biggest D-lineman may only be 300 pounds, but the smallest guy is like 280,’ Rosner said. ‘If you have a 330-pound lineman going against guys who are that fast and powerful, they can’t handle it. If you’re at 300 pounds, you’ll be better just because you’re smaller.’
Browning’s history as a coach suggests the Syracuse players should listen to his philosophy. In 2005, when he was with Minnesota, he led an offense that allowed the fewest sacks per game in the country. In his last five years with that program, the Golden Gophers allowed a combined 60 sacks, and he thinks having a smaller, more athletic line is a big reason why.
‘You don’t see guys you used to see in the 60s and 70s: great big fat guys that carry a lot of weight around their midsection,’ Browning said. ‘…It’s a game of mobility. Guys lose their mobility when they’re thick in the middle.’
A full team of officials worked Syracuse’s practice Wednesday afternoon for what SU head coach Greg Robinson calls the ‘thud’ drill ? named for the sound made when the offensive and defensive linemen collide.
The Orange played what looked like a full scrimmage, but the plays ended with a bear hug, not with a full tackle. Syracuse ran between 50 and 60 plays, working on both running and passing. It did the same drill during Saturday’s practice, marking the first real contact workouts of spring practice.
‘I think they’re adjusting,’ Robinson said. ‘Today was an installation day, so early in the practice, it seemed like it. I thought as the practice wore on, I thought that both sides of the ball grew a little more comfortable with what they were doing, and as the week progresses, you’d think it’ll get cleaner and cleaner.’
Running backs Delone Carter and Curtis Brinkley, both of whom are still recovering from injuries, did not participate. Averin Collier, Doug Hogue and Daniel Bailey handled the ball-carrying duties.
It was less than a month ago Paul Chiara and defensive end Mikhail Marinovich were arrested for allegedly breaking into an equipment room at Manley Field House.
The pair’s legal problems are still pending, but Chiara and Marinovich have been practicing with the team so far this spring.
‘They have some business that they’re going to take care of for a period of time,’ Robinson said. ‘Those things are in house, it’s a private matter. But it’s not been forgotten, and they’re reminded daily.’
Published on March 26, 2008 at 12:00 pm
