CHAMPAIGN — The story wasn’t nearly as pretty two weeks ago.
Illinois’ offensive line entered the 2020 season with a clear label: coach Lovie Smith’s most veteran group.
But starting center Doug Kramer missed two games because of COVID-19 contact tracing, and the remaining starters weren’t having much luck clearing the way for the Illini’s run-first approach during an 0-3 start.
“Regardless of quarantine, coronavirus, 0-3 is 0-3. It is what it is,” said junior left guard Kendrick Green, a Peoria native who has 30 career starts with the Illini. “We had to get back going in the right direction.”
The Illini did so with road victories against Rutgers and Nebraska. And even though Kramer’s return at Rutgers was somewhat offset by the loss of right tackle Alex Palczewski to a leg injury from which he still hasn’t returned, Illinois’ offensive line is a big reason for the team’s change in fortunes.
Green provided a pivotal moment of that two-game turnaround during last Saturday’s 41-23 victory versus the Cornhuskers. As Illinois running back Chase Brown took off down the field following a first-half screen pass reception, Green cleared the way by catching Nebraska linebacker Luke Reimer with a shoulder before barrelling into another linebacker, JoJo Domann.
“They were both there,” Green said. “I didn’t know which one to take, so I tried to get both of them. But I got just enough of both of them and they fell, so I was happy I could do what I could with that one.”
Green and his fellow offensive linemen will need to come up bigger than ever if the Illini are to extend their win streak this week. No. 3 Ohio State (4-0) visits Illinois (2-3), and even though the Buckeyes’ defense is allowing 26 points per game, it held then-No. 9 Indiana to negative-1 rushing yard last week.
The Illini generated 64 points across its previous two games largely because of a stellar run game. The combination of Brown, Mike Epstein, Isaiah Williams and Brandon Peters (plus one attempt from punter Blake Hayes) turned in 623 yards and six touchdowns. Illinois enters Saturday’s game second in the Big Ten in rushing at 222.4 yards per game, only trailing Ohio State (233.3) in that category.
“If it was up to me, we’d run the ball every play,” Green said. “There’s no secret that’s what we do — we run the ball first, and we kind of take pride in that.”
It’s interesting Green says that now. He, like fellow offensive lineman Julian Pearl — a Danville graduate who is filling in for Palczewski at right tackle — arrived to play for Lovie Smith with the goal of stopping opposing running backs from getting anywhere. Both Green and Pearl started their Illini careers along the defensive line before making the position change.
“At first I was like, ‘Man, what? I didn’t come here to do that,’” Green said. “Then I had to humble myself. Coach Smith has been around the game for a while. I talked to my high school coach and told him about it, and my parents, and they’re like, ‘Man, you’re tripping. If that’s what he thinks you can do, you should do it.’”
The 6-foot-4, 315-pound Green admits he brings a bit of a mean streak to the turf — “I’ll be on the field talking crazy just because,” he said — and that’s exactly what Illini offensive coordinator Rod Smith wants from his front five.
“We like to be physical with our inside zone, having a physical presence to that,” Rod Smith said. “You need guys that are strong, that can bend the right way, that are nasty. That’s what you’re looking for.”
Green and his cohorts will need to be intently focused on the task at hand: preventing Ohio State’s defensive line and linebackers from getting to Illinois’ ball carriers before some positive yardage can be established.
Green highlighted defensive tackles Haskell Garrett and Tommy Togiai as especially important to hinder. Garrett, a 6-2, 299-pound senior, was rated the Big Ten’s top returning defensive tackle entering this season by Pro Football Focus College.
“They don’t do too much trying to fool you or anything like that,” Green said. “They’re just good ballplayers, and that’s probably why they’re the best team in the country, to be honest. I like their defense a lot.”
That assessment doesn’t mean Green is going to roll over to the Buckeyes. Exactly the opposite, in fact.
“We’re going to go in there, and we’re going to steal this one,” Green said. “That’s how we’re looking at it.”
"start" - Google News
November 27, 2020 at 10:00PM
https://ift.tt/3fIXDhm
Illini offensive line finding groove after slow start - Champaign/Urbana News-Gazette
"start" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2yVRai7
https://ift.tt/2WhNuz0
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Illini offensive line finding groove after slow start - Champaign/Urbana News-Gazette"
Post a Comment