LSUs offensive line is still a work in progress before the season. But it has options. – The Advocate

Before they crouch into their stances, LSUs offensive linemen turn to the players beside them and give one another a fist bump. They do this almost every play, rep after rep during practice, trying to build unity through a subtle movement.

Head coach Brian Kelly brought the tactic with him from Notre Dame. He developed a reputation there for producing offensive lines with NFL-caliber players, and the fist bump acts as a way for them to make sure theyre on the same page before the snap.

As an o-line, you have to be one unit, sophomore center Garrett Dellinger said. We have to be together.

Whether or not the offensive line can come together is perhaps the biggest question mark on the team a week from the season opener against Florida State. Everything LSU wants to do offensively starts with the line, and the group lost every full-time starter from a unit that struggled last year.

While LSU feels comfortable playing seven or eight linemen, Kelly said Thursday night were a work in progress. The first-team offense has a true freshman at left tackle, a center who never played the position, at least one transfer and a promising but unproven guard/tackle.

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Theyve never played a game together. But there are options.

First and foremost, [we have to] find the guys that allow us to be physical up front, Kelly said. I think that's where we're going. This might not be the most athletic offensive line that I've coached, but it can be physical.

Improving the offensive line, a weakness for much of the last decade, has been a priority since Kelly arrived. He wants a group that can win at the point of attack to create rushing lanes. Last season, LSU ranked second-to-last in the Southeastern Conference at 114 yards rushing and allowed 38 sacks.

Without a returning starter, offensive line coach Brad Davis tried to create competitive depth. Davis, the only assistant retained from the previous staff, inherited a unit last summer that showed signs of complacency with veterans set in their spots. He wanted every player to earn their position again, and theoretically competition would make everyone better.

There's no more showing up, punching in, punching out, doing the bare bones minimum and expecting to get great results, Davis said in February. Where we are right now is if guys want to play and guys want to get on the field, they have to earn their way. That's something that wasn't the case when I showed up.

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Davis cross-trained about half of the linemen on the roster, an approach he also used last fall. The idea created versatile options who could fill multiple roles and replace injured players, possibly ensuring LSU always has its best five on the field. The depth chart became an organizational tool for most of camp, Dellinger said, while Davis tried players at different spots.

He makes sure that when he speaks to one person, everyone is listening, Dellinger said. When he's talking to me, he's making sure that every other person that has a chance to play center is listening.

The first piece to fall into place was top 50 freshman Will Campbell, who took over at left tackle halfway through spring practice. Then Dellinger became the starting center months later, filling the most uncertain spot on the line. Dellinger had spent his first year as a tackle, guard and occasional extra run-blocking tight end.

Somewhat by design, the rest of the positions have multiple options. East Tennessee State transfer TreMond Shorts and FIU transfer Miles Frazier both former tackles are competing at guard. Anthony Bradford, a 6-foot-5, 345-pound redshirt junior, could play right guard or right tackle. Or senior Cameron Wire might end up at right tackle.

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Kelly likes the guards size in particular.

We still have to pick up gains and movements, Kelly said. But we should be able to knock you in the mouth with those three guys.

Importantly, LSU built depth behind them. Redshirt junior center Charles Turner, redshirt sophomore tackle Marcus Dumervil and four-star freshman Emery Jones complete the primary rotation. Junior Marlon Martinez and redshirt sophomore Xavier Hill, both of whom started games last season, are also still on the roster.

The offensive line has a lot to prove after the last two seasons, and it may be difficult to create chemistry with a remade group. But the unit has to come together for LSU to effectively run the offense.

The players understand. So during practice, they turn and give one another a fist bump.

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LSUs offensive line is still a work in progress before the season. But it has options. - The Advocate