B/R CFB 250: Top 13 Interior Linemen
Bleacher Report's CFB 250 is an annual ranking of the best players in college football, regardless of NFL potential. Brian Leigh and Kynon Codrington have studied, ranked and graded the top athletes in the country, narrowed that list to 250 and sorted by position. Today, we present the Top 13 Interior Offensive Linemen.
Other CFB 250 Positions
It's easy to ignore the offensive line.
And on the rare occasion that the line gets mentioned, it's easy, still, to ignore the interior players for the tackles.
But a good pair of guards and a center is invaluable to an offense. The best "big uglies" relish their role in the trenches, enjoy getting dirty at the line. Earlier this season, Bleacher Report's Michael Felder said Mississippi State guard Ben Beckwith "looks like he smells terrible" and likened him to "a pig that loves the slop."
Each of those was meant as a compliment.
Such is the life of an interior offensive lineman.
Before we start, please take note that these players were graded as college linemen, not on how they project as NFL linemen.
Targeted skills such as power are important at both levels, but there is a difference between college power and professional power. If a lineman can drive defenders backward in the SEC or the Big 12, it doesn't matter that he can't drive defenders backward in the NFC North. At least not here, it doesn't.
This is all about college performance.
Note: If two players finished with the same grade, a subjective call was made based on whom we would rather have on our team right now.
13-8. Kouandjio, Matias, Jackson, Andrews, Miller, Feliciano
1 of 8
13. OG Arie Kouandjio, Alabama
Strength: 15/20; Pass Protection: 23/30; Run Blocking: 34/40; Explosion: 5/10.
Arie Kouandjio has a picture-perfect frame for a left guard: 6’5”, 315 pounds, with long arms and prodigious upper body strength. He is weaker with his legs and needs to work on his burst, but he gets the job done overall. There’s a reason Alabama runs so many plays to the left, where Kouandjio and left tackle Cam Robinson do their business.
12. OG Josue Matias, Florida State
Strength: 16/20; Pass Protection: 23/30; Run Blocking: 34/40; Explosion: 6/10.
Josue Matias is one of the most versatile offensive linemen in the country. At 6’6”, 325 pounds, he has the build of a tackle (a position he is capable of playing) but does his best work getting physical in the A-gap or pulling as a lead blocker in the open field. With a small bit of technical refinement, he could turn into something special.
11. OG Tre' Jackson, Florida State
Strength: 16/20; Pass Protection: 24/30; Run Blocking: 35/40; Explosion: 6/10.
Tre’ Jackson did not have the same year in 2014 that he did in 2013. He regressed in pass protection and had curious lapses in judgement, which led to occasional pressures against Jameis Winston. Still, the 6’4”, 330-pound guard helped guide Florida State to a second straight year of national title contention, coming up big when the offense most needed a play.
10. OC David Andrews, Georgia
Strength: 15/20; Pass Protection: 24/30; Run Blocking: 36/40; Explosion: 6/10.
David Andrews is a three-year starter at center who helped Georgia overcome the loss of running back Todd Gurley. As great as Nick Chubb was in the backfield, it was Andrews’ heady play in the middle of the offensive line that kept the Bulldogs plowing through defenses all season.
9. OG John Miller, Louisville
Strength: 17/20; Pass Protection: 24/30; Run Blocking: 35/40; Explosion: 6/10.
John Miller stands a little short for the position (6’2”) and isn’t a freak athlete to compensate. What he is, though, is durable, consistent, technical, tough and one of the smartest interior linemen in the country—and it shows.
8. OG Jon Feliciano, Miami (Fla.)
Strength: 16/20; Pass Protection: 25/30; Run Blocking: 35/40; Explosion: 6/10.
Jon Feliciano has been a rock up the middle of Miami’s offensive line. He and center Shane McDermott give the Hurricanes a solid pairing in the A-gap, paving holes for running back Duke Johnson and helping true freshman quarterback Brad Kaaya avoid interior pressure.
7. OG Laken Tomlinson, Duke
2 of 8
Strength
Laken Tomlinson has easy strength. He forces defenders off their spots and doesn’t lose control after latching. He forms a strong anchor with his massive frame (6’3”, 330 pounds) so that even if a defensive tackle gets him off balance, it is difficult to drive him backward.
Pass Protection
Pass protection is not Tomlinson’s strong suit. He has flexible hips to get from side to side but hasn’t mastered technical aspects such as hand placement. A smart defensive tackle can disengage from Tomlinson and get some pressure up the middle.
Run Blocking
Tomlinson is a mauler in the run game who swallows opponents at the line of scrimmage and also makes surprising plays in space. He is a fluid athlete for a man his size, which allows coaches to deploy him creatively.
Explosion
It’s hard to shoot 330 pounds out of a cannon. Tomlinson does a decent-enough job firing off the line but is not what one would call “explosive.” He is a load once he gets a downhill, but that can sometimes take a while.
Overall
Tomlinson is every coach’s dream: a model student, a four-year starter and one of the best offensive guards in the country. Running often through holes that Tomlinson created, freshman tailback Shaun Wilson averaged an ACC-best 7.97 yards per carry during the 2014 regular season.
6. OG Adam Shead, Oklahoma
3 of 8
Strength
Adam Shead has a thick base on a massive frame (6’4”, 339 pounds) and plays with a mean streak in the short area. He is big and strong enough to plant and bury defenders in the dirt.
Pass Protection
Shead has longer arms than most guards, and he knows how to use them. He extends with proper hand placement to keep defenders away from his body. His lateral quickness is better than his overall mobility, which allows him to keep his feet in front of all types of pass-rushers.
Run Blocking
Here, Shead is very good but not great. His strength and flexibility make him a solid run-blocker at the first level, which is important with a power back such as Samaje Perine who does not have the burst to get through small holes. However, Shead does not maintain his effectiveness at the second level, where he struggles to track defenders on the move.
Explosion
Whatever Shead lacks in top speed, he makes up for in explosion. He fires off the ball and makes an impact with his first...well, impact. In the passing game, he can turn defenders away like a fly swatter does insects.
Overall
Shead gets second billing behind the bigger-name tackles on Oklahoma’s offensive line. But don't let the billing order fool you. Perine and the Sooners' rush offense would have looked substantially worse without Shead leading the way all season.
.jpg?w=256 "Browns Football")
5. OC B.J. Finney, Kansas State
4 of 8
Strength
Good luck trying to match B.J. Finney strength vs. strength. He is 6’4”, 303 pounds and one of the strongest interior blockers in America. With a stout frame and the chip-on-his-shoulder attitude that accompanies all former walk-ons, he forms a heavy base and is difficult to move from his spot.
Pass Protection
In some ways, Finney’s biggest strength—his...well...strength—becomes a weakness during pass protection. He has a tendency to rise up and rely on his upper body instead of keeping a low center of gravity. Advanced defenders sense when he doesn’t distribute his weight and know how to exploit his straight-legged style.
Run Blocking
Like the two centers above him, Finney excels in a zone-blocking scheme that allows him to exercise his mobility and get to the second level. He takes smart angles in the open field but also has the aforementioned strength to win in the short area.
Explosion
Finney doesn’t blow people off the ball so much as he latches on to them and refuses to let go. He is not the type to drive his defender backward or bury him in the dirt, functioning less like a hammer and more like a brick wall.
Overall
Finney is the quintessential Bill Snyder superstar: underrecruited, unheralded and impossibly underrated. He went from former walk-on to Freshman All-American in 2011 and has started in the middle of Kansas State’s offense ever since. It’s no coincidence that the Wildcats, as a team, have enjoyed so much success during that run.
4. OG Jarvis Harrison, Texas A&M
5 of 8
Strength
Jarvis Harrison is a 6'4", 330-pound guard who knows how to wear his weight. He swallows opposing bull rushes and has the power to drive defenders backward in the run game. He does not, however, maintain his initial power through the end of every play.
Pass Protection
Harrison is more fluid than his frame implies. He is strong enough in pass protection and mobile enough with his drop step that he was moved to left tackle when injuries forced an offensive line shake-up this season. Sometimes, though, he gets his base too wide or bends at his waist instead of his knees, which mitigates his raw strength and allows defenders to push their way past him.
Run Blocking
Texas A&M relies on Harrison to do work in the run game, and he rarely disappoints. His strength allows him to win in the short area, but his best work is done in open space, where his surprising burst and quickness allow him to lead at the second level. He does, however, need to work on balance and awareness against quicker defenders in the open field.
Explosion
Harrison gets off the ball and brings the contact to his opponent. He has a strong punch at the point of attack that knocks defenders backward before they ever get momentum.
Overall
Harrison is the prototypical guard for a spread offense. It is rare to find a player his size with so much athletic ability—a combination that gives Kevin Sumlin and Jake Spavital a ton of play-calling flexibility.
3. OC Reese Dismukes, Auburn
6 of 8
Strength
Even though he plays in a zone-blocking scheme—the type that does not rely on overpowering strength up the middle—Reese Dismukes is strong enough to move defenders where he pleases. He is not afraid of anyone and does not often get pushed from his spot.
Pass Protection
Dismukes has a short, dumpy frame that is tailored to play in the A-gap. He has a low center of gravity and uses leverage to his advantage against bigger defensive tackles, rarely ceding a sack or even a hurry from the interior.
Run Blocking
It is difficult to grade offensive linemen in Gus Malzahn's offense, but Dismukes has been paving holes since before Malzahn came back to the Plains. He is a wrecking ball in space who gets great knee bend, controls opponents through the duration of the play and has the agility and speed to get in front of the ball-carrier and block at the second level.
Explosion
Dismukes is not what one would call an explosive athlete. He does his best work in space, after he’s been allowed to gain some downhill momentum, and is more adept at sealing defenders off and using angles than he is at rocking them backward.
Overall
Dismukes is the engine that makes Auburn’s offense go. A complex, deception-oriented system such as Malzahn’s requires a cerebral athlete in the middle of the action. Dismukes has been precisely that.
2. OC Hroniss Grasu, Oregon
7 of 8
Strength
Strength is not Hroniss Grasu’s game. He is 6’3”, 298 pounds and does not drive interior defenders off their ground. He is strong enough to hold his own against the bull rush (in most cases) but is happy to earn a draw instead of win with his power.
Pass Protection
Grasu uses lateral quickness to compensate for his lack of power in pass protection. Oregon’s offense asks him to maestro the slide protections and block to an angle when Marcus Mariota rolls out, and he excels at both of those jobs. Despite lacking the raw strength to control defenders, he has a powerful punch that at least knocks them back off the line.
Run Blocking
Having a center like Grasu opens up the Oregon playbook and gives the Ducks a demonstrable advantage in the running game. His athleticism fits Oregon’s zone-blocking scheme like a glove. He forces defensive tackles to move side to side, which in many cases makes them uncomfortable, then uses their discomfort to open up massive running lanes.
Explosion
Grasu fires off the line with the burst one expects from an athlete of his caliber. His explosion is tied closely with his punch, which is among the best in the country and is probably the class of the interior linemen.
Overall
Grasu is the heart and soul of Oregon's offensive line, which might be the most important unit on the team. When the blockers play well, the Ducks play well. And the key to the blockers playing well is the man in the middle.
1. OG A.J. Cann, South Carolina
8 of 8
Strength
A.J. Cann has remarkable strength that is distributed through his hands, arms, hips and midsection, allowing him to overpower defenders in myriad ways. He is 6’3”, 313 pounds, and does his best work in the short area.
Pass Protection
The most valuable thing Cann does against the pass rush—and something that is easy to overlook—is recognize different pressure packages. He is a four-year starter with great field awareness who identifies and reacts to all sorts of stunts, twists and blitzes and rarely lets a free man run up the middle. Functionally, his powerful punch, flexible knee bend and overall core strength make him a solid pass-blocker who can easily withstand a bull rush.
Run Blocking
Cann is at his best opening holes in the power-running game. He uses strength and leverage to clear defenders away from their assignments and has such strong hands that they cannot disengage from his latch. He does not, however, make much of an impact at the second level, where his lack of mobility renders him a non-factor.
Explosion
As a run-blocker, Cann does a good job firing out of his stance and initiating the point of contact. As a pass-blocker, he is decent but does not explode with the same urgency, which sometimes leads to an immediate defensive pressure up the middle.
Overall
He doesn’t get the credit he deserves—offensive guards rarely do—but Cann was the best player on a South Carolina offense that ranked among the best in the SEC this season. His thick, square frame and his insatiable urge to hit people make it seem like he was bred to be a lineman.
.jpg?w=480 "Browns Football")
.jpg?w=600 "Browns Rejected Cowboys Trade Offer")