Pitt Football: Jacobsen's Return Gives Lift to Struggling Offensive Line

Something about the city of Pittsburgh and bad offensive lines goes hand in hand.

The Pitt offensive line was one of the worst in the country in 2011, allowing an NCAA-worst 64 sacks. That doesn't count the other countless breakdowns and bad penalties the unit had as well.

In comparison, the next worst team in sacks allowed, Miami (OH), allowed only 47. And at the other end of the sack spectrum was Boise State, who allowed quarterback Kellen Moore to be sacked only eight times all season long.

There could have been many contributing factors to the struggles of the Pitt offensive line. First of all, they were a unit that was put together in a pro-style system that suddenly had to make the switch to former head coach Todd Graham's low-octane spread attack. Then there's the fact that quarterback Tino Sunseri more often than not held onto the ball way too long.

That may have resulted in some of the sacks, but it doesn't discount the fact that the Pitt offensive line played poorly throughout the season.

The biggest factor to their struggles, though, could have been injuries. The Panthers' best two lineman, Lucas Nix and Chris Jacobsen, suffered major injuries that cost them a lot of game action.

Pitt caught a break this week when the NCAA granted a sixth year of eligibility to Jacobsen after he suffered a season-ending injury to his left knee last year against Iowa in the third game of the season. It was the second season-ending knee injury of his career for Jacobson, who also missed his freshman year in 2007.

He started all 13 games in 2010 and the first three in 2011 at left guard.

His return gives the Panthers a veteran interior lineman that will be expected to be a leader of the group.

With the hire of Paul Chyst as the new Pitt head coach and the return to a more conventional offense, the Panthers offensive line could get back on track quickly. It will need to for Pitt to have any chance at success, and Jacobsen will have to be a big part of that.