2023 Gophers Position Previews: Offensive Line

If you can believe it, football is almost here. Seriously. For the third year running, Ski-U-Blog will have previews of every position group entering Minnesota's season. Today's preview is the last covering the offense, specifically the line.

Likely Starters

The last starter from Minnesota's colossal, decorated 2019 offensive line has left. Just two of the reserves from that season's roster remain, and at least one is due for a starting role in 2023.

Lakeville North alumnus Nathan Boe has been John Michael Schmitz's understudy at center for four years, and he's started just three games in that time. A regular feature on special teams and in blowouts, Boe now steps into a bigger role for his final season.

His most substantive appearance last season, against Syracuse, was just fine. An Orange lineman jumped the snap and caused Boe to put the ball on the ground early in the game. But while Syracuse had the snap count down for much of the game, Boe mostly (but not always) kept those situations from killing the play despite immediately giving up leverage.

Boe is not an elite athlete for the position. He is not very quick when climbing to the second level, and he rarely dominated the Syracuse defenders in the bowl game. But he was not overwhelmed and had few genuine mistakes in protection. He should, at bare minimum, be an adequate one-year starter.

On his left, the presumed starter is another player in his last year, Karter Shaw. Shaw joined the Gophers from Utah State in 2021 and, like Boe, will get his first regular playing time in the Big Ten on his way out of the program.

After his arrival, I liked Shaw's athleticism and intelligence. His spring game tape from this year suggests those traits haven't faded. Shaw is stout and can hold his own against the push of a defensive tackle while being able to move laterally on a reach block.

Shaw cheated up into the second level a bit on RPOs, but until college referees they show they actually care about that, that shouldn't be a problem. He also actively looked for work when not rushed, which was fairly common when Shaw was inserted at center. He played that position for much of his time at Utah State and is most likely Minnesota's backup center going into this fall. We need to see more of Shaw to know just what level of player he still is, especially against this level of competition, but like Boe, he should do the job.

Quinn Carroll, meanwhile, will seemingly complete the interior by shifting from right tackle to right guard. This makes some sense, especially with a potentially starter-quality tackle ready in Martes Lewis.

Lewis moves surprisingly well for his size (at 6-foot-7, he's Minnesota's tallest starting lineman) but can sometimes play overly upright. It's hard for someone so tall to get low and stay low, so he's not the only lineman to have this issue, and it's not a game-killer, but it might cost him at points. And however nimble he is relative to other players his size, Lewis may have problems with leaner, speedier pass rushers. But he has a strong base and looks to have enough talent to be an asset more often than not.

The reason Carroll makes more sense at guard is that he just was not an effective pass protector last season. As I noted in the spring, he ranked in the bottom fifth of regular FBS tackles in Pro Football Focus-tracked pressure rate last season. That's not an unplayable weakness, but it is nevertheless a problem that needs to be alleviated or circumvented. Moving inside, where the rushers typically aren't as shifty or refined, should better play to Carroll's abilities.

Those abilities include Carroll's tenacious run blocking, easily the strength of his game. He is hard to move off the ball, and he plays low, tough, and mean. Carroll is accomplished at climbing to the linebackers and making a block, as he showed in a particularly impressive performance against Iowa:

Every line needs a people-mover, and Carroll can be that for the Gophers.

Aireontae Ersery's first season as a full-time starter went fairly well, although he still has more room to develop. When Ersery is on, he can reach across a defensive end's shoulder on outside zone or push forward to the second level and dispose of a linebacker. With his strength, quick feet, active hands, and aggressive finishing, he offers plenty at left tackle. That goes for both run blocking and pass protection.

Ersery just needs to become a little more consistent down-to-down. Ersery's feet can slow after initiating engaging a defender, stalling out and not gaining ground. Faster defenders can give him trouble, as happened a few times against Penn State; his first step isn't always fast enough, and he sometimes gets caught leaning or playing too tall.

Still, Ersery allowed a pressure on just 3.2 percent of the pass rush opportunities he faced last season, according to PFF. That ranked 5th among regular tackles in the Big Ten (minimum 200 opportunities), putting him at least in the ballpark of the conference's most effective pass protectors. While you can find deficiencies in his game, Ersery is a solid player who, as a redshirt junior, could clean up those issues and become one of the finest tackles in all of college football.

Key Backups

Like with Boe, it's been a long wait for J.J. Guedet to see the field as more than just a bit player or a fill-in. Guedet may not get that chance in 2023 but should be the first player called upon if the Gophers break out their ultra-heavy package again.

His past experience includes a COVID-forced start against Nebraska in 2021 and a series of small or end-of-game appearances. Guedet's height, like with Lewis, means he doesn't always play with proper pad level; however, Guedet doesn't carry as much heft and is therefore more mobile. Danny Striggow still caught him flat-footed in the spring game, but Guedet was solid going against Anthony Smith. He has enough strength to hold his ground.

Tyler Cooper, meanwhile, is the team's cover at guard. The 2022 season was his first time in three years appearing in a game on offense, and that was at the ends of in five comfortable wins. His most recent spring game performance was respectable. He looked sounder run blocking than protecting the quarterback.

Notables Unlikely to Contribute

Redshirt sophomore Jackson Hunter was part of the mop-up crew against New Mexico State last year and received ample playing time in the spring game. Guedet likely has either tackle spot covered in case of injury, but Hunter appears to be next in line. Guard Cade McConnell is in a similar place behind Cooper, having redshirted in his first year with the program.

The third-string center, Jackson Ruschmeyer, played his first three college games last September. With two outgoing players in front of him, that could theoretically lead to more playing time in 2024, but we need to see far more of him to know for sure. Center could be a position that Minnesota tries to fill with a transfer a year from now.

There is some buzz surrounding a couple of the Gophers' true freshman linemen, Greg Johnson and Jerome Williams. Both Minnesotans, both composite 4-stars, and both guards, Johnson and Williams are expected to play big roles in future Gopher lines.

Johnson and Williams' high school highlights are what you get when one Division I athlete — bigger, stronger, and faster than everyone on the opposing defensive line — gets to push around a bunch of regular high schoolers. Johnson enrolled early, which he probably needed just to get to hone his fundamentals against someone his own size. He is the altogether more impressive of the two, pulling across the formation at speed to flatten some poor 170-pound linebacker, but Johnson and Williams each play with great power and a bully's mentality. With some seasoning, they should make fine college players.