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Unlike every other position on the field, offensive linemen do not have traditional statistics that the common fan can look at and immediately know how successful - or unsuccessful - particular players are.
Certain statistics like sacks allowed and yards per carry give some insight on an entire unit, but fail to paint the entire picture because those things aren’t solely dependent on the offensive line.
Now that college football is 150 years old, though, we are finally getting closer to solving that issue - with Pro Football Focus at the forefront of it.
The analytics company grades every player on every snap of every game, eventually assigning a 0-100 grade to each player. It’s owned by former NFL player and current NBC analyst Cris Collinworth and widely respected in the football community - as it provides data to all 32 NFL teams and more than half of the FBS.
Last week, PFF published a 1-130 ranking of college football’s offensive line units, something they are uniquely capable of doing because of their grading system. Here are our thoughts on a few notable rankings from the list…
Arkansas in Middle of the Pack
67. Arkansas
I said it throughout the year and now PFF’s data is backing it up: The Razorbacks actually improved a decent amount up front this year. Obviously there were still times when opposing defenses ran freely through it, but the offensive line was far from the worst in college football in 2019.
Last season, Arkansas ranked dead last in the SEC with a 58.6 run-blocking grade and next to last with a 60.6 pass-blocking grade. Those figures improved to 63.0 and 61.7, respectively, both of which rank ninth in the conference. The Razorbacks’ pass blocking efficiency rating was also 86.6 - their best mark since 2014.
If you prefer the more traditional way of looking at offensive line play, consider this: From 2016-18, Arkansas gave up an SEC-high 102 sacks in 37 games - or 2.8 per game. This season, Arkansas ranked fifth in the conference with only 19 sacks allowed - or 1.6 per game.
Dustin Fry may not have been the greatest offensive line coach ever, but he deserves some credit for at least getting the Razorbacks back on track and - with four starters (Ty Clary, Myron Cunningham, Ricky Stromberg and Dalton Wagner) returning, plus Luke Jones and Noah Gatlin entering the equation - laying the foundation for the…
New Coaches
2. Georgia
48. Missouri
129. Florida State