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Iowa State University Athletics
Position Preview: The Offensive Line
03.19.2020 | Football
AMES, Iowa- Today we feature the offensive line in our position preview.Â
Synopsis
There isn't a position group which suffered more attrition than the offensive line.Â
The Cyclones lost four seniors who combined for 146 career starts in Julian Good-Jones, Bryce Meeker, Josh Knipfel and Collin Olson.Â
All four were key in helping the Cyclones break school records in total offense (444.3), touchdowns (53), passing yards (4,047) and yards per play (6.4). The Cyclones offense also averaged 32.2 points, the second-best season total in school history
Finding replacements for those four could possibly be the most intriguing task this offseason.Â
The good news is that the Cyclones will return a pair of offensive linemen with starting experience in Colin Newell (6-4, 297, Jr.#, Ames, Iowa) and Trevor Downing (6-4, 300, So.#, Creston, Iowa).
Newell started 12 games at center in 2018 and earned the starting spot in the season-opener of 2019 vs. UNI. However, Newell suffered a knee injury and had to miss the majority of the season.Â
Newell was able to come back by season's end and started at right guard vs. Notre Dame in the Camping World Bowl. His ability to play center and other positions will be beneficial. Where he ends playing will be decided in this offseason.Â
Breece Hall received much exposure for his sensational freshman season, but lost in the shuffle was the incredible year by Downing as a rookie in 2019.Â
Downing took over at the left guard spot in the second game, held it down for the remaining 12 games, and proceeded to earn second team Freshman All-America honors by The Athletic and honorable mention All-Big 12 kudos. Downing graded out high all season and will most likely be a cornerstone on the o-line for the next three seasons.Â
Four upper classmen who will look to find a spot in the lineup in the offseason will be Sean Foster (6-8, 310, Sr.#, Mundelein, Ill.), Joey Ramos (6-5, 310, So.#, Phoenix, Ariz.), Robert Hudson (6-6, 320, Jr.#, Walled Lake, Mich.) and  Derek Schweiger (6-3, 289, Jr.#, Plymouth, Wis.)
Foster earned six starts in 2017 and started the season-opener at left tackle in 2018.Â
Ramos filled in during the 2019 season at tackle during games and showed promise. He was a top-50 position player nationally coming out of high school and is a good bet to lock down one of the tackle spots.Â
Both Hudson and Schweiger begin their fourth seasons in the program. Schweiger filled in at center in the season-opener when Newell went down. The walk-on has seen incredible growth and has earned the trust of the coaching staff.Â
Campbell and the staff are counting on these four freshmen coming out of redhshirts to make an impact in Jarrod Hufford (6-5, 303, Fr.#, Newark, Ohio), Darrell Simmons (6-3, 306, Fr.#, Belleville, Ill.), Grant Treiber (6-6, 285, Fr.#, Sioux Falls, S.D.) and Jake Remsburg (6-6, 305, Fr.#, West Des Moines, Iowa).Â
The competition in the offensive line will be exciting to follow. Â Â Â
Campbell On The Offensive Line
"The greatest starting point for us is that there are two guys that if you said, 'who are the two most consistent football players who played on your offensive line in the past two years?' Those two guys are back. Trevor Downing I thought a year ago was bar none the best lineman to play for Iowa State. From how he graded out, the consistency of football he played and the tenacity he played with. All those things matched the expectation of what an offensive lineman at this school should look like. Then Colin Newell a year ago, really brought that same consistency with the offensive line. I think having foundational leaders back is exciting for all of us. Now we need to fill in the pieces around them. There are some guys that have waited their time a little bit. Guys like Robert Hudson and certainly Joey Ramos. Can they take the next step? There are some super talented young guys. I think Grant Treiber is being highly talked about around here right now. Also, guys like Jarrrod Hufford and Derek Schweiger are being talked about immensely around here, as well as Darrell Simmons. There are guys that have high-end ability. And the other wild card in there is Sean Foster. He's a guy that has played football for us and is going into his senior year. When your seniors can play their best football, then good things can happen for your team. A lot of guys are fighting for a lot of opportunities. I'm excited to watch that battle. There are a lot of names to talk about and we will see how it all sorts out."
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