Offensive linemen go about their business in relative obscurity. Well, most of them.
The center can quickly be the center of attention when things go bad.
Levi Walton and Nathan Eldridge are the favorites to start heading into the final few weeks of training camp. And while neither of them have any actual game experience at the position, they have plenty of practice reps. So do freshman Michael Eletise and redshirt freshman Alex Kosinski.
Eldridge played guard in high school, and Walton was a tackle, but Walton learned pretty quickly that wasn’t what he would be playing in college.
“I had an idea,” said Walton, listed at 6 feet 3 inches and 290 pounds. “I always kinda knew because I was a little short. When I took my official I saw (the 6-7) Jacob Alsadek, and they said this is a guard, and I’m like, ‘Jeez, what am I? Am I a kicker?’ ”
Somebody will make their first-ever start at center, perhaps the most challenging position on the offensive line, against BYU on Sept. 3.
It will be a bittersweet feeling. See, Zach Hemmila was the favorite to start.
Hemmila, who died in his sleep last week, played the position last year when starter Cayman Bundage was out. The younger offensive linemen leaned on him, even as they were trying to take what many believed was his job.
Hemmila was “one of the best dudes on the team,” Walton said.
“Even though you’re competing with him, he still (told) you, you know, ‘Set this way, you gotta do this,’” Walton said. “He was trying to make everyone better.”
Added Eldridge: “He was always coaching me up. Every play I came off I’d go to him and ask, ‘What do I do here? What do I do here? How’s my point?’ Everything like that. Everything.”
Center, like left tackle, comes with some serious responsibility.
The center needs to keep his head up, call out schemes, read the defense, snap and be ready to block the man in front of him.
It’s a lot, especially for young players without much experience at the position. Walton played some center in practice last year, and both Eldridge and Walton practiced exclusively at center during the spring.
“At center you can’t just get down and have your down,” Walton said. “You always gotta have your head up, looking left, right, center, making sure the guy next to you knows what they’re doing. It’s one little call and it can change the whole way we’re running the play. If it’s wrong, it’ll look pretty dumb.”
On top of all of that, the center and quarterback need a proper rapport. Quarterback is another position that’s up for grabs — Anu Solomon and Brandon Dawkins are competing — so the relationship will be a work in progress regardless.
Dawkins said the centers have done “a great job” under extreme circumstances.
“It’s still a little tough for the team,” he said. “Like coach says, we’re not feeling sorry for ourselves. We’re feeling sorry for (Hemmila) and his family. But everybody’s coming out here and competing, and we still have him in our heart.”
