Zach Banner is a monster in the trenches for a USC offensive line that ranks as Lindy’s best. Photo Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
- USC: Mountainous right tackle Zach Banner blocks out the sun, and left tackle Chad Wheeler casts a good-looking shadow on the other side. We don’t even know where to begin at guard. Viane Talamaivao and Damien Mama should hold on to starting jobs, but if they don’t, that’s a good thing because others with starting experience are pushing them. Toa Lobendahn could wind up at guard, too, or he could be back at center, where Khaliel Rodgers is returning from injury. We don’t see any other team with this kind of depth, experience and talent up front.
- CLEMSON: Left tackle Mitch Hyatt played way beyond his years as a true freshman for a team that came a few whiskers from a 15-0 season. Center Jay Guillermo is rock-solid, right guard Tyrone Crowder is a returning starter and nobody in the spring was sweating bullets that the offense would go off the rails just because last year’s leader, left guard Eric Mac Lain, is no longer around. The Tigers have depth, versatility and the youth that suggests the line isn’t close to its ceiling yet.
- LSU: Leonard Fournette only needs about six inches of daylight; he’ll get more. Center Ethan Pocic, guard Will Clapp and very promising sophomore Maea Teuhema (who could move from guard to tackle) form the nucleus of what Les Miles wants to do with the ground game.
- PITT: The Panthers have an All-ACC left side of the line with tackle Adam Bisnowaty and guard Dorian Johnson. With two other returning starters, Pitt is more than ready to usher star running back James Conner back onto the field after he missed last season.
- TENNESSEE: With depth and experience, these guys get it done more with cohesion than brand-name individuals, although center Coleman Thomas is a good candidate for end-of-season lists. Jashon Robertson, Dylan Wiesman and emerging sophomore Chance Hall are good enough to hold off the SEC’s defensive monsters.
- ALABAMA: The Tide had the best line in the country last season, and this isn’t that, but it will just have to do. First-round draft pick Ryan Kelly was last year’s glue at center, and the new brains of the operation will be Ross Pierschbacher, who moves over from guard. All-American Cam Robinson is still dropping anchor at left tackle, and potentially having a true freshman start at right tackle (Jonah Williams, the No. 3-ranked player in California according to 247Sports.com) doesn’t sound problematic as much as it sounds like the beat going on in Tuscaloosa.
- NORTH CAROLINA: The readiness of quarterback Mitch Trubisky — the lingering Tar Heels’ topic going into fall camp — is offset by the security fi rm of tackle Jon Heck, guard Caleb Peterson and center Lucas Crowley.
- NOTRE DAME: The Irish lost a superstar in left tackle Ronnie Stanley, but utterly massive senior Mike McGlinchey will move to that spot and lock it down. Junior guard Quenton Nelson is one of the best in the land. With right tackle Alex Bars back from injury, the line becomes a major team strength.
- UTAH: Four starters return from the fl at-out toughest outfit in the Pac-12, outside of those sons-of-guns from Stanford, which doesn’t have the experience to make this list this season. Utah has that, led by tackle J.J. Dielman, with potential help coming from JC stud Garett Bolles.
- OHIO STATE: The unit isn’t as star-studded as it was a year ago, but that group didn’t coalesce as well as most observers expected it would. Senior center Pat Elflein — who could easily be in the NFL — is determined to make the Buckeyes great again up front. Guard Billy Price could play anywhere, for anybody.
