A new staff, a highly decorated offensive line coach and returning a number of contributors from 2016 all sound great. But it took until August before the new staff could get a good look at what the Gophers have along the offensive line. Spring practice often saw a total of 3 or 4 scholarship linemen available to practice, but now with virtually everyone healthy will the offensive line be an upgrade this year?
The offensive line struggled in 2016. They eye test showed it and the numbers back it up. Football Outsiders gives us an Adjusted Line Yards metric that attempts to rank a team’s offensive rushing performance agnostic of who the running back is.