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It's the time to talk about the big guys! We've already gone over all the skill-position players on offense, so now it's time to look at the young men doing work in the trenches. Once again, these rankings are based on what the players have shown me already and how good I project them to be this upcoming season - not an evaluation of them as draft prospects for 2019.
#1 Jonah Williams, Alabama (OT)
This young man came right in as a freshman to start at right tackle and pretty much outperformed Cam Robinson, who was an All-American on the opposite end. Williams switched to the left side in 2017 and was very dependable. He might not be the greatest athlete, but he plays under control and with excellent technique.
Williams brings a good thump at initial contact in the run game and plays with excellent leg-drive. The best thing Williams does is squaring up his target in protection and being patient with his hands as well as making those edge guys widen the arc and driving them deeper into the backfield.
Occasionally he ducks his head too much into contact and can be slipped by, which Clemson’s Clelin Ferrell did that to him a couple of times in the Sugar Bowl, but he holds down his end.
#2 Beau Benzschawel, Wisconsin (OG)
Benzschawel has started 36 consecutive games, almost all of them at right guard and was named first-team All-American by Sports Illustrated last season. He can get under the pads of defensive linemen and torque their body. Once he initiates contact in the run game, that defender usually doesn’t get away and some land on their butt.
As part of what probably is the best O-line in the country, Benzschawel works very well off combo-blocks and brings the necessary movement as that secondary blocker on an angle.
With his aggressive forward lean, the Badgers guard can lose balance at times and get off his feet. However, he shows impressive anchor strength, can perform various blocking schemes and he brings that little bit of nasty to him that you want to see.
#3 Dalton Risner, Kansas State (OT)
After starting every game at center in his first year at the campus where he received Freshman All-American honor, Risner moved to right tackle as a sophomore and has started all 25 games at that spot since then.
He put up a Pro Football Focus grade above 90 in back-to-back seasons and was named to the First Team All-Big XII in each of those, including allowing just three total pressures in 2017. Risner has that wide frame that forces defenders to go through him and that’s a hard thing to do. He combines that with well-coordinated footwork and the grip strength to torque the pads of defensive linemen and open up a running lane.
While he doesn’t show a lot of speed as a puller and overall there are some limitations with his athleticism, Risner has been extremely consistent for K-State and you rarely see him get out of position or just whiff on a block.
#4 Max Scharping, Northern Illinois (OT)
This dude has been a model of consistency for the NIU program, being named a Freshman All-American as the only player from the MAC to do so and making the All-conference team each season.
Risner has prototype size at 6’6’’, 320 pounds and allowed a minimal 11 QB pressures over his last two seasons. Scharping gobbles up defensive linemen as a run-blocker, as he keeps their chest close to him and repositions his feet as the play progresses. And he is so damn solid in protection.
Scharping opens up his hips rather early, but always stays head-up with his rusher and is extremely patient with his arms. Compared to the other guys on this list Scharping doesn’t have to deal with quite the same competition, but he hasn’t surrendered a sack since their bowl game versus Boise State in 2015.
#5 Hjalte Froholdt, Arkansas (OG)
This Denmark native arrived in the US as an exchange student and got an early offer by the Arkansas program as a defensive tackle, but he transitioned to the offensive line as a sophomore and started in all games at left guard since then.
Froholdt has a ton of natural power and gets after people in the run game until the echo of the whistle. He didn’t allow a single sack on 366 pass-blocking snaps and was flagged just once in all of 2017.
Let me tell you, this guy loves hitting targets on the move. Froholdt fails to bring his helmet in front of the defender on angle blocks at times and has those guys running past him, but he held his own versus Alabama’s Da’Ron Payne when those two were matched up against each other last season.
Honorable mentions: David Andrews (OT, Wisconsin), Greg Little (OT, Ole Miss), Ross Pierschbacher (OG, Alabama)
