These guys don\’t get the respect they deserve on the high school football field. You\’ve got the quarterback strutting around the filed with his name being called out over the loudspeaker with every completed pass. You have the running backs scurrying around the field to equal glory on successful breaks down the field. Receivers get their fair share of kudos\’ from the fans. All three of these successes partially result from the steady and steadfast work of the offensive line and we think they should get more credit or share for the offensive success. Let\’s take a look at the offensive line and how they move the offense forward on every level.

First a little bit of prep football primer. The offensive line refers to the offensive players that are along the main line and down in a stance to begin each snap. They primary task is to protect the quarterback against the defense by warding off the oncoming defensive line. That\’s no small challenge. The defensive line and the line backers off the line are strong, cagey, and their looking to wreak havoc. That brings up the requirements for a good offensive lineman and it\’s not an easy mix to find. First, they need to big and strong. There\’s an arms race up at the line of scrimmage and if a defensive line man can over power or run over you, that\’s not good for any offensive strategy you may have. But big and strong is not the only requirement because every school has a few lumbering giants running around for the high school football program. The second part is tough. They need to be quick at best and agile on their feet as least. In past protection, they need to react to the defensive player\’s move so agility and ability to move laterally is incredibly important. There\’s one more important trait to a high school football offensive lineman and that\’s intelligence. You can have a wild-eye pit bull on the defensive side and probably do okay but the offensive lineman\’s role during running plays requires a fair amount of mental prowess. Let\’s take a look at why and discuss the two primary roles of offensive lineman.

A lineman\’s role is quite different depending on whether the offense is running a passing or running play. In a running play, there\’s actually a lot that the offensive line needs to wrap his head around. There are dozens of plays and each lineman needs to work with each other like pieces in a puzzle for the play to work right. One player\’s blown assignment and that run goes from a 15 yard gain to a 3 year loss in the back field. The passing offensive set for a lineman is quite different. Now, the lineman just has responsibility for an area of protection or a particular defensive player. There sole goal is to keep anyone from getting past them. This is where the play quickly resembles wrestling and physical skills come into play.

All prep football offense rides on the back of a strong offensive line regardless of whether they get credit for it or not. At prepSportFantasy.com, we feel it\’s time to give a shout out to the big boys up front.

Author Bio: Dennis Jarvis writes about the world of Prep Sports including high school sports such as high school football, basketball, and baseball.

Category: Sports
Keywords: high school football offense, offensive line, high school sports, prep sports