Graham Harrell suggested that it's possible Alijah Vera-Tucker could slide over from left guard to left tackle. More to the point, he essentially said all options are on the table.
Here's what he said:
On options at left tackle ...
"I think we've just got to find a way to get whoever the best five guys are on the field however we've got to shuffle them. If that means moving guys in, moving guys out, whatever we have to do. We've got to indentify the best five that we have, the five that give us the best chance to be successful and those will be the starting five in whatever order we can put them out there. That's goign to be our approach is figure out who those five are and then figure out the best way to line them up to give us a chance to win games and be good in the run game, protect the quarterback, things like that. I do think at that position, at the O-line more than probably any other position, reps together really help, because you've got to know each other, you've got to learn to work with each other. The way they work together just passing off twists or double teams, it helps if you've got reps with a certain person. That's going to be a big part of the spring is identifying who the best guys are and then figuring out how we can get as many reps as we can with each guy at that position.
"Obviously Vera-Tucker was great for us at left guard last year, but if he gives us the best chance to be successful with him at left tackle, you move him out there -- whateve the case may be. You've just got to find five guys and figure out where each of them fit best, so that would be our approach this spring."
On whether the freshmen could make an impact on the O-line ...
"We'll do everything we can to get those guys ready, but I think the offensive line position, that's probably the toughest spot in all of football to play as a true freshman or play young because not only is there so much you have to learn from a mental side of the game, that's probably the biggest physical position as far as physically growing up, the O-line position has to do the most physically. That's a tough position mentally and physically to come in as a true freshman and play, but we're going to do as much as we can, especially to speed up their mental side of it as soon as [they] get here. We're going to do everything we can, and a lot of it is going to be on those guys because of NCAA rules, but the more they can learn, the more they can study, the better chance they'll get to get playing time next fall. So heading into fall camp, if one of those guys that comes in can develop and give themselves a chance mentally to play, I do think we signed some guys that are big enough physically to give themselves an opportunity. It will be fun when we have those guys. Obviously it would be fun to have all those guys right now, but this spring again will be a great opportunity to grow some people and move them around, see how they play at each position and see which five can develop. And once we get the new crew here we'll have to evaluate them and see if any of them can break into the depth chart and get some playing time. I think because of the guys we signed -- we signed some really good players and some guys that are more physically ready than a lot of guys are coming out of high school -- so because of that I don't think it's too far of a stretch to believe that one of them could get some playing time this coming fall. We're excited about those guys and look forward to getting them here so we can figure out just where they are."
Here's what he said:
On options at left tackle ...
"I think we've just got to find a way to get whoever the best five guys are on the field however we've got to shuffle them. If that means moving guys in, moving guys out, whatever we have to do. We've got to indentify the best five that we have, the five that give us the best chance to be successful and those will be the starting five in whatever order we can put them out there. That's goign to be our approach is figure out who those five are and then figure out the best way to line them up to give us a chance to win games and be good in the run game, protect the quarterback, things like that. I do think at that position, at the O-line more than probably any other position, reps together really help, because you've got to know each other, you've got to learn to work with each other. The way they work together just passing off twists or double teams, it helps if you've got reps with a certain person. That's going to be a big part of the spring is identifying who the best guys are and then figuring out how we can get as many reps as we can with each guy at that position.
"Obviously Vera-Tucker was great for us at left guard last year, but if he gives us the best chance to be successful with him at left tackle, you move him out there -- whateve the case may be. You've just got to find five guys and figure out where each of them fit best, so that would be our approach this spring."
On whether the freshmen could make an impact on the O-line ...
"We'll do everything we can to get those guys ready, but I think the offensive line position, that's probably the toughest spot in all of football to play as a true freshman or play young because not only is there so much you have to learn from a mental side of the game, that's probably the biggest physical position as far as physically growing up, the O-line position has to do the most physically. That's a tough position mentally and physically to come in as a true freshman and play, but we're going to do as much as we can, especially to speed up their mental side of it as soon as [they] get here. We're going to do everything we can, and a lot of it is going to be on those guys because of NCAA rules, but the more they can learn, the more they can study, the better chance they'll get to get playing time next fall. So heading into fall camp, if one of those guys that comes in can develop and give themselves a chance mentally to play, I do think we signed some guys that are big enough physically to give themselves an opportunity. It will be fun when we have those guys. Obviously it would be fun to have all those guys right now, but this spring again will be a great opportunity to grow some people and move them around, see how they play at each position and see which five can develop. And once we get the new crew here we'll have to evaluate them and see if any of them can break into the depth chart and get some playing time. I think because of the guys we signed -- we signed some really good players and some guys that are more physically ready than a lot of guys are coming out of high school -- so because of that I don't think it's too far of a stretch to believe that one of them could get some playing time this coming fall. We're excited about those guys and look forward to getting them here so we can figure out just where they are."
