Northwestern’s offensive line started off air tight in its first four games, only allowing seven sacks and minimal pressure. But since conference play started, junior quarterback Trevor Siemian has been running for his life and sacked 12 times.
“Nobody saw that coming,” junior center Brandon Vitabile said. “I did not think that would be the result at all.”
The Wildcats’ loss to Wisconsin was especially troubling. In the second half, with NU forced to throw because of a large deficit, Siemian took many big hits.
Some of the increase in sacks allowed could be attributed to the rising level of competition. But Vitabile believes the unit needs to get back to the fundamentals.
“Small details was what it was,” he said of the Cats’ struggles against Wisconsin. “Our plan was good. Our scheme was good. We just didn’t execute as well as we could have and we know we can.”
Vitabile also said there is a fine line between simply blocking someone and executing the play call.
“There’s a huge difference between when you get up there and you take your set and you’re dancing with a guy instead of when you just put your hands on him and block him,” he said. “Being comfortable enough and trusting yourself enough and having the confidence we’ve been working on every single day since August 5 when we started our first practice … those are executable and within our control.”
The Cats have had a hard time dealing with defensive lines when they perform stunts or twists, a play where defensive ends start on the outside but cut toward the middle and rush the interior while the defensive tackles begin in the middle and work their way out. To stop a play like that, an offensive line needs solid communication all the way from the tackles to the center.
Junior Paul Jorgensen and redshirt freshman Ian Park are both new starters on the line for NU this year. Jorgensen said communication has been something that the two have heavily stressed since they found out they would be starting next to each other.
“There’s a learning curve,” Jorgensen said. “We’ve only played next to each other for a few months, but we’ve come a long way since the start of the season. I know it hasn’t gone well the last two weeks, but I think we’ve come a long way communication- and trust-wise. There’s still a lot we can get better at and that’s what we’re doing during the week.”
But things have started to turn around for the Cats in practice this week. The line play looked much sharper on the offensive side, especially in between the tackles.
Sophomore guard Geoff Mogus said the unit has been back to its normal self.
“We had a lot of juice,” Mogus said. “We were talking out there. We weren’t trying to think a lot, and we were just trying to play ball.”
Another element that could help the Cats’ offensive line is if the group is able to get the running game going. Last week against Wisconsin, NU had only 44 yards rushing, making the offense predictable. Jorgensen said that can’t happen again this week.
“It’s tough when you’re one dimensional,” he said. “We want to establish both the pass and run in every game we play. We’ve been working the pass game because we didn’t do as well as we wanted to and we’ve been working the run game fundamentals. It’s really about getting out to a fast start and getting both aspects going.”
Mogus will have his hands full with Minnesota defensive tackle Ra’Shede Hageman, who leads the Golden Gophers in tackles for a loss with 6.5. Mogus referred back to trusting his fundamentals as a way to slow down the powerful defensive tackle.
“We got to trust our technique,” he said. “He’s a really good player. It goes back to just cutting it loose and just playing ball and not trying to think and playing fast on him.”
Coach Pat Fitzgerald said he’s happy it’s Hageman’s last year of eligibility because it feels like he’s been there forever.
“He’s been a disruptive force,” Fitzgerald said. “He’s a big, athletic guy. He gets off the ball well. He uses his hands well and plays with a great motor. He’s as active as a guy we’ve seen.”
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Twitter: @John_Paschall
