Tigers credit offensive line for their success

Two new starters play on the offensive line, which Pinkel lauds as his best.

By Lenny Goldman

Published Sept. 18, 2008

How does senior quarterback Chase Daniel motivate his offensive line to protect him from 300-pound defensive linemen trying to smash him into the ground every Saturday?

He has his mom bake them cookies.

"Ever since I was a starting quarterback here, every Friday my mom bakes them a dozen cookies," Daniel said. "I don't need any of those, but the o-line can have that, and they really like it."

They like it enough to anchor the nation's top-rated offensive unit, which has accumulated nearly 600 yards per game.

"Chase will be the first one to tell you, when you've got an offensive line like we do - I think this might be the best offensive line since I've been here - and have people to distribute the ball to, he's got a lot of people out there who can make plays and turn seven-yard gains into 25- to 30-yard gains," coach Gary Pinkel said.

The offensive line was supposed to be the Tigers' weakest link as they have first-year starters at both left tackle and center in freshman Elvis Fisher and sophomore Tim Barnes respectively.

"The key was, can a guy like Elvis Fisher come in and play that position and still keep all the other areas solid and not have to move guys around," Pinkel said. "That has enabled us to do that and you have to recognize him for playing at the level he's playing."

Fisher credited senior right tackle Colin Brown for much of his early success.

"Colin, he's taught me a lot," Fisher said. "What he does on his side is kind of like the same thing I do on my side, just different plays, so we talk about what we do on each play. He's helped me out a lot about reading defenses and understanding what's going to happen and how to recognize the blitz and everything like that."

Yet Brown, who Daniel called the cornerstone of the line, is still shocked to even be playing.

"I remember talking to my dad about what I was going to do if I got down here and was the absolute player," Brown said. "I really thought this would be completely over my head, and I'd never have a chance to be good enough to compete, so this is definitely beyond what I ever imagined would have happened."

So basically, the line of the best offense in the country consists of two rookies and a senior who never thought he'd be good enough. Their secret? Friendship.

"We knew coming out that there would be pressure on us just because of the guys we lost," Barnes said. "It helps that we're really, really close as friends off the field. We'll watch TV at one of the guy's houses, we'll hang out, play video games, stuff like that. We just kind of like to be together and talk, not about football."

Whether it's cookies or an Xbox, Daniel better have both ready so he can keep waking up and feeling good on Sundays.

"I'm going out of the game coming in on Sunday like, 'Man I'm feeling fresh,' just relaxed and not really any bruises on me," Daniel said. "That's a direct correlation to our offensive line play."