16In16: #11 thru #7 – The Offensive Line
I guess I should finish the list of the 16 best moments or players from the 2016 PITT football season as the 2017 Spring Game is fast approaching.
For this post, Who made the PITT offense go? Who helped James Conner make his comeback and look like he didn’t miss a beat? Who helped Nate Peterman continue to build his draft stock for the NFL? And finally, who led the execution in Matt Canada’s offense that got him a big pay day in LSU?
If you guessed the offensive line, you would be correct. The line that was led by Brian O’Neill, Adam Bisnowaty, Alex Officer, Dorian Johnson, John Guy and Jarod Jones-Smith. And you can even throw Tight End Scott Orndoff in there as well because he did his part in the run and pass game blocking.
The two big names being Dorian Johnson and Adam Bisnowaty who will both most likely be drafted in a few months at the NFL Draft. Johnson who we could see go in one of the 1st two rounds and Bisnowaty probably in rounds 3 or 4.
#11 Adam Bisnowaty
Adam Bisnowaty was a part of the Senior class that helped hold PITT together as they went through all the coaching changes and turmoil of the post Wannstedt, Haywood and Graham era. He entered the program with a lot of promise out of Fox Chapel, but still had a lot to improve upon. And each year he got a little bit better and last season he was the leader of the offensive line. Bisnowaty was a force in the running game as he consistently opened up huge holes for James Conner or any of the running backs to run through. He was a serviceable pass blocker, but that is the one area he will need to improve on if he wants to have a long career in the NFL.
#10 Brian O’Neill
Redshirt Sophomore Brian O’Neill took a bunch of big steps forward last season to becoming an offensive lineman that everyone will be talking about before the NFL Draft in a couple years. The question you probably heard prior to last season was, Who is Brian O’Neill? Most fans were probably hoping he was serviceable and would just keep Peterman upright and healthy. After this season he had, he will start getting more and more attention from NFL scouts if he keeps getting better.
#9 Scott Orndoff
I know Scott Orndoff is not technically an offensive lineman, but he was one of the five best blockers on the team last season. He came into his senior season as the #1 Tight End with the departure of J.P Holtz and he filled in for Holtz and then some. Orndoff has always been known as a good blocking tight end who could help get the running game going and protect the quarterback. But, he became a passing threat and hot read option for Peterman if he was under pressure. The “PITT Shovel Pass” which worked as well as you could draw it up featured Orndoff, along with Conner, on the receiving end. The number of 1st downs, touchdowns and just positive plays this offense got out of the “PITT Shovel Pass” just proved how effective it was. Orndoff should be drafted next month mainly for his blocking, but NFL teams should also like his receiving ability.
#8 Dorian Johnson
Along with Adam Bisnowaty, PITT LG Dorian Johnson has been garnering a lot of interest among NFL teams and has many draft prognosticators projecting he will be a Top 20 pick this year. And honestly, I can think of no reason why he can’t be. In fact, I believe he should definitely be a Top 10 pick in the draft. Protecting the Quarterback is the name of the game in the NFL and especially their blindside. And very few people have done it better than Dorian Johnson.
#7 Alex Officer
You can’t forget the guy that led the offensive line last season. Your offense is going to go no where fast if you do not have a quality leader on the center of the line. And if PITT didn’t have a good offensive line, it didn’t matter how much misdirection they had, their play-makers would have been getting tackled for loss more often than not. And the good news for Pat Narduzzi and PITT football, Alex Officer will be back as a RS Senior next season to lead this offensive line with a new Quarterback and starting Running Back.
PITT has always had solid offensive lines which has helped several star running backs build their draft stock and lead to long NFL careers. Which is why I love to call the University “Running Back U” and now that the coaches are starting to bring in solid Quarterbacks, this offense is quickly becoming one that should scare most teams on a weekly basis.
