West Liberty University offensive line coach Dan Hopkins had a pretty good season in 2009. Four of his charges earned All-WVIAC honors, three of them were All-Region selections and one – All-American Ben Staggs – won the Gene Upshaw Award as the NCAA Division II Lineman of the Year.
The good news for Hilltopper fans is that Hopkins is even more excited about the 2010 campaign.
“We have a chance to be a really good offensive line this season,” Hopkins said. “We have more depth in terms of players that I’m comfortable with playing than we’ve had since I’ve been here. Coming out of preseason camp, I’d say there are 10 or 11 guys that I wouldn’t be afraid to send into a game.”
Replacements must be found for three starters – graduation casualties Staggs and All-Region guard Tim Ickes along with honorable mention All-WVIAC tackle Will Alvarez, who is sitting out this season – but the cupboard is far from bare.
By the end of preseason camp, a “California Dreaming” front line appeared to be taking shape on the hilltop with all five players having begun their collegiate careers on the California junior-college circuit.
All-Region center Nick Madia (6-1, 305, sr.) returns as a Preseason All-America while Dan Srch (6-1, 305, jr.) is back at right guard. Both players started all 13 games at WLU a year ago.
Highly-touted Jose Baez (6-1, 310, jr.) steps in at left guard after impressing on scout teams as a redshirt juco transfer last year.
A pair of twin towers arrived on campus this month to fill the tackle spots. Ryan Scaperotta (6-6, 315, jr.) and Larry Wreidt (6-6, 340, jr.) are nearly big enough to block out the sun along with enemy pass-rushers.
“It’s no secret we have some pretty good skill people coming back,” Hopkins said. “Our role on the offensive line is to give them time to operate and create opportunities for them to do what they do.”
Senior veterans Ben Davis (6-3, 285, sr.) and Ralph Petrella (6-2, 295, sr.) combine experience with versatility. Both players have several starting assignments on their West Liberty resumes and are capable of stepping in at tackle, guard or center.
Sawyer Russell (6-4, 315, fr.), a transfer from Hargrave Military Academy who started at left tackle throughout spring drills, was limited by an injury during preseason camp but is back at full strength and pushing hard for playing time.
Randy Lemus (6-1, 290, jr.), another California juco product who was battling for a starting guard spot in preseason a year ago before suffering a season-ending injury and taking a redshirt a few days before the opening game, has been working at guard along with impressive true freshman Nate Maleski (6-3, 290, fr.). Mark Jarrett (6-6, 240, jr.) has experience at tackle while redshirt freshman tackle Conor Leckey (6-4, 285, fr.), a native of Northern Ireland, continues to develop in his second year with the program.
True freshmen Josh Hronowski (6-7, 285, fr.), Brian Wells (6-1, 295, fr.) and Tyler Tanner (6-5, 325, fr.) showed enough in preseason camp to offer good promise for the future.