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PROVO -- The offensive line for the BYU Cougars, like many other teams, is the anchor of the offense. Particularly for BYU, the offensive line has been somewhat of a legacy over the years.
With a sudden change at quarterback coming in the middle of last week's game against Utah State, the offensive linemen have had to adjust to different situation depending on which quarterback they block for.
"You pretty much know where [Heaps] is at, he's more of a pocket guy," said senior Outland Trophy, Lombardi Award, and All-America candidate Matt Reynolds. "With Riley scrambling it's going to change then when you just have a guy stationary. I have to read a defender, try and watch his eyes."
Regardless of who they're blocking for, the offensive linemen try to keep a jovial competition within their position group.
"Knock downs. Two years in a row, [Hansen] is the knock down champ. We count how many times we either knock a guy to the ground or cut a guy," said junior Braden Brown. "We add them at the end of the season, and whoever has the most brings home a nice boxing glove that says: ‘K.O. Champ.' That's kind of our little competition between offensive linemen."
Without further ado, here is a list of the key offensive linemen for BYU this season.
Matt Reynolds - Playing for BYU since the 2007 season, Reynolds has been apart of many different BYU offenses. The third of four brothers to play linemen for BYU, Reynolds continues on a family legacy that is one of the most well known to all Cougar fans. Reynolds looks to improve his NFL stock and has become a potential first round pick in the draft next year.
"I think [Matt's] looking the best I've seen him look. He's in great shape. He does the extra conditioning and leads the group," said offensive line coach Mark Weber. "He's playing harder each day. He's working his fundamentals."
Braden Hansen - At the start of the 2011 season Hansen was named to the Outland trophy watch list, which is an award that goes to the best college football interior linemen in the nation. At 6-feet 6-inches and 305 lbs., Hansen brings a lot of the physical ability, and fire that the offensive line as a whole has harbored for the entire BYU team.
"We do a lot of meetings together; we do a lot of barbecues together. I feel as an offensive line we're united," said Hansen. "That moves on to the offense, and the defense. We're really united as a team."
Terrence Brown - Starting since his sophomore season at BYU, Brown made the watch list for the Rimington Trophy award; an award that goes to the best college football center in the nation. At 6-feet 4-inches and 318 lbs., Brown makes it very hard for defensive linemen to penetrate, and gives a lot of comfort to the quarterback for holding off the nose guard. For Brown, confidence has not been a problem for the Cougars.
"I feel like we've come in every week feeling confident. Certain things happen. I think confidence is high," said Brown. "We're confident in each other, we're confident in the coaches and the decisions they make."
Braden Brown - At 6-feet 6-inches and 301 lbs., Braden Brown rounds out a very physical, very big offensive line. Brown is a returning starter from last season, with experience every year he's been at BYU. Brown shows a lot of promise on the offensive line with his unusual speed for his size.
Houston Reynolds and Marco Thorson make sizeable contributions to the offensive line as well. Reynolds has been battling an injury on and off, and has had to take practices at a slower pace every now and then. Thorson has been able to come in and give relief to many of the starters on the offensive line with his 6-foot 3-inch, 305-pound body.
With these bruising offensive linemen, the quarterback for BYU has been able to have plenty of time to make his reads, which showed last Saturday against Utah St. The Aggies were unable to reach the quarterback the entire game due to the grit from the linemen.
"We may be doing a lot of the same things, but if we're staying the same, it's not good," said Matt Reynolds. "We're always focused on improving."
Freshman Ryker Mathews showed a lot of promise in fall camp and likely have played regularly, however his season ended before it started with surgery on his injured foot.
Email: onlinesports@ksl.com
