Despite losing three starting offensive linemen from last season’s Alamo Bowl-winning squad, UW is set to continue its tradition in the trenches through 2003.
Offensive-line coach Jim Hueber has developed a reputation for producing top-flight offensive linemen. This will be his 12th year at Wisconsin, and this season appears to be no exception.
Dan Buenning and Jonathan Clinkscale, the Badgers’ two returning offensive guards, highlight a group of players with a lot of big-game experience already under their belt. So, while the loss of center Al Johnson and tackles Jason Jowers and Ben Johnson may have realigned leadership roles on the offensive line, this year’s Badger O-line appears ready to get the job done.
“[My role] has definitely changed from Al (Johnson) being the leader, to me and ‘Clink’ being the leaders,” Buenning said. “They’ll (the Johnsons and Jowers) be missed. They were some great guys; they’re all in the NFL right now. It’s hard to replace them at first, but our guys are coming along really well, so we’ll be all right.”
Jonathan Clinkscale, like Buenning, is also ready to step up and be a leader on this year’s team.
“Last year I didn’t have to be too vocal with making calls or anything like that. But this year me and Dan will be taking a little bit more of a leadership role,” Clinkscale said. “Those players will be missed because they were pretty good players, but we have some pretty good players coming up behind them that are confident that they will be able to do the job.”
Although they’ve had a limited amount of time together as a starting unit, the offensive line has been gelling quickly and has made a lot of progress.
“The whole unit is coming together pretty well,” said Clinkscale, who has started 20 of UW’s last 22 games. “We all communicate real well with each other. So we should be good.”
“We’re gelling pretty good right now. We hang around together quite a bit, both on and off the field. So we know what each other are thinking … as long as we stay focused, we should be pretty good,” added Buenning.
This year’s Badger receiving corps has been the focus of fans and media talking about how UW will fare this season. Granted, Lee Evans, Brandon Williams and the other Badger wide outs will be vital to Wisconsin’s level of success in 2003; but if quarterback Jim Sorgi doesn’t receive the necessary amount of time he needs to find the open man, it could be a long season for the Badgers.
Buenning, Clinkscale and the Badger big men appear ready to take on the task. “We’ve been working on pass protection a lot just because we had a lot of trouble with that last year,” Buenning said. “I don’t know if we’re going to pass more or not in the games … it just depends on what happens in the game.”
In the Badgers’ matchup with West Virginia last weekend, the offensive line gave Sorgi and the other skill position players the time they needed to finish crucial drives late in the games. While Evans, Sorgi and Davis will be the ones that show up on the stat sheets and in the headlines, Sorgi was quick to point out the UW offensive line’s role in Wisconsin’s final two scoring drives.
“I thought the offensive line played superb. I don’t think they could have played any better,” Sorgi said following the Badgers’ 24-17 victory over the Mountaineers. “They came up big on that one drive where we needed to punch it in to get the last score. They did what they’re supposed to do.”
This Saturday, Wisconsin will square off against the Akron Zips in UW’s first home game of the season. Among other things, UW’s offensive line will be focusing on protecting quarterback Jim Sorgi and opening running lanes for tailback Anthony Davis.
“(Against Akron) we’ll just be working on our goals,” Buenning said. “We need to protect Sorgi as best we can, cover him up, run the ball well and come up with a win.”
“(Against Akron) it will just be business as usual: make sure our running backs get a lot of yards and make sure the quarterback doesn’t get sacked,” added Clinkscale.
Wisconsin has had a history of churning out NFL-caliber offensive linemen, and this year should be no exception. In 2003, returning guards Dan Buenning and Jonathan Clinkscale will join center Donovan Raiola and tackles Mike Lorenz and Morgan Davis in an effort to continue the legacy that is UW offensive-line play.
