IU offensive linemen adjusting to new roles during spring practice

For some offensive-line coaches, losing three starters to graduation might be a cause for concern. But for IU line coach Bobby Johnson this does not appear to be the case.\nLast fall, Chris Mangiero, Justin Frye and Scott Anderson all finished their careers with the Hoosiers, but IU will still be returning five different players who started at least five games on the front line.\n“It’s going to help a lot,” said junior John Sandberg, who started 11 games last season at guard. “We had a lot of guys rotating in last year, and a lot of guys get a lot of playing time. That always helps having a little advantage going into the season with guys with experience.”\nIn addition to the starting experience, the Hoosiers also return Frye, who comes back to help Johnson coach the front five.\n“It’s phenomenal,” Johnson said. “He was like a coach last year. Now I got a guy who’s an extra set of eyes and knows exactly what I’m trying to get out of the line. It’s like having a carbon copy of me out there.”\nAfter starting in all 12 Hoosier contests last season, including the last eight at center, Frye comes back to the team as a graduate assistant coach.\n“Last year as players, we had that camaraderie on the field,” Frye said. “Now just getting to help them, it’s not about me anymore. It’s about those guys. I enjoy helping them as much as I can.”\nThe Hoosier linemen had already started looking toward Frye as a coach, even as he was still playing.\n“To tell you the truth, it’s not much different, other than the fact that he’s not playing right next to me,” freshman Pete Saxon said. “Senior year he was already a coach. I think that’s why they hired him. He did such a good job coaching as a player, now he’s doing an even better job because he can focus on just coaching.”\nSaxon was one of two true freshmen to start on the line last season, along with Rodger Saffold. The two were part of a group of seven linemen in last year’s recruiting class dubbed by IU coach Terry Hoeppner as the “seven blocks of limestone.”\n“They’re just getting better with time,” Frye said. “They got to keep getting stronger in the weight room and keep playing now like they’re doing just getting reps. They’re all going to be great players.”\nThe younger guys will have the help of three seniors on next year’s squad in Sandberg, Charlie Emerson and Ben Wyss. Emerson and Sandberg each saw extensive playing time last season. Wyss, who comes into spring practice as the starting center, played in four games last season.\n“They’ve been great,” Johnson said. “I think it’s a natural progression that, when you go into your senior year, all of a sudden the light goes off in your head and you go, ‘Oh my goodness, I’m a senior. This is my last go-around.’ So they crank it up. They crank up effort level, they crank up their study habits for the game of football, and they start holding their teammates to a higher standard.”\nThe leadership ability of the seniors as well as the talent of the younger players have helped strengthen the depth of a line that helped IU gain an average of nearly 130 rushing yards per game during the 2006 Big Ten season. Johnson said the depth is the strongest aspect of his squad.\n“I don’t think we have any guys that are so far out ahead of the other guys,” he said. “I feel like I got some quality depth. If someone goes down I feel like I got a quality guy to go in and replace him. So every time you have quality depth you can just keep running in fresh bodies.”