Offensive line adjusting to new leadership, ‘comfortable’ in new scheme

With the exit of former offensive linemen Dohnovan West and Kellen Diesch to the NFL Draft and the graduation of former offensive lineman Henry Hattis, there’s been a significant shakeup amongst the front five in Tempe.

Out of the entire starting offensive line, the only returner to stay in position from last season is senior guard LaDarius Henderson. His roommate, redshirt junior right tackle Ben Scott, made the move over to center with the departure of West.

“It’s not my first rodeo at center,” Scott said. “I was center two springs ago when we didn’t know if (former ASU o-lineman) Cade Cote was going to come back yet. So it’s going back to where I was originally. It’s not too bad working next to LD, (redshirt senior) Spencer (Lovell), and (transfer) Chris (Martinez); we are just building that chemistry again.”

Even before coming to ASU, Scott played center during his days at Saint Louis in his hometown of Honolulu. He shifted out to right tackle last season. However, Scott’s move to center is not the only change the offensive lineman has had to make this spring. Scott and Henderson are now two of the most experienced linemen on the roster and take the role of leader to the younger players in the group. Scott’s new position at center also carries some leadership weight.

“We have to step into that leadership role,” Scott said. “LD and I have to help these guys out, bring them together, bring the tempo of practice up and get everyone ready because the coaches can only see so much of what we are doing during practice. It’s good to have us two out there helping the young guys and the guys who aren’t really sure if they’re doing it right or not.”

“If we are in the huddle, I have to bring everyone together, get them on the same page and then get everyone on the right yard line and bring everyone up to the ball. I’m the one who sets the tone, so if I’m slow to get to the ball, everyone is slow, and if I go up there fast, make my calls and get everyone on the same page, we can go fast.”

Another veteran presence along the offensive line is Lovell, who has played in 28 games across his Sun Devil career. Lovell filled in for Hattis in seven games due to an injury to the graduate student while subbing in for four games to give the older player a break. Lovell explained how far he’s come in terms of relating to the mentality of the younger players and how he can help them improve.

“You think you know everything,” Lovell said. “Then you realize there are so many levels to how the game goes and so much you don’t know. So, we true to teach the little stuff to those guys, whether it be alignment of the d-line, what they might do, or the things we see such as blitzes and whatnot. It’s just about passing on knowledge.”

One of Lovell’s favorite young players is a second-generation Sun Devil, who will carry heavy expectations regarding his execution at tackle. Sophomore Isaia Glass worked under the tutelage of Kellen Diesch last year and hopes to apply the lessons he’s learned with a starting opportunity.

“That situation I was in, I got to get a little bit of an in-game feel, but also watch a guy who’s about to get drafted,” Glass said. “I felt like it was kind of the best of both worlds to learn, sit back and learn, but get a good taste of what it’s like to play football.”

Offensive linemen are known as the quiet workhorses in the shadows on any football team. They won’t showboat and chatter like wide receivers or defensive backs starving for the limelight. For the most part, they are all business, eager to contribute, and contempt with their product when it benefits the team. However, Glass doesn’t perfectly fit that mold. With north of 3,000 followers on Instagram, the sophomore loves to share various content on his Instagram story or Twitter.

“I just enjoy it,” Glass smiled. “I feel like a typical o-lineman is quiet and doesn’t really do anything like that. I guess I just try to embrace it and have fun. I don’t put too much thought into it, sometimes stuff catches on and blows up, but as long as I don’t let it distract me, I’m just gonna keep having fun and doing my thing.”

The hottest topic amongst the offensive linemen is adapting to offensive coordinator Glenn Thomas’ new scheme. Most of the players up front feel confident with the new system and how it works with their abilities.

“I feel like we’ve put a lot of stuff in, and it’s starting to click,” Glass said. “Things are flowing well; guys are starting to get the chemistry – quarterbacks, running backs, receivers – I think everything is starting to click. I’m really excited to see how we finish the spring out and go into fall.”

“We’ve made some mental errors because of the new playbook at the beginning, but we have new guys, so it’s been a clean slate coming into spring ball,” redshirt freshman Ezra Dotson-Oyetade said. “Everyone has to learn the new scheme and how everything operates, but I think we are doing good so far and picking it up and getting rolling. We looked pretty good today.”

“It’s been pretty good; we have been communicating a lot better,” redshirt freshman Armon Bethea added. “In high school, I played in an offense like this, so it was kind of a piece of cake adjusting to it.

“I think we have a good chance (of playing well),” Lovell said. “We have a good core group of guys who want to get better and a group of guys with experience under their belt. So as long as we keep wanting to get better and keep meshing together, we will be good.”

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