This past weekend the CU Buffs continued to add to their underperforming unit upfront, by bringing in transfer Jack Bailey from Kent State.
Bailey spent the last two seasons playing with Bill O’Boyle as his offensive line coach and Sean Lewis as his offensive play-caller, both of whom hold the same positions with the Buffaloes.
That familiarity should ease his transition into the program, and, according to O’Boyle, will help the progression of the players surrounding him on the CU Buffs’ OL, both mentally and in terms of the team’s toughness.
“Jack [Bailey] not only brings a bit of the mental part of it — of knowing our system — but he’s [also] a tough guy,” Coach O’Boyle told the media on Tuesday. “And that’s what we’re lacking. Jack’s a battler, he’s a tough kid, I’m happy as heck to know he’s coming in, because I know what he brings. Not only just on the game day or in scrimmages or anything else, but Jack, in individual [drills], is one of those guys that is constantly working, man. That guy wants to get better every rep, and you need that, especially [with] offensive linemen. Cause they’re gonna learn from me, but they’re gonna learn more from those guys around them more than me.”
That’s going to be vital, especially as the Buffs run into some early speed bumps with the installation of the new-look offense.
“[That concern] is still there,” Coach O’Boyle replied with a smirk when asked if he still held the belief that the offensive line needed to greatly improve their physicality. “We’ve gotta learn to drop our pad level and our run our feet. Just working the run fits is something that I wish we had 70 days in spring ball [for], to be honest with you. I know [the players] don’t want that, but it’s something where we have to be able to work a run fit, to be able to fit on a defensive lineman and get him vertical, and be able to run our feet. I know I’ve said that 50 times, but it has to be second nature for them. They have to be able to take those steps in their sleep. That’s what we’re working on right now — just the basic fundamentals.”
Fans of the CU Buffs should get their first glimpse of what the remodeled offensive line looks like during April 22nd’s spring game.