Texas A&M football spring game takeaways: Cushing could be the best hire Elko made
You'd be forgiven for not seeing this due to the dominance of the defensive front, but the offensive line looked improved by leaps and bounds. Of course, you expect some spotty play when you have to form two lines from your scholarship players, but as a whole, things looked really good, technically speaking.
When guys got beaten, it just looked different. Here's what I mean: under the previous regime, there were far too many times where offensive linemen looked as though they had no idea what was happening in the play. Free rushers were allowed too often.
During this spring game, though, there was a notable difference. Guys were still getting beaten, yes, but it wasn't because they were out of position or doing something completely wrong. Now, I know there were probably a few technique things that needed to be cleaned up, but for my money, the disparity in coaching between what we saw in this year's spring game and what we saw all of last year was massive.
Thinking about who may be the starting lineup for the Aggies up front is exciting. Bringing in Koli Faaiu, the Utah transfer, could give Texas A&M football a great answer at center. At the very least, he'll push both Foster and Nabou in camp. Between Reed-Adams, Dewberry, Bisontis, Ogunbiyi, and the aforementioned Nabou, I feel great about the guard spots. I loved what I saw out of both Zuhn and Dametrious Crownover, not to mention Rueben Fatheree.
Given the rapid recruiting success that Cushing has had, and the tangible results we've seen on the field, he may be the most impressive coach that Elko has yet brought in. There's a lot yet left ot prove, but early returns are impressive.