Gibbs at Left Tackle

As has been reported in a couple of places including Kevin Gorman's blog for the Tribune-Review it looks as though Jordan Gibbs is in the pole position for the left tackle position at the start of camp. Gibbs, the redshirt freshman, is quite the physical specimen and a natural left tackle. What this means is that Jaosn Pinkston will move over to right tackle and compete with Joe Thomas.

This development is fairly intersting in that it appears new offensive line coach Tony Wise is going to go with his set of five players, not looking at past performance. I'm exctied about the prospect of a legitimate competition for the offensive line spots. In previous years the coaching staff seemed to side with experience rather than talent/upside in order to create the offensive line depth chart.

Looking at the competition at right tackle my best bet is that Pinkston will be able to take over Thomas for the starting spot. Pinkston was a bright spot early in the season last year and seems to have the ability to be a productive member of the line. Thomas is one of the biggest enigmas on the team with his good performance freshman year and the massive dropoff he suffered last year. He has by all indications been doing the work in the offseason in order to be prepared for this season but with the shuffle of Pinkston to right tackle he is going to have a difficult time getting into the starting lineup. Either way this battle pans out the offensive line is only going to get stronger and more versatile.

Kevin Gorman's Trib Blog on the Morning Session of Camp