{"id":130762,"date":"2020-04-28T03:53:01","date_gmt":"2020-04-28T08:53:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=130762"},"modified":"2020-04-28T03:53:03","modified_gmt":"2020-04-28T08:53:03","slug":"lichtensteiger-weighs-in-on-ol-switch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2020\/04\/28\/lichtensteiger-weighs-in-on-ol-switch\/","title":{"rendered":"Lichtensteiger weighs in on OL switch"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SCOTT TRUXELL\/<\/strong>independent sports editor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Great, or at least very good offensive linemen are a key to any football team\u2019s success and four NFL teams used high draft choices on players they hope will solidify things up front.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those teams \u2013 the New York Giants selected Georgia tackle Andrew Thomas with the No. 4 overall pick, while the Cleveland Browns picked Alabama tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. at No. 10. The New York Jets followed with Louisville tackle Mekhi Becton at No. 11 and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers chose Iowa Tristan Wirfs at No. 13. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Kory Lichtensteiger knows a thing or two about playing offensive line in the NFL. File photo<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Of the four, the 6-5, 320 pound Wills played right tackle for the Crimson Tide, but is expected to fill a gaping hole by shifting to left tackle for the Browns. The others saw time at right and left tackle in college. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry is on record as saying \u201ctackles are tackles\u201d, while Alabama head coach Nick Saban said a successful switch is very possible, but not a guarantee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI do think he has all the physical attributes, the athleticism to be the kind of pass blocker you need to be on that side of the line,\u201d Alabama head coach Nick Saban told the website saturdaydownsouth.com<\/a>. \u201cBut I don\u2019t know how he\u2019ll transition. Nobody knows how anybody will. But I just know he\u2019s capable, he\u2019s smart enough and I think it will just be him getting enough repetitions that he develops a comfort zone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Van Wert County\u2019s Kory Lichtensteiger knows a thing or two about the rigors of the offensive line. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After graduating from Crestview High School, he lettered at Bowling Green State University from 2004-2007. While a member of the Falcons, Lichtensteiger played guard, then center, before embarking on an NFL career from 2008-2016, most notably playing guard and center with the Washington Redskins. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

When asked about making a switch for the pros, he echoed some of Saban\u2019s thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure they can make the transition between right and left given the proper time and reps,\u201d Lichtensteiger said. \u201cGetting those reps is going to be the challenge given the current situation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFirst rounders are often cut from a different cloth physically and athletically,\u201d he continued. \u201cThey should be able to make that adjustment very quickly, but it\u2019s never a guarantee.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wills is expected to be an opening day starter in Cleveland, with the others not far behind. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SCOTT TRUXELL\/independent sports editor Great, or at least very good offensive linemen are a key to any football team\u2019s success and four NFL teams used high draft choices on players they hope will solidify things up front. Those teams \u2013 the New York Giants selected Georgia tackle Andrew Thomas with the No. 4 overall pick, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-130762","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-22 19:34:48","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130762","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=130762"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130762\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=130762"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=130762"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=130762"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}