Strong offensive line stands on shoulders of solid giants

Friday, October 16, 1998

Strong offensive line stands on shoulders of solid giants

FOOTBALL: Powerful group featuring old, new students achieves
incredible results

By Vytas Mazeika

Daily Bruin Staff

UCLA tailback Jermaine Lewis calls them giants. Considering the
fact they average a little more than 6 feet, 5 inches and 306
pounds, that comment may be an understatement.

They are the UCLA offensive line.

Left tackle Kris Farris (6-9, 310)

Left guard James Ghezzi (6-5, 290)

Center Shawn Stuart (6-5, 313)

Right guard Andy Meyers (6-4, 317)

Right tackle Brian Polak (6-3, 300)

They are in charge of protecting Heisman trophy candidate Cade
McNown and opening holes for a trio of talented tailbacks.

The offensive output for the Bruins (49 points against Texas, 42
at Houston, 49 against Washington State and 52 at Arizona) is the
only indication needed to show the success the offensive line has
had in 1998.

‘They’ve done a really good job, and developed and worked as a
unit,’ UCLA right-end coach and offensive-line tutor Gary Bernardi
said. ‘And for the most part they’ve stayed healthy.’

With two seniors (Stuart and Meyers) plus one junior (Farris)
returning from a line that sprung holes open for 1,200-yard running
back Skip Hicks (now in the NFL with the Washington Redskins), this
line had a solid foundation.

The question was whether or not Polak and Oscar Cabrera, both
sophomores, could step in for a team that finished 1997 with 10
straight victories. And when Cabrera suffered an ankle injury early
in the year, Ghezzi, a junior-college transfer, had to step in and
even more doubts set in.

But second-year offensive line coach Mark Weber and Bernardi
have succeeded in blending the old with the new.

After four games, the team has allowed only two sacks while
rushing for 17 touchdowns. The linemen are beginning to understand
each other as individuals, and the loss of guard Chad Sauter and
tackle Chad Overhauser is no longer a concern.

‘I think (our success) has a lot to do with our coach (Weber),’
Stuart said. ‘We haven’t had a coach that has been here for more
than a year since I’ve been here, and I’ve been here a long
time.

‘Our coach is doing such a great job of teaching the young guys
to play up to the level and getting us older guys to play better. I
think that shows how good of a coach he is and how skilled he is at
getting us to play.’

With UCLA’s complex offense, Weber needs his players to know
every play to perfection. Therefore a good offensive lineman will
only become great with plenty of practice.

‘There is no question that repetition is what makes offensive
linemen better,’ Weber said. ‘When a guy is in a program and runs
the play over and over and over again he’s going to get better. If
a guy is confused and doesn’t know what to do, then he’s not able
to be as physical as he needs to be.’

Strength and conditioning coach Kevin Yoxall is constantly
mentioned by the players too. Polak credits Yoxall for giving him
the physical and mental toughness to go the distance in games,
while Farris, one of 12 semi-finalists for the Rotary Lombardi
Award, says that Yoxall is as responsible as anyone else for his
success.

The overall strength is exemplified by the success and ease of
the running attack. Two people have the best viewpoint to describe
the way in which the offensive line has come together to become
both physical and effective: the opposing defense which gets pushed
around and the running back who takes advantage of those holes.

‘I can walk through those holes if I wanted to,’ Lewis said.
‘They’re doing an exceptional job and making things a lot easier
for us. They’re doing their job, they’re throwing people off the
ball and making huge running room.’

There is no doubt that UCLA has a physical offensive line. There
were doubts when teams like Texas and Houston downgraded the
physical nature of the Bruins, but in the last two games UCLA has
collected 256 rushing yards against Washington State and 297 yards
against Arizona. In each game the team also scored five rushing
touchdowns.

‘Last week we had 297 rushing yards against Arizona and that’s
one of the best stats that I’ve ever accomplished,’ Farris said.
‘That’s just such a great stat to have if you’re an offensive
lineman.’

Another great stat for the offensive linemen is the grades they
earn in the classroom. Weber praises his players for how smart they
are and the majority of the offensive linemen find their way onto
the Director’s Honor Roll with regularity ­ especially Meyers
(10 times) and Stuart (13).

Stuart is proud of his life on and off the field. He is the
father figure of the offensive line because he not only attends
graduate school, but he’s also married.

The stability off the field allows Stuart to perform better on
the field and take on the role of the intellectual leader of the
offensive line. He understands that every player needs guidance at
some point and Stuart is more than willing to provide that
leadership role.

McNown is yet another factor in the success of the offensive
line. Due to schemes, McNown’s ability to get rid of the ball
quickly and his scrambling ability, the offensive linemen can make
mistakes which don’t come back to haunt the team.

The only situation the Bruins must deal with right now is the
fact they have too much depth. Cabrera’s ankle is not 100 percent,
but he’s certainly ready to make a contribution. Ghezzi, who took
over for Cabrera, is finally comfortable playing along Division I
talent and will remain the starter this week.

‘They recruited me from junior college to play and I expected to
play,’ Ghezzi said. ‘I’ve got two years left and I came here to
play.’

But don’t expect Ghezzi and Cabrera to fight over who get the
playing time. Both come from the same area of Los Angeles and hang
out a lot of the time.

Their attempt to snatch the starting position at left guard will
in the end make each a better player.

‘It’s a friendly competition,’ Cabrera said. ‘Of course I want
to play. I want to play just as much as he does, so that’s the
competition.’

The veteran offensive linemen cannot mention enough times how
much the young players contribute. Ghezzi and Cabrera improve every
week, while Polak had the assignment of replacing Overhauser (now
with the NFL’s Chicago Bears).

‘I knew I had big shoes to fill and because of that I work real
hard in the off-season and in fall camp to make myself the best
player I can be,’ Polak said. ‘I know right now I’m just working to
be the caliber of player that (Overhauser) was.’

‘Polak has done an extremely good job,’ Stuart said. ‘If you
look back when Chad Overhauser first started, he had troubles and
he turned out to be an All-American. Polak has done an incredible
job. After four games to have only given up two sacks is an
incredible, incredible feat. And I think that more so than (Meyers
and Farris, and me) it has a lot to do with our newcomers.’

As long as the UCLA offensive linemen stay healthy, there will
be no more concerns the rest of the year. They have found the
players they need to replace the ones that graduated, and until
next year, the coaches will not have to look for more linemen.

‘You don’t get worried about the departure of Overhauser, you
just have to have someone to replace him,’ Meyers said. ‘When we
leave next year someone is going to have to take our place.’

Until then, these giants will do.Photos by GENEVIEVE LIANG/Daily
Bruin

(Left to right) 1998 UCLA offensive linemen Oscar Cabrera, Jim
Ghezzi, Brian Polak, Kris Farris and Andy Meyers (Shawn Stuart, not
shown) work as a unit.

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