SPRINGDALE — Don Struebing has a simple way to motivate the players on Springdale Har-Ber’s offensive line. When the Wildcats rush for 250 yards or more in a game, he buys them all double cheeseburgers.
Th e strategy has wo rked extremely well for the Wildcats, who have rushed for 2,287 yards, averaging about 208 yards per game.
“The offensive line is a different kind of group, one of the most unique in sports,” said Struebing, Har-Ber’s offensive line coach. “We have tall guys, short guys, fat guys — we’re like a melting pot, really. And the key factor is we’re all motivated by food.
“That’s where the cheeseburger idea came in, and it’s worked really well.”
Har-Ber’s offensive line is certainly unique, with six juniors and only one senior.
Every starter — left tackle Les Butler, left guard James Johnson, center Jonathan Blake, right guard Daniel Garcia and right tackle Brey Cook — has contributed greatly this season, providing the needed protection for quarterback Ryan Luther and running backs Gordon Welch and Tre Tyler.
Juniors Sam Engel and Trevor Woodward have also contributed this season at right and left guard. Both players don’t start, but instead rotate into the game to give the starters a rest, Struebing said.
“This group has been really great; they’re great guys to be around,” Har-Ber coach Chris Wood said. “When we do well as an offense, it’s because of those guys and what they do up front. Everybody knows the battle starts up front with those guys.”
Struebing said that, while his players need to work on pass blocking and catching on to opponents’ schemes, he’d like them concentrating on one other area — getting meaner.
“Those guys are too nice sometimes. I’d like them to be grittier,” joked Struebing. “Sometimes they’re a little timid or whatever, they gotta get mean in there. That’s what it’s all about.”
The line has been led by Cook, who at 6-foot-6 and 284 pounds, has received plenty of attention from collegiate coaches around the country. To date, Cook has received offers from Miami, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Auburn, Tulsa and Oklahoma.
“This line is great to be around. We’ve had a ton of fun this year,” Cook said. “We’ve worked hard to get where we’re at, and we’re all just staying focused on the big goal, going to Little Rock.”
Butler said the off ensive line’s biggest improvement deals with learning to work with each other and make each other better players.
“If we’re not doing something right, we tell each other,” Butler said. “In a lot of ways, we’re a family and we treat each other like that. It feels great when we do well as an off ense because we know that started with us. We just want to keep doing that so we can win two more games.”
Comments
To report abuse or misuse of this area please hit the "Suggest Removal" link in the comment to alert our online managers. Please read our comment policy.
Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.
Registration is required to make comments. Click here to LOGIN.
You can register for FREE to post comments and receive alerts.