Top 5 offensive linemen in college football right now
Now a month into the 2022 college football season, I decided it was time to rank the five best players for each position at this very moment. For clarification, these lists are based on where these young men are today as college football players. I’m in the business of projecting forward and evaluating them as draft prospects, but for this exercise, I tried to isolate them from their team and purely judge them on who could help me win games at the CFB level right now.
Here are the top five offensive linemen in college football right now:
#1. Peter Skoronski, Northwestern
Once again, this is not a draft ranking, but rather my take on where these players are as of right now. That’s why Peter Skoronski had to be at the top of the list for me – his technique is already pretty flawless. His aiming points and angles (whilst operating from a wide base and with good leg-drive) help create running lanes, along with a good enough grip on defenders to create that little bit of extra movement at the end.
In pass-protection, his weight distribution and hand-usage are super-consistent, and he clearly shows an understanding of the depth of the pocket. The best compliment I can give Skoronski is that his tape can be almost boring at times, because every rep is clean and there’s not much to note. As tremendous as Rashawn Slater was for the Northwestern Wildcats, there really hasn’t been much of a drop-off since this guy replaced him two years ago.
#2. Cooper Beebe, Kansas State
Talking about boring guys on tape (because of how good they are), I felt nothing like that watching Beebe’s tape. In particular, There's a clip from the Iowa State game last college football season in which he was putting a lot of guys I really liked defensively on rollerblades all day long in the run game. The way he explosive upwards through contact to create that initial momentum and his finishing mindset is a pleasure to watch.
Cooper Beebe (LG 50) making lanes!!! https://t.co/qWkh2sY54x
Looking at his pass-sets, he stays low and wide with his lower half, while featuring a strong punch and ability to grab guys to where they can’t get away from him. Being 6’3” with fairly short arms and just not being the lightest in terms of staying on an island made Beebe move inside to left guard.
#3. Jarrett Patterson, Notre Dame
Notre Dame has been one of the premier offensive line factories in college football for a long time. Particularly with position coach Harry Hiestand molding them along the way. He’s now back for his second stint with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, but there wasn’t much to work on with fifth-year senior Jarrett Patterson, who has moved over from center to left guard this season. Despite being fairly tall at 6’4”, he finds ways to create leverage and get underneath the pads of defenders, while being able to shield guys with his initial steps on the first and second levels regularly.
As much as Notre Dame is searching for an offensive identity, Audric Estime running behind a double team block from left tackle Joe Alt and left guard Jarrett Patterson is a good one. Note Patterson moving to the second level. https://t.co/XmYv0LDvK5
When occupied with a nose-tackle, Patterson is quick to land his hands and take control reps. If he’s free, his activity to scan and move laterally, keeping the A-gaps clean once he sees color flash from either side, has given Notre Dame one of the cleanest interiors of the pocket. What I love most about him, however, is his ability to get out in front and hustle in the screen game.
#4. Broderick Jones, Georgia
The next name up is a redshirt sophomore in just his first college football season as a full-time starter. Broderick Jones was a top-ten recruit in 2020, but only ended up starting four games (all at left tackle) through his first two seasons because of all the excellent linemen they’ve had at Georgia. He put his dominance as a road-grader on display to some degree down the stretch of the Bulldogs national championship run (where he can drive edge defenders out near the sidelines and just blow defensive tackles off their space on angular blocks).
It’s the improvement he’s shown as a pass-protector in 2022, that have really made him a top-tier tackle already at the college football level. His ability to gain ground initially, but stay square and force rushers to work through him (which is a very tough task, considering how strong his base is) has allowed him to lock down opposing pass-rushers so far.
#5. John Michael Schmitz, Minnesota
This was a tough choice because there were multiple worthy candidates for that fifth spot. Texas A&M’s Layden Robinson in particular is one of my favorite guard prospects ahead of next year’s draft. However, I ultimately settled on Minnesota’s John Michael Schmitz, who doesn’t get the shine he deserves. Just outside the top-1000 overall recruits back in 2017, Schmitz has started 23 games since the start of the 2020 COVID-shortened season. He has been one of the most consistent centers in college football, earning multiple All-Big Ten accolades.
He’s one of the most physical run-blockers in the nation, with great urgency out of his stance, bringing 320 pounds to the fight and having impeccable grip strength. He consistently makes sure the down-linemen are secured by either scooping up D-tackles or climbing up and bodying linebackers himself. He does a great job of slowly giving ground and re-positioning his base against power rushers when matched one-on-one. He is always looking for work and is quick to help out his guards when unoccupied. He’s a huge reason for the success of Mohamed Ibrahim this college football season.
Honorable mentions: Layden Robinson (Texas A&M), Jaelyn Duncan (Maryland), Emil Ekiyor Jr. (Alabama), Andrew Vorhees (USC), Paris Johnson & Luke Wypler (Ohio State), Anton Harrison (Oklahoma), Blake Freeland (BYU) & O’Cyrus Torrence (Florida)
You can check out all my other college football positional rankings here or as one piece on halilsrealfootballtalk.com