Heel Tough Blog: 2025 Position Previews- OL

Anthony Pagnotta
Jul 29
9 min read

Updated: Jul 31

It’s that time of year again, folks. With the season fast approaching, it is time to give you a preview of what this roster is going to look like this upcoming season under new coach Bill Belichick. Today, we look at the unit that has undergone the biggest overhaul on the offensive side of the ball this offseason with eleven newcomers, including eight transfers.

Let’s start with the returning pieces that will be starting or challenging for starting roles this season. Redshirt senior Austin Blaske is back with the program and will factor in somewhere along the interior of the offensive line this season. Last year, he graded out with a 65.1 run block grade, an 84.5 pass block grade and a 69.5 overall grade, according to PFF, while failing to allow a single sack and allowed just five quarterback pressures in 780 snaps as the team’s center. In the ‘Practice Like a Pro’ event that the team held to close out the spring, he spent most of his time at right guard, so it will be interesting to monitor where he’s playing during fall camp.

Junior Trevyon Green looks destined to be the starting right tackle again despite all of the experienced options the team brought into the equation through the transfer portal. Last year, in 443 pass block reps, he allowed a team-worst 10 sacks and 40 total pressures, while grading out with a 49.3 pass block grade. He was much better as a run blocker, grading out at a 70.8 for the season, but he will simply have to improve in pass protection this year or the team will have to look elsewhere at the position to find someone who can protect the quarterback.

Sophomore Aidan Banfield is also back and is looking to reassume his role as the team’s starting left guard after handling that spot for most of last year. In 649 snaps last season, Banfield graded out with a 60.5 run block grade, a 63.0 pass block grade and a 61.4 overall grade while allowing three sacks and 19 total pressures. While those numbers might not be the best on the team, it is a solid start as a true freshman that was thrust into the starting lineup in his first college game. If he can prove to the staff that he is building off of what he did a year ago, there should at least be some role for him along this offensive front.

There are plenty of transfers who could factor into the rotation here along the offensive line. Troy transfer Daniel King feels like the best bet to win one of the starting jobs, likely at the guard position. King spent the last three years at Troy as a full-time starter splitting his time between left tackle, right guard and right tackle. In 2022 after transferring from Georgia Military Institute, he played 890 snaps, spending the 860 of them at right guard. He graded out with a 62.8 run blocking grade, a 74.4 pass blocking grade and a 65.2 overall grade while allowing two sacks and 13 total quarterback pressures. In 2023, he played all but one of his 963 snaps at right guard and posted a 66.4 run block grade, 75.5 pass block grade and 69.4 overall grade, he allowed five sacks and 15 total quarterback pressures in 520 pass block snaps on his way to earning second All-Sun Belt honors. This season, he rebounded nicely while splitting his 789 snaps between right guard (360) and right tackle (429), posting a 76.5 run blocking grade, a 79.6 pass blocking grade and a 75.8 overall grade while allowing just one sack and 10 total quarterback pressures on his way to earning second team All-Sun Belt honors once again. It feels like his perfect fit might be at that right guard spot, but he did play a lot of left guard in the spring. He should be a starter, but the position will be based on what the rest of the unit looks like.

Another guy who it feels like has a strong chance to start is Louisiana transfer Will O’Steen. O’Steen, a former unranked prospect on the defensive side of the ball, is a three year starter along the offensive line at the left tackle spot. Back in 2022, as a sophomore, he played in and started 11 games for the Gamecocks, but had a rough go of things, giving up three sacks and 17 total quarterback pressures and taking just one penalty. He graded out with a 55.2 run block grade, a 28.2 pass block grade and a 49.2 overall grade in 726 snaps. The next season, he took a huge leap, as graded out with a 67.0 run block grade, a 63.3 pass protection grade and a 67.8 overall grade in 996 snaps across 13 games, which he all started. He allowed just two sacks and 17 quarterback pressures in 401 pass block snaps and took just two penalties. This past season, though, was clearly the best year of his career, as he allowed just two sacks and eleven quarterback pressures on 396 pass block snaps and took just one penalty. His grades reflected this success, as well, grading out with a 76.4 run block grade, a 72.7 pass block grade and a 78.7 overall grade. Expect him to be the starter at left tackle this season unless someone else has taken a major step.

Holy Cross transfer Christo Kelly was the team’s starting center in the ‘Practice Like a Pro’ event and will be looking to prove that he is a part of the best five for the team. Kelly played in 36 games over the course of those five years, including 23 starts at center. He started every game that he played in over the last two years on an offensive line that was regarded as one of the best units in the FCS. In 2023, as a junior, Kelly played 526 snaps over the course of ten games, earning third-team All-Patriot League honors while earning a 66.8 run block grade, a 63.0 pass block grade and a 67.1 overall grade from Pro Football Focus. This past season, he played a career-high 778 snaps and was named a first-team All-Patriot League member while posting a 59.4 run block grade, a 65.4 pass block grade and a 61.5 overall grade. In his two seasons as a starter, he has yet to allow a sack and has allowed just 12 total quarterback pressures. Clearly, he has made some sort of impression on the staff since he was able to speak to the media earlier this summer, but fall camp will be all about proving that he is a part of that best five.

Alabama transfer Miles McVay is in a similar situation. He was a part of the starting unit for the team in the spring at left tackle, but might be losing that spot to O’Steen here in the fall. After playing just 28 snaps as a true freshman in 2023, McVay was on the field for 94 snaps, including 66 at left tackle this past season. The concern with McVay is how poorly he graded out in those snaps, as he received a 45.9 run block grade, a 44.7 pass block grade and a 45.3 overall grade from PFF, numbers that will need to improve if he is going to have any chance of factoring in this season for the team, even at a rotational spot.

Rice transfer Chad Lindberg was a guy that was expected to be more of a factor in the spring and has some work to do in the fall to make sure he is a part of the rotation. This season at Rice, Lindberg played and started in eleven games for the Owls across three different positions. He played 642 snaps last season, 377 of which came at left guard, 245 at left tackle, 17 at right guard and two at right tackle, showing just how versatile he is which could help him. He graded out incredibly well in pass protection with a 77.8 from Pro Football after allowing just one sack and 11 total pressures. He will have to improve in run-blocking scenarios after finishing the season with a 50.9 grade, something that was an issue for him in the limited snaps that he saw in 2023 at Georgia. He’ll need to be better than he apparently was in the spring to make sure he has a spot in the rotation.

Another late addition to the transfer class that is looking to factor into the rotation anywhere along this front is South Carolina transfer Jakai Moore. In those six seasons, he has played in 44 games and started 28 of those games across four positions (13 at left tackle, 7 at left guard, 4 at right guard and 4 at right tackle). In 2019, as a true freshman, he played 101 snaps and graded out with a 42.1 run block grade, a 51.8 pass block grade and a 43.5 overall grade according to PFF while allowing zero sacks and two total quarterback pressures. In 2020, he played 435 snaps split between the two tackle spots and graded out with a 79.7 run block grade, a 30.3 pass block grade and a 65.6 overall grade while allowing three sacks and 22 total quarterback pressures. As a junior in 2021, he played 249 snaps, all at left tackle, and graded out with an 84.2 run block grade, a 43.3 pass block grade and a 69.0 overall grade while allowing three sacks and eight total quarterback pressures. In 2022, he played a career-high 496 snaps, splitting time between left tackle and left guard, and graded out with a 51.8 run block grade, a 71.2 pass block grade and a 59.6 overall grade while allowing three sacks and just nine total quarterback pressures. As a senior in 2023, he played 479 snaps, splitting his time between all four spots but spending most of his time between the two guard spots. He graded out with a 52.5 run block grade, a 55.0 pass block grade and a 52.8 overall grade while allowing two sacks and 18 total quarterback pressures. Unfortunately, this past season he sustained a season-ending injury prior to the season, leading to him earning an extra year of eligibility for this season. All of the experience is great, but he needs to prove that he can be more consistent than he was in Columbia if he wants to be a part of the rotation this season.

Prairie View A&M transfer William Boone is another guy that will be battling to try to secure a spot in the rotation at the tackle spots. Boone, who measures at 6’7, 340 lbs., spent this season with the Panthers and had an outstanding year across the board. He played 782 snaps while starting all 12 games for the team, receiving a 62.3 run block grade, a 78.0 pass block grade and a 69.0 overall grade from Pro Football Focus. In 425 pass protection reps, he didn’t allow a single sack and gave up only 11 total pressures.

The last transfer, UAB transfer Jordan Hall, that will be with the team will likely be deeper on the depth chart. Hall, a former 3✮ prospect in the 2023 class, spent the last two years in Birmingham with the Blazers and saw action in twelve games, all of which came this past season with most of the action taking place on special teams. In the four games in which he saw offensive snaps, he played 156 snaps, including a career-high 83 in his lone start of the season against South Florida. In 114 pass protection reps, Hall allowed zero sacks but gave up nine total quarterback pressures. According to Pro Football Focus, he finished the season with a 64.5 run blocking grade, a 62.5 pass block, and a 54.9 overall grade. He has his work cut out for him if he is going to factor in this season.

Redshirt freshman Jani Norwood will be in a similar situation unless he can impress in fall camp. In 46 snaps last year, Norwood graded out with a 55.0 run block grade, a 44.6 pass block grade and a 53.5 overall grade, allowing one quarterback pressure in his most extensive action in the bowl game against Connecticut. He’ll have to prove to the staff that he is better than he was in that showing if he is going to challenge for a spot in the two-deep.

Two true freshmen actually have a legitimate shot to be in the two-deep on the interior of the unit when the season starts. Both Byron Nelson and Trey Blue spent the spring with the team and will both have an opportunity to prove they can be a part of the rotation in fall camp. Eidan Buchanan, who will play tackle, will likely have to wait a year before he gets an opportunity to prove himself.

Former walk-on Bo Burkes will round out the unit.

Projected Depth Chart:

#73 Will O’Steen, Sr.

#54 Miles McVay, So.

#66 Jordan Hall, So.

#68 Aidan Banfield, So.

#55 Jakai Moore, Sr.

#77 Trey Blue, Fr.

#58 Austin Blaske, Sr.

#53 Christo Kelly, Sr.

#57 Bo Burkes, Jr.

#52 Daniel King, Sr.