BOONE, N.C. — As receiver
Thomas Hennigan weaved his way across the field, catching a short pass near the right sideline and gaining 51 yards before running out of bounds along the left sideline, Appalachian State's offensive linemen gave chase.
The final result was worthy of a film-room freeze frame. There were 10 offensive players near the spot, including all five linemen, and only four defenders.
"That was pretty cool to freeze the picture and see your guys hustling downfield to block for a teammate," App State co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach
Shawn Clark said.
The Mountaineers (8-4) head into their Dollar General Bowl matchup against Toledo (11-2) on Saturday night in Mobile, Ala., with a three-game winning streak. A strong finishing push from the offensive line is one reason why App State outscored its last three Sun Belt opponents by a combined score of 121-30.
The line has protected senior quarterback
Taylor Lamb well all season, ranking second nationally with only eight sacks allowed, and Appalachian averaged 311.0 rushing yards a game during its winning streak to close the Sun Belt schedule. A week before the streak began, redshirt freshman
Ryan Neuzil stepped in at left guard to join sophomore left tackle
Victor Johnson, true freshman center
Noah Hannon (no bad snaps in 801 shotgun plays this year), senior right guard
Colby Gossett and senior right tackle
Beau Nunn.
"Neuzil, he came in, and he's done an awesome job in everything we've needed to do, and Noah's gotten more comfortable," Nunn said. "The comfort with the guys, you can really tell the last couple games with how we've been able to run the ball really well."
Sun Belt coaches and media members recognized the effort.
With Gossett at 45 consecutive starts, Nunn at 40 career starts and Johnson at 25 straight starts, all three linemen made the All-Sun Belt first team. It marked the first time in Sun Belt history that three offensive linemen from the same school made the first team.
All five of the current starters have graded out at 78 percent or higher based on the objective evaluations from App State's staff, which gives a plus or minus to a lineman following a review of each play. Nunn leads the group at 84 percent, and his grade is even higher from the PFF College Football site, which has him 19th nationally among FBS offensive tackles with an 86.6. Three other line starters for App State are at 80.5 or higher.
"The most successful lines I've been around have played together for a long time," Clark said. "With three of five starters returning, you're starting a true freshman at center, and you're working to find the guard, and it just takes time. Neuzil, he gives us a shot in the arm, and you could see as they went on, it just kind of gelled over the last game and looked like a seasoned offensive line out there."
The 6-foot-6, 320-pound Gossett has a team-leading 68 knockdowns and 17 pancake blocks this season for the Mountaineers, who scored a touchdown on nine of their 11 possessions in the regular season finale against Louisiana.
App State rushed for 357 yards in that 63-14 victory, one reason
Jalin Moore was able to overcome a series of injuries to lead the Sun Belt in rushing, and Lamb threw for 242 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions or sacks. According to PFF College Football data, his passer rating of 124.0 with a clean pocket this year ranks fifth nationally.
The only FBS team with less sacks allowed than App State is run-oriented Army, which has given up one while totaling only 61 pass attempts in 12 games, and the Mountaineers are on the verge of making it four straight years with a top-16 national ranking in sacks allowed.
"The biggest key is the quarterback," Clark said. "There's timing to that, and Taylor has learned it — you can't hold the football forever and be successful. Those guys take a lot of pride in it, the running backs take a lot of pride in it, the tight ends. When you give up a sack, they're down on themselves, but if you do give one up, you have to have quick memory loss and move on to the next play."
