It will be at least October before a defensive player can say that he sacked University of Toledo quarterback Phillip Ely.
Toledo is one of two Football Bowl Subdivision schools — the other is Air Force — that has not allowed a sack so far this season. Through 118 passing attempts (39.3 per game), nobody has been able to nab Ely behind the line of scrimmage.
Five new players replaced five graduate students on the UT line after the 2014 season, and Toledo didn't decide on its offensive line rotation until the last week of August. The 3-0 Rockets have been able to lean on their offensive line a little more each week, leading coach Matt Campbell to say the group is further along than even he had hoped.
The stretch has been a pleasant surprise for the Rockets, who are finding their offensive line adapting to starting roles quickly.
“They've been getting better every week,” Ely said. “The camaraderie between them has been great, and I really see they're starting to mesh and trust each other. They have to have each other's backs as much as they have mine.”
Coming into the season, the Rockets only solid position was left tackle, where they knew Storm Norton would start.
As UT began this season, its offensive line was its biggest perceived weakness. So far, the offensive line has not held the Rockets back at all.
“I think that's a group that really took it personal since everybody told them they weren't going to be very good,” Campbell said earlier this season.
The Rockets seemingly connected on their first combination. Paul Perschon had stints at all five positions before settling at left guard this season; UT thought Elijah Nkansah could play all five spots but stuck him at right tackle.
Right guard Mike Ebert is a converted tight end, and graduate transfer Ruben Carter — who played multiple positions while at Florida State — won over the UT coaches as the starting center.
Even though the grouping was new on the field, four of the five starters have been at UT for at least three years together, so chemistry wasn't an issue.
“Ruben was really the first new guy we hadn't played with, and that [adjustment] was still really quick,” Perschon said. “We communicate really well, and that makes it easy when everybody communicates what they're doing.”
Toledo also forced its previously inexperienced group to compete with the Rockets' defensive line, the deepest position group on the team. Those exercises in spring practice and preseason camp quickly exposed flaws, but also prepared the offensive line for the live-game scenarios at which they have succeeded so far.
It turned out to be a beneficial series of tests.
“Having to go against really quality guys on our own defense day-in and day-out, that puts you under fire pretty quickly,” offensive line coach Tom Manning said. “I think that's really helped their development.”
Campbell and Manning also credited Ely, whom they said has been making quick decisions. UT assisted the line schematically in the early portion of its season, but has relied on the line to be more independent by the week.
The Rockets hope to see continued improvements in the running game, where they are averaging four yards per rush. Overall, the offense is averaging five yards per play.
At the core of Toledo's success on the offensive line is togetherness. Manning and the Rockets drilled into the five linemen that the more synchronized they were, the better they would be. So far, that has proved true.
“Whenever we did something bad, Coach Manning would ask what we did wrong, and it always had something to do with communication,” Perschon said. “I think it was in our heads that when we communicate really, really well, we do well.”
Contact Nicholas Piotrowicz at: npiotrowicz@theblade.com, 724-6110, or on Twitter @NickPiotrowicz
First Published September 30, 2015, 4:33 a.m.
