Predicting how young offensive linemen will progress is almost as difficult as quarterbacks. So many things need to go right for an offensive lineman to become a plus player, especially in the SEC.
Offensive tackle Garrett Dellinger was thrown into the fire as a freshman last year. All things considered, he stood his ground.
He didn’t blow anyone away, but Dellinger looked like a competent player as a freshman tackle in the SEC. That’s a statement that’s not made a lot about young offensive tackles.
Having joined the team in the spring of 2021 as an early-enrollee, Dellinger has been with the Tigers for over a year now. He’s now entering his second offseason program with LSU and now gets a full spring under offensive line coach Brad Davis.
Bringing in tackles of Dellinger’s caliber is something LSU has struggled to do in recent years. Since 247Sports started tracking recruiting, LSU has signed just five tackles rated higher than Dellinger. One of those recruits was Ethan Pocic, who ended up moving to center.
It’s possible that Dellinger could follow a similar path as Pocic. With Liam Shanahan moving on, LSU lacks a true center. Davis recently said they’d be working out several players already within the program to fill the role, including Dellinger.
For Dellinger to make that move, he’d need to really excel at center or some of LSU’s other tackles would really need to impress. It would be hard to defend moving Dellinger inside only to watch LSU struggle on the outside.
In 2021, Dellinger saw time at guard as well. He played 82 snaps at left guard against Arkansas and did show some stuff. At other times, he looked like a freshman.
His first career start came earlier in the season at Ole Miss, where he played tackle. Again, he was inconsistent and didn’t see much time against Alabama the next week.
In Week 12, against Louisiana-Monroe, Dellinger got the start at left tackle and was PFF’s highest-graded lineman in the Power 5. Yes, it was against ULM, but putting that type of performance together was impressive and could be seen as a proof of concept for what Dellinger could be going forward.
LSU needs guys to step up on the offensive line. It’s a group that has presented a lot of problems for the Tigers over the last couple of years between not being able to protect the quarterback in 2020 and needing a lot of help to run block in 2021.
At the same time, Dellinger, along with the additions of Will Campbell and Miles Frazier, have brought some legitimate talent and potential to this group. Now that the talent is in the building, it just needs to be developed. That could start with Garrett Dellinger this fall.
[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbz5s7cf4w69e0n player_id=none image=https://lsutigerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]
[listicle id=47853]
Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.