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Bulls' line is shaping up

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By SCOTT CARTER | The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 8, 2009

Updated: 11/08/2009 12:22 am

TAMPA - During most of his time at the University of South Florida, Coach Jim Leavitt has watched his offensive linemen shuffle in and out nearly as much as passengers on a New York subway.

"I don't believe there has been an entire year yet that USF's entire line has stayed intact the entire year," said Chaz Hine, the starting left guard. "We have good depth, and everybody is happy about that."

The Bulls have never been particularly stable up front, but this season has been a different story, thanks in large part to players like Hine, a sophomore who made the preseason depth chart irrelevant because of his improvement.

A former walk-on, Hine impressed Leavitt enough during two-a-days to earn a scholarship. How has that decision worked out?

Hine has played in all eight games, starting seven until coming off the bench against West Virginia after fighting the flu in the week leading up to the game.

"Chaz has been a good player," Leavitt said. "I didn't think a year ago that Chaz would be our starting left guard. I didn't put him on (scholarship) because I (never) thought he would start for us."

But the emergence of Hine and other young linemen such as sophomore Jeremiah Warren, the primary starter at left tackle, and redshirt freshman Mark Popek, who made his first career start at right tackle against West Virginia, has stabilized a unit that some had targeted as the primary reason for USF's second-half collapses the past two years.

But entering Thursday's game at Rutgers, Leavitt has seven regulars on the line, and if needed, he is confident in sophomore Kevin McCaskill as the eighth in the mix.

The regular starters are Warren and Hine on the left side, Sampson Genus at center, and Zach Hermann and Jake Sims on the right side. Reserve Jamar Bass started for Warren against West Virginia when Warren moved to guard to replace Hine.

It's that kind of versatility that has the Bulls in position to avoid some of the late-season struggles up front in the final quarter of the season.

"You hope as you go through the season they build and get better each and every week," co-offensive line coach Larry Scott said. "Right now, we're seeing some of that; we're seeing progress. As long as we keep doing that and keep building through the end of the season, I think they have a chance to be a pretty good group."

Former USF offensive coordinator Greg Gregory, now at South Alabama, told Fanhouse.com recently that he thought the offensive line was the weak link the past couple of seasons. Each season, USF started 5-0 but struggled down the stretch.

"Offensively, I felt there wasn't enough depth on the offensive line," Gregory told Fanhouse.com. "There wasn't enough competition to push guys, and there weren't enough guys (to practice) so the starters wore down. We deteriorated up front at midseason."

Hine, who played at Newsome High, is the poster boy for USF's rebuilt line.

"He has been grading out as the best offensive lineman this year because he plays hard every snap, he doesn't make mistakes and he's focused," Leavitt said. "It means a great deal to him."

Hine still remembers when Leavitt told him he was gaining a scholarship, making all the hard work worth every drop of sweat.

"I was ecstatic about that," Hine said. "I wanted to be a starter this year, and I was able to accomplish that. As a walk-on, sometimes you question how much you mean to a program. You know you weren't offered a scholarship in the beginning. When you do get a scholarship, you realize how much value you have to the team."

Right now, the Bulls' entire offensive line's value is on the rise.

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