BLOG 1: Bulldogs plugging holes on the offensive line

By Sandy Gholston

BIG RAPIDS – Ferris State University does have some experience on its offensive line, but it also has some spots that need to be filled.

Ferris State University's Tim Hogue carries the ball near the sideline where he is pursued by teammates Kyle Williams (14) and Jordan Moore (6) during a scrimmage. (Photo/Sandy Gholston)

Returning starters for offensive coordinator Matt McCarthy's line are Brad Bammert, a junior tackle; Matt Wellman, a sophomore tackle; and a center, Joe Doman, that could see some time at guard. That is the good news for an offense that has some new players filling in at key positions like receiver (to fill in for the losses of Nate Fricke, Mike Guevara and Robert Miller), quarterback (C.J. Van Wieren) and possibly running back (depending on the status of some returning Bulldog veterans).

The success of the new guys who will fill in will all start up front with the likes of Bammert, Wellman and Doman leading the way. The line is reloading after losing All-GLIAC star guard Bill Bourdlais.

"We've got some new guys we're going to be mixing in with some of our guys who have gotten a little more of a chance to play for us up front during the last year or two," said McCarthy, who will be doing a lot of evaluating with the rest of the staff this week as the team plans to solidify its depth chart in preparation for Tiffin. "We are going to do some shuffling on our line. We've been looking at moving Doman from center to guard."

If McCarthy sticks with moving Doman to guard he says that Scott Shattuck, a sophomore, could step in at center. Shattuck will be in contention for one of the remaining two spots while Big Rapids native Jake Hancock, a redshirt freshman, could also see some time up front. Alex DeKok, Tom Thornton, Josh Brenning and Joe Voiles also entered camp looking to compete for playing time.

If you have any questions, ideas or comments feel free to contact Sandy Gholston at sgholston2@netzero.com