If you've been paying attention to Stanford football over the past several years (and obviously you have), you know the story of the Tunnel Workers Union. While Chris Marinelli was toiling at right tackle for the Cardinal in that seminal season of 2009, his father Jim, a member of Tunnel Workers Union Local No. 88 in faraway Quincy, Massachusetts, watched from three thousand miles away and recognized something. Just as he and his coworkers worked in relative anonymity on an infrastructure that allowed a city to grow and thrive, his son and his teammates on the Stanford offensive line were doing much the same thing. While Toby Gerhart was having a phenomenal season and earning accolades from all corners not located in the Downtown Athletic Club, it was the dominance of the offensive line, the blocking tight ends, and the fullback who made his success possible. The elder Marinelli and his union brothers adopted the unsung Stanford heroes and made them honorary members of Local 88, sending hats for the players and coaches responsible for all the dirty work.
And thus a Stanford football tradition was born. It's no secret that an offensive line is key to any football team's success, and so it has been with the Cardinal and the Tunnel Workers Union. The names and numbers have changed over the past eight years, but the mission remains the same: to move a player from Point A to Point B against his will. So let's take a look at some numbers so see how successful the different units have been since 2009.
Taking a look at the chart to the left, we see two different ways to measure an offensive line. On the one hand, there's tremendous consistency in the running game, which has always been and will always be the heart of the Stanford offense. The past eight seasons represent eight of the ten highest team rushing totals in recorded Stanford history, including the top six. Yes, there have been great running backs (Toby Gerhart, Stepfan Taylor, and Christian McCaffrey) amassing all that yardage, but the holes were opened by young men who have been strong enough to power through defenders, nimble enough to pull along the line of scrimmage, and athletic enough to head upfield into the second (or even third!) level of the defense.
As a result, there has been no shortage of hardware and accolades for the Tunnel Workers. All-Conference selections have been commonplace (the chart to the right doesn't even include several 2nd team All-Pac-12 nods), as well as three All-Americas, three Morris Trophies (awarded annually to the top lineman in the conference as voted on by his opponents), and Josh Garnett's Outland Trophy in 2015. Not surprisingly, many of Stanford's offensive linemen have been drafted and flourished in the NFL: David DeCastro, Cameron Fleming, David Yankey, Andrus Peat, Josh Garnett, and Kyle Murphy. It is a legacy of success that few schools can match.
But let's take another look at that first chart, specifically the third column. The offensive line allowed a mind-boggling 34 sacks in 2016, exceeding the total from years 2009, '10, and '11 combined. We can probably discount those first three years as outliers thanks to Andrew Luck, who made everyone on the field better, even his offensive linemen, but there's still a disturbing trend.
Last season was particularly befuddling. (You'll notice 2016 was the only year in the Tunnel Workers Era without an All-Conference selection.) Faced with the departures of elite linemen Garnett and Murphy, expectations were already slightly tempered, but the situation spiralled quickly when injuries ravaged the offensive line. Seven different players drew starts, four players started in different positions, and the longest streak with the same unit on the field came in the season's final five games. When I asked Coach Shaw if he could remember a season when he had endured so many injuries and reshuffled lineups with his offensive line, his answer was immediate: "Never in my life."
The good news regarding the line is that only Johnny Caspers has moved on. All of the other six regular or occasional starters return, giving the Cardinal depth and experience that wasn't there last season. When I asked Shaw what he knew for sure about this year's offensive line, he suggested that fifth-year senior David Bright would slide over to left tackle, and senior A.T. Hall would be back were he started last season at right tackle. He also mentioned that sophomore Nate Herbig, the largest Tunnel Worker on the roster at 339 pounds, would likely take one of the guard spots. It was surprising that he didn't mention senior Jesse Burkett, the only lineman to start all thirteen games in the same spot, as his center, but I'm guessing that was just an oversight. The remaining guard spot, then, would appear to be up for grabs, with senior Brandon Fanaika, the last remaining member of the vaunted Class of 2012, likely battling senior Casey Tucker for that job.
If there's something to watch for with this year's team, however, it will be the young offensive line talent. That 2012 class was phenomenal, and their production matched the hype that accompanied them upon their arrival, but over the next few years players in the Classes of 2016 and '17 will perhaps find similar success. While 2016 signee Clark Yarbrough made the difficult decision to retire from football this summer, this could be the year we see massive sophomore Devery Hamilton (6'7"/301) break into the rotation or perhaps even steal a starting spot.
While all of that is enough to strike fear in the hearts of any opposing defensive lineman, consider that Stanford signed the top two offensive line prospects in the nation last spring, Walker Little and Foster Sarell. The usual plan for offensive linemen is to redshirt during the first year on campus to work on technique and add bulk, but these two players are so talented and so big (both are 6'7" and north of 300 pounds), that it might not be necessary to wait. Size isn't everything when it comes to offensive line play, but it's still fun to think ahead to 2018 and imagine a line with five players over 300 pounds and three checking in at 6'7".
Regardless of how the five slots are filled this fall, the key will be health and consistency. If the lineup is settled early on and remains steady through the season, there won't be anything to worry about. Your jaw will drop as Bryce Love darts up the field for highlight film runs, you'll marvel at the time Keller Chryst has in the pocket to dissect a defense, but remember to give thanks for the young men who will make all that possible. The West Coast branch of Tunnel Workers Union, Local No. 88.
