Bowl season just kicked off over the weekend with a trio of exhibitions. It kicks into full force in the coming days. It’s a good time to update some positional rankings.
As of now, this is how I rank the offensive tackles. It’s a very impressive class overall, with a few different flavors that will appeal to certain teams more than they do others. I broke down a little of that with Joe Alt and Olu Fashanu here.
Note: I rank Duke’s Graham Barton as an interior OL. He’d be sixth on this list.
1. Joe Alt, Notre Dame
What stands out: Power in his long arms and his willingness to use it
2. Olu Fashanu, Penn State
What stands out: Fluid athleticism and pass protection technique
3. Jordan Phillips, Arizona
What stands out: Physical strength and outside pass protection skills
4. Patrick Paul, Houston
What stands out: Athleticism and upside to master his technique
5. Amarius Mims, Georgia
What stands out: Range in pass protection and power on reach blocks
6. Taliese Fuaga, Oregon State
What stands out: Incredible power and leg drive while engaged
7. Troy Fautanu, Washington
What stands out: Run blocking in space and overall footwork
8. Tyler Guyton, Oklahoma
What stands out: Movement skills and fluid athleticism on the edge
9. Dominick Puni, Kansas
What stands out: Initial quickness and ability to recover when losing initial battle
10. J.C. Latham, Alabama
What stands out: Size and upper-body strength, as well as coordination with his guard(s)
11-20
11. Kingsley Suamataia, BYU
12. Javon Foster, Missouri
13. Jack Nelson, Wisconsin
14. Marques Cox, Kentucky
15. Kiran Amegadjie, Yale
16. Walter Rouse, Oklahoma
17. Jonah Monheim, USC
18. Matt Goncalves, Pittsburgh
19. Reuben Fatheree, Texas A&M
20. Ladarius Henderson, Michigan
