2024 Offensive Line Unit Rankings: LSU, Texas and Georgia headline Top 10 rooms this fall
With spring practice in the books and the second transfer portal window closed, it’s time to kickstart our summer series evaluating 2024 positional unit rankings.
I debuted the series with a look at the 10 best quarterback rooms, and then ranked Top 10 running back units in 2024, the best tight end rooms and the top receiver units this fall.
We conclude the offensive side of the ball with the big uglies, ranking the Top 10 offensive line units this season.
Notably, the two finalists for the 2023 Joe Moore Award don’t make the cut this season, as Washington and Michigan lost the bulk of their depth charts to the NFL and transfer portal.
Still, many of the top contenders for the 2024 national title feature really strong OL rooms, while several programs looking to crack the CFP also have solid units.
The Top 10 offensive line rooms in 2024:
1. LSU
The Tigers have a pair of potential 2025 Top 10 picks at offensive tackle this fall, as Will Campbell and Emery Jones enter their junior seasons with two years of starting experience.
Campbell is in contention for the No. 1 overall pick next April, while Jones graded out as the fourth-best tackle in the SEC in 2023, per PFF. LSU also returns both starting guards in Miles Frazier and Garrett Dellinger. The Tigers are breaking in a new starting center (DJ Chester), but if there’s one concern with the unit, it’s that the depth was sapped a bit by the portal departures of Lance Heard and Marlon Martinez.
2. Texas
Longhorns left tackle Kelvin Banks is in contention with Will Campbell for the best OT in college football this fall. Along with Banks, Texas brings back three other starters up front including former 5-star DJ Campbell and fifth-year senior center Jake Majors. Majors has 41 career starts and is one of the more consistent centers in the country.
Position coach Kyle Flood as done an excellent job building depth in his OL room, as former blue-chip signee Cam Williams, who was originally committed to Oregon, is set to take over at right tackle.
3. Georgia
The Bulldogs arguably should’ve won the Joe Moore Award back in 2022, and Stacy Searels has his unit positioned to contend for the prestigious award a couple years later thanks to a gluttony of experience and depth (six 2024 signees).
Georgia must replace Amarius Mims, a Top 20 NFL Draft pick, and longtime center Sedrick Van Pran, but they bring back six guys with starting experience including guards Tate Ratledge and Dylan Fairchild plus promising left tackle Earnest Greene.
4. Alabama
The Crimson Tide’s offensive line gradually went from a weakness to the strength of the offense in 2023, and despite losing a Top 10 pick in JC Latham to the NFL, they should still boast one of the best units in the country this fall.
Tyler Booker, Washington Freshman All-American transfer Parker Brailsford and Jaeden Roberts might be the best interior group (L-R) in the nation. All three rank among the Top 10 guards/centers, per PFF. Former 5-star Kadyn Proctor, who started every game as a true freshman in 2023, is back after his brief boomerang transfer to Iowa.
There’s an open battle for the right tackle job, as Elijah Pritchett hasn’t lived up to his recruiting billing. There’s also more depth concerns here compared to other units with multiple departures via the portal (notably Seth McLaughlin and Terrence Ferguson).
5. Oklahoma State
The Cowboys bring back the most experienced offensive line in the Big 12, as the seasoned unit returns every single member off the 2023 roster including super-senior guard Preston Wilson. There’s a competition for the left guard spot, but Dalton Cooper and Jake Springfield are locked in at tackle — both of whom are solid multi-year starters. Wilson is entrenched at right guard, while Joe Michalski is Pokes’ starting center.
The unit also added Arizona State transfer Isaia Glass for depth. This is an offensive line that should create lots of running room for Heisman hopeful Ollie Gordon.
6. Oregon
If not for LSU, the Ducks might feature the best tackle tandem in the country. Former Rhone Island standout Ajani Cornelius opted to return to Oregon for a second season, while former 5-star Josh Conerly Jr. emerged as stone-blocking left tackle last season.
Oregon must replace mauling center Jackson Powers-Johnson and right guard Steven Jones, but Indiana sixth-year senior transfer Matthew Bedford, who who was among the highest-graded guards in the Big Ten, is projected to slide in as a plug-and-play reinforcement.
7. Missouri
The Tigers lost a pair of NFL players off the left side of their OL, but they return three other starters and landed one of the best tackles in transfer portal in former Oklahoma blue-chip recruit Cayden Green. Mizzou also brought in JUCO lineman Jayven Richardson, a 6-7 tackle who was coveted by multiple SEC programs this offseason.
Green is expected to fill Javon Foster’s spot at left tackle, and there’s been lots of offseason buzz around massive redshirt freshman Logan Reichert (6-6, 370) grabbing the left guard spot.
8. Miami
Mario Cristobal has totally overhauled Miami’s offensive line the last two seasons, and the Hurricanes could have the best unit in the ACC this fall. They bring back three starters, headlined by former top recruit Francis Mauigoa, who was a Freshman All-American last year. Jalen Rivers is a quality left tackle, and although they lost Matthew Lee to the NFL Draft, Indiana transfer Zach Carpenter is set to fill in the void. All four players have at least 13 career starts.
The Canes have solid available options behind their first-five, too, with former 5-star Samson Okunlola, Matthew McCoy and JUCO signee Markel Bell. Overall, it’s a big, physical group that should create lots of space for Cam Ward and Damien Martinez to do work.
9. Tennessee
Josh Heupel’s offensive system does some of the heavy lifting for Tennessee’s OL, but the Vols still feature a veteran unit with highly-coveted young transfer. Cooper Mays, Javontez Spraggins and John Campbell Jr. (who is flipping from left to right tackle) have a combined 95 career starts and are all back. Tennessee then added former 5-star Lance Heard from LSU, who is set to protect Nico Iamaleava’s blindside in 2024.
The Vols also inked a very good recruiting class of offensive linemen, and Dayne Davis and Jackson Lampley return as sixth-year seniors who provide valuable depth. This won’t be a unit that wins the Joe Moore Award, but it’s capable of pushing around a fair number of DLs in the SEC.
10. Ole Miss
The Rebels’ high-scoring attack will be propelled by a veteran offensive line featuring a mixture of returning starters (guard Jeremy James, tackle Micah Pettus and center Caleb Warren have a combined 111 starts), some quality internal options (Jayden Williams and Victor Curne) and four transfers including two from Washington’s Joe Moore Award winning OL in 2023.
Lane Kiffin added some big, beefy bodies to Ole Miss’ OL room with Huskies guard/tackle Julius Buelow and guard Nate Kalepo, as well as North Carolina left tackle Diego Pounds. Southern Mississippi transfer Gerquan Scott is also competing for a starting spot. There’s some projection here, but with so many options, the Rebels should settle on a group that’s among the best in the SEC this fall.
Best of the Rest: Ohio State, Wisconsin, NC State