Ole Miss’ Eli Acker has progressed in a more traditional manner for an offensive lineman
Ole Miss’ Eli Acker is in a battle with Washington transfer Victor Curne for the top spot at left guard.
He has also progressed as an offensive lineman in what is commonly referred to as a traditional way.
That is, true freshman year, redshirt. Second – redshirt freshman – year, play in 10 games to get feet wet in the rugged trenches of the Southeastern Conference. Third year, 2022, play in every game, start five, slowly get better and better.
Fourth year, this season, possible, if not probable, fulltime starter.
That’s norm for offensive linemen unless your name is Tunsil or Oher or a rare few others who come on campus “ready made.”
And in this progression, there’s always something to work on. In Acker’s case, well, we’ll let him explain.
“Last year, I lost pad level and I had to work on my second step. I was not getting my second step down quickly enough,” the 6-5, 295-pounder said this week. “It takes a lot of reps and a lot of work with quickness drills and a lot of film study.”
Offensive line techniques sound simple enough. But they have to be done precisely, quickly and consistently or weaknesses are detected by opposing coaches and exploited.
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Acker is now a major cog in the offensive line wheel.
However, the competition to stay on that top level is strong due to more depth on the Rebel offensive line than in a long time.
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“We have 8-9 guys who can really play. Some are very versatile and can play multiple positions,” said Acker, one of the strongest players on the team in the weight room. “This is a great thing for our room. If one guy goes down, someone can step in without letdown.”
One example is starting Center Caleb Warren has been out this fall camp so far. Although he is expected to return soon, senior Reece McIntyre and true freshman Brycen Sanders have taken up the slack admirably according to Acker.
“Reece has stepped up big time and Brycen is going to be a great player here in the future, no doubt,” Acker continued.
The Rebel coaching staff added a new OL coach in the off-season.
John Garrison was hired away from NC State. Eli said things are going well in that department also.
“Coach Garrison came in and established a culture and some ground rules and we ran with those things,” Acker, from Columbus, MS, noted. “The transition to him has gone well.”
Something strange has happened in Acker’s career. With the new world of college football, with the transfer portal, there are only five players from his signing class in 2020 that are still on the team.
“It’s crazy. Cedric (Johnson) and I talked about that the other day,” Acker closed. “We may as well get used to I because that’s the way college sports has evolved. It is strange though.”
Eli Acker, however, remains and is progressing organically the way most offensive linemen do.
Slowly, but surely.
Hopefully this year, he’s now a finished, polished product.
