Inside the offensive line's success this season

SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS FOOTBALL

Sadarius Hutcherson paused when the question was lobbed out to him.

“What’s the offensive line’s go-to place to eat?” On the surface, it might not be a hard question, but for Hutcherson, it took some time to come up with the right answer: steak, and usually Longhorn Steakhouse.

The answer took a while to come up with not because he doesn’t like food (at 310 pounds, it’s hard to make that argument), but because the offensive line group goes out to eat so much there are too many options to pick from.

“As an offensive line, we’ve always been very close. We’re the tightest group on the field, that’s what we call ourselves. This year, I feel like we’re a lot closer than we have been in the past. That’s not saying we haven’t ever been close,” Zack Bailey said. “We’ve been a very close-knit group, maybe more than normal.”

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The offensive line group has notoriously been known as the tightest group on and off the field, but it seems like this year’s group is taking that to another level.

They joke is they’re usually always around each other doing something and when you see one, there’s a “second one right behind him, if not two, three, four or five,” according to Chandler Farrell.

Without a go-to activity, the group of about 15 guys usually spends time watching other college games together, watching film or the line’s probably most-frequent activity: eating.

When Donell Stanley is ever off the lake not fishing, the team’s starting center grills out for everyone. Multiple people claim he’s one of the best cooks on the team with Kiel Pollard saying he makes “off the chain” barbecue chicken.

These cookouts are pretty frequent and the line has extended invites to the tight ends and, sometimes, the quarterbacks.

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“They kind of have specific O-line stuff,” Jake Bentley said, smiling. “They get selfish sometimes and want all the food. Sometimes me and (Michael) Scar(necchia) will come and just hang out.”

And it seems the extra time off the field is paying off on the field.

South Carolina has one of the best front fives in the conference, and potentially the country, giving up a combined 18 sacks all season, just 1.64 a game.

It’s become transformed since position coach Eric Wolford took over last season and the group thinks it could be one of the best in school history.

“I think we’ve come a long way,” Hutcherson said. “In my mind, we’re one of the best offensive lines that’s been here. We’re one of the best offensive lines in the nation.”

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They may not get the recognition outside of the facility, but inside, Muschamp said the group knows how important it is to the team’s success.

But, for the fun-loving, grill master group, they’re OK without the accolades. They just want to win.

“I don’t have any problems with that,” Farrell said. “I think as a group we’re completely all right with that. As long as we’re doing successful as a team, it doesn’t matter about the recognition they give us.”