A few of the Surly posters are aware I have a second hand connection to Robertson, so occasionally I get some interesting tidbits.
In my opinion this OL is not national championship quality, even before the injuries. That does not mean they can’t win the national championship, just that it isn’t as strong as other teams and other years’ past. The line does have some decent height, which is good.
The line can be good enough to win the title, but we aren’t going to see 2005, where Vince had enough time to make some sandwiches. Arch being more mobile will be the way they scheme for the OL limitations and I think it will be glorious after watching self-sacking Quinn.
On the topic of Cruz, him not passing Robertson yet is more Robertson than Cruz. Robertson is hanging in there, is smart, is working, and believes he can be starter quality. In my opinion, there are some physical limitations, but all those other things help a lot, especially at center, where you can deal better with physical limitations.