McFeely blog: Even with Volson gone, Bison offensive line looks familiar and deep

Volson, an offensive line mainstay who played in 65 games in five years (he was in the program for six with a redshirt season) and made 41 consecutive starts over his final three seasons, is finally gone. He will get a chance to play in the NFL next fall. His absence will leave a void at right tackle, which is where Volson primarily played.

The question posed to Bison head coach Matt Entz this week, then, as his team held the first of 12 practices between now and April 23 was: Who takes Volson's spot at right tackle?

The other four starting positions appear spoken for: Senior Jake Kubas at right guard, senior Jalen Sundell at center, super senior (thanks, COVID-19) Nash Jensen at left guard and super senior Cody Mauch at left tackle.

Junior Mason Miller would seem to be the obvious answer to take over for Volson, since Miller was the backup last season and started the FCS playoff semifinal game against James Madison when the Bison had to re-jigger the line because of injuries. If you had to bet $5 on who was going to be NDSU's starting right tackle Sept. 3 against Drake at the Fargodome, Miller would be a good choice.

But Entz opened the possibility that spring ball could be used to move some veteran players around on the line to make them more versatile and give the team some depth at different spots.

"Right now I think you are going to see some different combinations," Entz said in answering who would take Volson's spot at right tackle. "Mason Miller, he's played that spot. The JMU game, he did an unbelievable job. He started the Sam Houston (playoff) game in the spring. But we've also had conversations about moving Jalen Sundell there because of the uptick with Westy."

Westy would be Brandon Westberg, a junior who filled in ably for Sundell last season when the latter was sidelined with injuries. Westberg started four games, including the playoff game against James Madison when Sundell did not dress because of an ankle injury.

"It's our job over the course of the spring to create depth, work on our communication and see how we can expand roles for some of our veteran players," Entz said. "This would be an example of that."

While many, or most, FCS teams are trying to find a quality offensive line and a few backups, the Bison are in a position to shift players around in the spring to give themselves more options and more depth come fall. NDSU will also rest two starting offensive linemen this spring Mauch and Jensen not because of injury but because they've both played so much over the course of their careers.

Entz said Mauch and Jensen have each played about 1,600 snaps during their Bison careers.

It would appear the offensive line is going to be a particular strength of the Bison again, one season after the unit gelled late in the year to become the dominant force for which the NDSU program's become known. The Bison rushed for 4,209 yards on 678 attempts last season, the third highest rushing total in school history. They averaged 6.21 yards per rush.

And while losing the first team All-American Volson is big, there is plenty returning.

NDSU returns nine of the 10 offensive linemen listed on its two-deep depth chart in 2021: Jensen, Mauch, Sundell, Kubas, Miller, Westberg, junior guard Grey Zabel, junior tackle Jake Rock and super senior guard Luke LaCilento.

Zabel, a highly touted recruit out of Pierre, S.D., in 2020, was a regular in the rotation. Rock played in nine games, including some close contests and the national championship against Montana State. Both started games as true freshmen in the spring 2021 season when NDSU was gutted by opt-outs and injuries.

Zabel is a particularly intriguing prospect, but injured his ankle in the spring season and battled coming back from that last fall.

"The ankle wasn't 100% going through fall camp. I think that set him back a little bit," Entz said. "I think he's at a much different place right now. I think he's had a tremendous offseason of physical development. ... I think we can get a really high level of play out of him."

LaCilento transferred before last season from San Diego and played in four games as a reserve late in the blowout victories.

The 11th offensive lineman who played in more than one game last season was Seth Anderson, a young prospect from Moorhead who signed with the Bison in 2020. He played late in three blowout wins before leaving NDSU in November and transferring to North Dakota.

Entz identified Rock, junior tackle Hunter Poncius and redshirt freshman Braden Rucker as young offensive linemen on whom to keep an eye. Rucker was a scout team star last season during his redshirt year.

"He did some really good things for us on our scout team," Entz said. "Doing some things really well for our scout team is one thing. Now when you have to start going against (defensive tackles) Eli Mostaert, Bryce Friday, Javier Derritt ... it'll get interesting."

Imagining a depth chart, it would appear Rucker has some time to develop before he'll be thrust into service. Such is life on the Bison offensive line, where depth and experience appear ready to rule again even without Cordell Volson.