Looking at the O-Line

We have kind of a neat story Friday about the passing of the torch at the center position on the UC Davis offensive line. To hear the Aggies talk, rising sophomore Tommy Hernandez looks like the real deal at center. His athleticism is one of the keys to the offense’s switch in blocking schemes and his coachability suggests he could have pretty solid career. Tim Keane, the starter in 2005 and 2006, is now the offensive line assistant, working coordinator Mike Moroski. Here's what UCD coach Bob Biggs said about Hernandez.

“He’s a very athletic center, and you have to be to run the kind of the scheme that we’re running. He seems to have a real command of the calls. What people don’t realize is that the center is like a quarterback, making all the adjustment calls. He’s much further ahead that we thought he might be.”

Schmatically, the offensive line is working this spring to add some outside zone blocking schemes to its playbook. These are similar to what the Denver Broncos and Boise State Broncos run and favor smaller, more athletic linemen. The next question is whether the Aggies will finally be able to run the ball consistently after about three years where that didn’t happen. Biggs said running backs Demario Warren and Joe Trombetta were having good springs, which suggests that they are meshing with this scheme. Of course it's too early to tell anything.

Some other notes that didn’t make Friday's notebook:
--Also along the offensive line, Biggs said the coaching staff was happy with how redshirt Mark Tos has responded to first-team reps. “We’re throwing him to the wolves here, and I think he’s responded pretty well,” the coach said.

--Asked about this spring’s quarterback derby Biggs said, “It’s a pretty good battle right now.” Biggs was happy with what he saw from both Matt Engle and Tim Plough at the weekend’s scrimmage, but is playing his cards close to the vest. He says everything is on schedule and that he expects to name a starter heading into fall camp.