Boardwalk & Park Place -- The Offensive Line

Flex nuts.

Boardwalk -- Oday Aboushi, OT, junior
I honestly wish I knew or understood how/why Aboushi is so underrated.  This guy is a freaking animal.  He's a great run blocker, very good in pass pro, and excels when he's out in space, pulling around, paving the way.  He's a future pro, and it's very possible that he'll leave after this season (let's hope not -- we could really, really use a senior starter at left tackle in 2012).  It can be argued that Aboushi was Al Groh's last important recruit (Tim Smith and to some extent Morgan Moses might argue).  I list Aboushi at Boardwalk because of a few reasons: 1) I think he's the overall best offensive lineman on the roster, 2) I think he plays the single most important position on the line, and 3) I think he has the highest NFL stock of any UVA player not named Chase Minnifield.  He's a huge talent, mystifyingly underrated.  He'll set the tone of the o-line this season, and help it emerge as the biggest strength of the team, and one of the better overall blocking units in the ACC.

Park Place -- Austin Pasztor, OG, senior
I once heard Pasztor described as a "grizzly bear," and that image really stuck with me.  He's a big, mauling blocker who really excels at the hand fighting and leverage that is so key in the interior o-line.  He's a steady player who consistently plays at a high level.  With Aboushi at LT and Pasztor at LG, our diminutive running backs should find great success running to the left, with a good pulling guard in Luke Bowanko pulling around.  Pasztor is a senior, and I'm looking for him to solidify a middle-rounds grade for the NFL draft.  He'll be playing on Sundays next year, with his prototypical frame, strength, and general nastiness.  This year, he's another underrated piece to the offensive line puzzle, and he's another main reason this o-line will really surprise some people.  I hesitate to use the term "road grader," because it's another of those silly football clichés, and because few people actually know what a road grader really is.  But Austin Pasztor is a road grader.

Road Grader

Community Chest:

• Morgan Moses, OT/OG, sophomore --  He just missed making it into the properties list, but I couldn't list him above Aboushi or Pasztor, even though his talent and potential probably dwarfs theirs.  You already know that Moses is HUGE (6-6, 335) but what you might not know is that the guy is extremely agile and nimble on his feet.  A 350-pound ballerina.  That's his upside.  (I also like the term "man mountain.")  To some degree, I think right tackle is a slight waste of his talent, but he'll be able to show his stuff in run blocking this season.  No doubt, off tackle runs will be one of the staples of our offense in 2011.  God bless America.
• Landon Bradley, OT, senior -- He deserves a mention here, even though it's unlikely he'll play this season, and seems possible that his football career has come to an end, due to extensive injury and surgery.  It's a shame, because Bradley is a very good player who would have been an asset to the line this season, even if he was a square peg being forced into a round hole at guard.  Anyway, I wish him all the luck in the world, and if a medical redshirt and a return in 2012 is in the cards, fantastic.
• Anthony Mihota, C, senior -- Mihota has developed into a solid starting center.  He's a little bit light and can be blown back from time to time, but otherwise no complaints.
• Luke Bowanko, OG, sophomore -- I'm excited to see the kid play this season, and I think he'll do a good job.  I think opposing defenses with target him as the weak link, but I suspect he'll be able to acquit himself well.  He's a mobile, athletic guy who still needs to fill out a little bit.
• Cody Wallace, C, redshirt freshman -- Waiting in the wings to take the reins at center once Mihota graduates.  Many around the program have high hopes for Wallace.
• Sean Cascarano, OT, sophomore -- An above-average backup who should be ready to step in as a full-time starter in 2012.
• Kelby Johnson, OT, true freshman -- Looks like the redshirt is being burned.  This athletic 6-7, 300-pounder has been a buzzy player in camp, and it seems like he's going to be groomed to take over a starting spot if Aboushi leaves early for the NFL.
• Matt Mihalik, OG, junior -- A solid member of the two-deep who probably still needs to add some polish to his game.
• Conner Davis, OG, redshirt freshman -- Highly recruited, and talented enough to bubble to the surface on the interior o-line.

Chance -- The team's biggest strength in 2011, I think we'll see many a conservative gameplan built around the offensive line's ability to win the war in the trenches.  The first glimpse of that figures to be this coming Saturday, where I'm fairly certain Bill Lazor sees our biggest advantage over Bill & Mary being our overpowering offensive line.  Can the o-line pave the way for an even-better running game?  I think it can, and I think it will.  Can it protect our young quarterbacks and give them time to devlop timing, make reads, and develop their skills properly?  Yes, I think it can.  The o-line carries us to 6+ wins in 2011, and a bowl game.  After a highly successful season, Aboushi leaves early for the NFL, and Morgan Moses flirts with the idea, much to our consternation.

Development -- 4 houses
I'm bullish on the continued upside of Aboushi and Pasztor.  Morgan Moses is in the rarefied air of D'Brick, Hoogene, and Branden Albert.  Kelby Johnson is a monster-in-the-making.  Bowanko, Wallace, Cascarano, and Davis all have nice upside.  This is a very talented unit, with a lot more talent flowing through the pipeline...  But more than any other position, offensive line needs players to have at least three full seasons of caddy work before they take the field, just from a pure physical development standpoint.  Thanks to Al Groh under-recruiting the OL, we're about to see a hiccup in that succession plan.  It might not hit us this year (barring injury), but it's coming in 2012.  Be warned.  This is one of the main reasons I think we need to take the money and run this season, before we take that half-step back in 2012.