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All too often the work done down in the trenches goes unnoticed. The final boxscore doesn’t recognize it, the fans are too busy watching the guy with the ball and the media headlines almost always single-out the skill players.

Such is the life of an offensive lineman, whose blood, sweat and tears are the very foundation upon which most offenses are built.

Sooner Spectator likes to recognize the guys in the shadows every once in a while, so we recently caught up with some of the big fellas and got their thoughts on a variety of topics.
Hey, let’s give some credit where credit is due.

Sooner Spectator: What is your favorite thing about playing on the O-line?

Jon Cooper: You get to hit somebody every play. It’s the only position on the field where you get to do that. If you don’t hit somebody when you’re playing offensive line, you did something wrong that play.

Brandon Walker: Hitting people. I like hitting people and getting nasty.

Cory Brandon: It’s like we’re always grinding. We don’t ever take a day off and we’re always at the center of every play.

Trent Williams: The physical play, just knocking people around.

Phil Loadholt: I like getting to hit someone every single play. You gotta like that.

Brian Simmons: Just being able to know what is about to happen, knowing that you kind of control everything.

Duke Robinson: You get to smash somebody. That’s definitely my favorite thing.

SS: Does it ever bother you to see all of the headlines go to the glamour guys, or is that just something you get used to with time?

Walker: You get used to that playing offensive line. We know nobody likes us but the people we’re blocking for. We take a lot of criticism and don’t hear a lot of positives, but it’s just something that comes with the position.

Robinson: When I was growing up, my people always told me if you do your job and block like you’re supposed to do, they are going to have to mention you at some point. That’s what I try to do. We’re really not looking for the glamour, we just like to maul and smash defenders.

Williams: It’s not so bad playing in the shadows, that way there isn’t as much pressure. You just go out there and handle your business every day, and it’s all good.

Simmons: You get used to it. I tell little kids who are playing our position that we’re the hardest working men in show business. The only time you really hear much about us is when we make a mistake. But it’s all good.

Loadholt: All the skill guys on this team do a great job of letting us know when we’re doing a good job. That’s all that matters to us.

Cooper: We really don’t mind it. We don’t like the spotlight being on us. To be honest, we don’t play offensive line for the glory and we kinda like flying under the radar.

Brandon: That doesn’t bother us at all. We take it all with a grain of salt and keep playing. We’re playing for our team — that’s all we care about.

SS: Who is the meanest, toughest guy in this group?

Loadholt: I’d have to say we’re all mean to a certain point. I’m not going to get after any of these guys.

Robinson: (laughing) Me, man. I’m the big dog.
Williams: Honestly, we’ve all got a little mean streak in us. You have to have that. You definitely can be nice and play offensive line.

Brandon: Oh, No. 70, me, of course.

Cooper: I’d say I’m the toughest. The meanest might be — we all got a mean streak — but I’d probably say Brandon Walker.

Simmons: I’d probably say Brandon Walker.
Walker: Oh, it’s me. I definitely have the shortest temper out of the group.

SS: What is more difficult — run blocking or pass blocking?

Williams: I’d say run blocking is a little tougher because you’ve got so many different things you’ve got to look for coming off the line.

Brandon: It’s all the same to me. You’ve got to be physical at both.

Cooper: It really depends — I enjoy run-blocking more because you get to come off the ball and you aren’t sitting back waiting for them to come to you.

Simmons: Run-blocking comes natural to most offensive linemen. I used to play defense, so I’ve got a difference approach. I look at pass-blocking like boxing and that’s where my money is at. I know I still have work to do on my run-blocking.

Robinson: Run-blocking comes natural to me. With pass-blocking you’ve got to sit back and wait for the guy, punch the guy and move your feet at the same time.

Walker: Probably pass-blocking. We run the ball a lot and run-blocking is natural, so I’d say I need to work more on my pass-blocking.

Loadholt: They’ve both got their ups and downs. I’d probably have to say ‘run-blocking’ is a little tougher because you’ve got to know all of your assignments instead of just having the one guy to block.

Editor's Note: This is a portion of the Q&A that appears in the Fall 3 issue of Sooner Spectator. Subscribe today by calling toll free 1-877-841-8877 or subscribe on-line!