Northwestern's offensive line underwent a series of highly-competitive position battles this offseason. By adding three graduate transfers in the portal this winter, the Wildcats' improved depth fueled a competition that left head coach David Braun confident about the unit ahead of the season.
Graduate students Caleb Tiernan, Jackson Carsello and Evan Beerntsen earned starting roles at left tackle, center and right guard, respectively, while Ezomo Oratokhai won the left guard job as a redshirt freshman. The battle to start at right tackle for Northwestern came down to the final days of the preseason, but redshirt junior Deuce McGuire managed to beat out Minnesota transfer Martes Lewis for the nod against Tulane in the opener.
Tiernan, Carsello, Beerntsen and Oratokhai have been mainstays in Northwestern's lineup over the first two weeks, but the situation appears much more fluid at right tackle. After playing over 81% of the Wildcats' RT snaps in Week 1, McGuire actually played fewer snaps than Lewis in Northwestern's 42-7 win over Western Illinois.
According to Pro Football Focus, Lewis played on 39 of 74 possible snaps against the Leathernecks, compared to just 32 for McGuire. Twenty-three of Lewis' snaps were recorded as blocks on run plays, suggesting Braun and the 'Cats feel that his 6-foot-7, 350-pound frame is crucial to Northwestern's ground game. McGuire, on the other hand, split his playing time 50/50 between pass-blocking and run-blocking reps.
When asked whether there was still an active competition for the starting right tackle job, Braun said the tackles are playing well and still have room to improve, while also clarifying that he planned to continue to use both McGuire and Lewis moving forward.
"When you turn on the tape and watch the film, Deuce's effort, intentionality, the way that he prepares, his consistency are things that really stand out," Braun said. "One of the early plays that [Lewis] is in the game, he absolutely moves a defensive end. All of a sudden, that B-gap goes from being a decent running space to a huge running space for our back. Tes ultimately moves bodies in the run game, and he's played a lot of Big Ten football."
Lewis graded slightly higher against Western Illinois, recording a 79.3 PFF grade to McGuire's 78.3. Those marks were the third-highest and fourth-highest on the team in Week 2, respectively.
"Between Martes and Deuce, we're going to have to continue to rely on both those guys and continue to figure out what that perfect match is," Braun added. "Without a doubt, both of them are going to have to play a lot of football for us."
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