After a 2016 season in which Texas State rushed for a team total 1,040 yards (2.5 yards per carry) and allowed 46 sacks in 12 games, the Bobcats decided it was time to revamp the offensive line. The first move came on the coaching staff as Adrian Mayes moved over to coach the tight ends and Eric Mateos was brought in to take over the offensive line duties.
Mateos came to San Marcos after stints as a offensive line graduate assistant at Arkansas (2013-2015) and a offensive line graduate assistant/interim tight ends coach at LSU (2016). A former center and team captain at Southwest Baptist, he started his coaching career there as the assistant offensive line coach after graduating in 2011. After two years coaching at Southwest Baptist, he spent one year as the offensive line coach at Hutchinson Community College before joining the staff at Arkansas. The Razorbacks surrounded the fewest sacks in the SEC each of his three seasons at Arkansas.
With no seniors in his unit (left tackle Tryston Mizerak is a redshirt junior), Mateos is dealing with a young group of linemen but feels that is a challenge he is ready to take on.
“We talk about all the time that leadership doesn’t have an age," Mateos said. "In a perfect world, you could redshirt a bunch of freshman and have some older guys teaching them the ropes. That happens to a certain extent but in the position we’re in, we have so few scholarship offensive linemen right now and we have a lot of young kids."
"I’m not giving them a chance to be young. I’m not coaching them like they are young. I’m coaching them like they are vets. The older guys, they know when to step in and be a voice but (center) Aaron Brewer is a leader on our offensive line he’s a sophomore, he’s 19 years old. I don’t think leadership necessarily has an age or how long you’ve been here as much as it’s how much they understand the expectations of the room. They've done a nice job of that"
Three expected starters - Brewer, Mizerak and sophomore right tackle Jacob Rowland - received praise from Mateos for being the leaders of the offensive line.
"Mizerak has done outstanding," Mateos said. "He’s really grown as a leader from the day I got here. He’s taken it over but the nice thing is that other guys are doing it too. Jacob (Rowland), Aaron (Brewer) is doing it. All the guys are starting to grow up fast and they have to, they don’t have a choice this year."
"Jacob Rowland has done a nice job at right tackle. Still working on a lot of things with his technique because he’s always played tackle in high school but he’s played guard here so it’s still a transition for him. Those guys have done a really nice job."
After an All-Sun Belt Conference honorable mention selection in 2016, Brewer is starting to gain recognition even as he is still transitioning to a new position. He started seven games at guard last year - the same position he played all throughout high school - but he started the last four at center and has remained there through spring practice and fall camp.
“A lot of Aaron’s issues as a freshman were his balance on," Mateos said. "He’s a naturally strong kid, great core strength and good flexibility. A lot of things we’ve been working on are is playing him with all of his cleats in the ground and converting the power that he does have in the weight room. He’s a very strong for a young kid and being able to convert that power consistently is something that he had to fix."
"You watch his freshman tape, his technique is really poor but he’s playing harder and he’s effective because of that. And what we’re doing is we’re just trying to start from the ground up on his technique and make it so he’s really polished. He’s doing it and he listens and is coachable and he’s doing a nice job.”
With assumed starters at left tackle, center and right tackle, the two guard positions are still an open competition. When talking about potential players there, Mateos pointed out redshirt freshman guard Jaquel Pierce as somebody that has impressed him in fall camp.
“Jaquel Pierce, from the day I’ve gotten here until now, has made a huge jump. I’m really happy with him," Mateos said.
Sophomores Kregg Lemons, Charlie Vatterott and redshirt freshman Josiah Washington are also in the rotation at guard.
Overall, Mateos seemed impressed with Texas State's improvements along the offensive line and how this young group has come to understand what their duties are this upcoming season.
"They understand the expectations," Mateos said. "So we know that we’ve got to clean up the run game and so much of that is assignment based and just being smarter football players. That is the emphasis. We talk a lot about run efficiency in our room. If you get an 80-yard run and then two-yard run, that’s a hell of a yard-per-carry, but we talk about being efficient on a regular basis. That’s really what we focus on.”
“They’ve really kind of bought into what we’re trying to get done. They’re hungry, they’re young, but they want to be really good. I think that’s the most notable thing for me after one week. They’re listening, they’re coachable and they strain. All those little things that you have to get in your offensive line, they’re doing it. They’ve done a nice job and they’re playing hard.”
