LSU's Offensive Line Has Won The 2019 Joe Moore Award For Nation's Top O-Line

LSU's dominant offensive line won the 2019 Joe Moore Award on Tuesday for the Top Offensive Line unit in the country. Per JoeMooreAward.com/press-release:

LSU TIGERS WIN THE 2019 JOE MOORE AWARD

December 19, 2019

Teamwork, Effort, and Physicality in Pass Protection Impressed Voters

BATON ROUGE, LA (Dec. 19, 2019) — The LSU Tigers offensive line has been selected as the 2019 winner of the Joe Moore Award for the Most Outstanding Offensive Line Unit in College Football. The announcement was made by The Foundation for Teamwork which has presented this unique award since 2015. The Tigers’ offensive line unit, coached by James Cregg, are the second team from the Southeastern Conference to win the only award in college football that recognizes a group or a unit.

The announcement of the 2019 Joe Moore Award winner was made during a surprise visit today to LSU’s campus. The Joe Moore Award trophy, crafted by award winning sports sculptor Jerry McKenna, is the largest trophy in college football, standing at a height of almost seven feet and weighing in at over 800 pounds. It will be displayed on the LSU campus until the conclusion of the 2020 college football season.

“In an unprecedented recognition of physicality in pass protection, Coach Cregg’s unit separated itself in the eyes of the voters by their effort and strain in the run game, and by how consistently they demonstrated that pass protection is not passive,” said Aaron Taylor, CBS college football analyst and co-founder of the Joe Moore Award. Taylor played guard and tackle at the University of Notre Dame for the Award’s namesake, the legendary offensive line coach Joe Moore.

LSU’s O-line unit paved the way for the most productive offensive season in school history, establishing school records for points (621), points per game (47.8), total offense (7,207), passing yards (5,209), 50-point games (6), and games with at least 40 points (10). Head coach Ed Orgeron’s Tigers also lead the FBS in total offense with 554.3 total yards per game, and will next play No. 4 Oklahoma in the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl on December 28.

“All of this year’s finalists displayed the award criteria in impressive fashion, but LSU made a statement by how well they played together as a group and brought physicality to everything they did,” said Randy Cross, three-time All-Pro with the San Francisco 49ers, College Football Hall of Famer, CBS college football analyst, and JMA voting committee member. “LSU showed a tone-setting attitude in both pass protection and in their run blocking that really caught the attention of the 200 plus member voting body that has collectively played and coached this position for well over 800 years.”

“The O-line position is extremely difficult to evaluate, especially when doing so for entire units with different offenses and styles of play,” said Cole Cubelic, Chairman of the Joe Moore Award voting committee. “That’s why we thoroughly go through each of the finalists’ season-long highlight reels and multiple back-to-back quarters of game film. The focus on the film study is the only way the voting body can properly and credibly evaluate the nuances of the award criteria that would otherwise be difficult to see.”

LSU’s offensive line featured eight different starters and only had two players that started all thirteen games at the same position all season. Further, the Tigers’ O-line unit persevered despite only twice starting the same lineup in back-to-back weeks. LSU’s starting line featured senior tackle Badara Traore (3 starts), junior tackle Saahdiq Charles (6 starts), freshman tackle Dare Rosenthal (3 starts), junior tackle Austin Deculus (10 starts), senior guard Adrian Magee (12 starts), sophomore guard Ed Ingraham (2 starts), senior guard Damien Lewis (12 starts), and center Lloyd Cushenberry III (12 starts).

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What Voters Said

"There is a tendency to hyper-focus on the rushing attacks and the run-blocking of these units, but LSU forced us to really alter our filters and do a deeper dive. They were solid against the run, but their ability to handle protection duties against SEC rushers with so many receivers out in routes was really impressive and one of the reasons QB Joe Burrow won the Heisman. It's not THE reason, but it's definitely one of them."

"It's incredible how often and how well they pass block in "empty" protection (no TE or RB help). There are plays all season, including the SEC Championship game where they are blocking 6, 7, 8, 10 seconds while Burrow looks to throw downfield. Great awareness in pass pro and often look for work and pick up delayed rushers. Appear willing to happily serve up some "full slabs" by rearranging an unsuspecting D-lineman's rib cage in slide protection. Very physical bunch."

"Passing as much as this offense did this year puts a unique strain on the group up front and boy did they respond. Sitting and watching these guys on film, the number of pass protection reps that I wrote down 'Teach Tape Worthy' next to in my notes was remarkable. Pass pro is definitely not passive for these guys."

“They define what the teamwork criteria is about. They really worked well together in their combination blocks and in pass pro. Always a lot of [defenders] on the ground when the play was over. Played to the echo of the whistle on a regular.”

“Very efficient in both run game and protection. I thought they played with the most physicality. Borderline violent at times. All of the finalists were tough and physical, but it seemed like LSU was particularly prickly when given the chance.”

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