re: why does everyone seem convinced that the OL will be better ?

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I don't necessarily think the OP was getting at this but it seems the attitude among the more negative posters is that every area we were good in last year will be worse and every area we struggled in will ne at least that bad if not worse.

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Well, specifically with regard to the offensive line, it is HIGHLY unusual to improve in the OL with a bunch of new starters. Even assuming the premise that they are bigger and more talented (yet to be established, except maybe for the part about being bigger), it usually takes an OL a while playing together to gel and become effective.

And, frankly, if these guys really are better players than what we had on the field last year and the coaches just sat them on the bench because of some arbitrary rule about always playing upperclassmen ahead of freshmen and sophomores, then that's a real indictment of the coaching staff.

None of us knows if or how much the OL will be improved this year. Obviously, there's not much room to get worse or even stay the same, so SOME improvement is likely. But whether it'll be dramatic enough improvement to the point where they are actually good is still highly in doubt.