As the Bearcats wrap up Spring ball, I can say one thing, that offensive line should be nothing to worry about as coach Mike Cummings has so much talent and depth up front. Obviously there were some players who didn’t see much action this spring, but expect the Bearcats starting offensive line to look something like this, Lorenze Metz, Jeremey Cooper, Jake Renfro, Dylan O’Quinn, James Tunstall for week one barring any injuries between now and the start of the season. While the Bearcats have the depth up front between Gavin Gerhardt, Mao Glynn, Joe Huber, Dartanyan Tinsley, Landon Fickell, Cam Jones, Colin Woodside, John Williams, Luke Collinsworth. This Bearcats offensive line has so much depth, as coach Cummings loves his offensive lineman to get physical and really compete up front in the trenches and we did see that this Spring as Coach Cummings wasted no time getting to work with arguably the best offensive line within the AAC. For people who don’t know about offensive line coach Mike Cummings, they will be happy to hear what senior James Tunstall had to say.
“Coach Cummings, he brings a high level of energy every day, as a player you absolutely love to see that. Sometimes you’re not perfect as a player, you may come in one day a little slow, or low, but coach Cummings, he is always going to bring that energy, he is always going to expect the best out of you, he will not let you give up. As a player, you love to see that and have that within your coach.”
Bearcats offensive line coach Mike Cummings is replacing Ron Crook, who was with the Bearcats from 2017-2021. I talked to Tunstall about what that transition has been like for him as a player.
“Personally the transition has been easy for me, because I have had numerous offensive line coaches throughout my career. However one thing I want to harp on with the younger guys is, all though we have a new offensive line coach we still need to have a high level of expectations that we have to compete to every single day. That is something I wanted to establish as an older guy, along with some of the older guys that we have, even if they are injured or not able to participate this Spring, we just wanted to keep the high level of expectations going, and keep the high level of effort and grinding,” said Tunstall.
The Bearcats offensive line however, will be one of the strongest pieces heading into the 2022, as the Bearcats defensive line is still going to be a problem for opposing teams this season. Along with the Bearcats returning every starter from last year’s offensive line, it’s safe to say that whoever the quarterback is Week 1, they will have a very big, experienced, and talented offensive line up front making it a lot easier to get settled in for whoever is under center come Week 1 where the Bearcats take on Arkansas for a very tough matchup on the road to start the season.
