Clemson great Jeff Bostic wants Tiger O-line play with more leverage, wider splits

Bostic would also like to see the offensive line get better leverage.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Wed May 04 08:00:06 GMT-04:00 2022

GREENVILLE – Clemson great and Washington Redskins legend Jeff Bostic loves to watch Clemson football, and his eyes are always on the offensive line. If he could change anything about the way the Tigers have played on the line the last few years, he would make the splits a little wider and get the offensive lineman back into a three-point stance.

Bostic was named All-ACC in 1979 as an offensive lineman for the Tigers. He was also named to Clemson's All-Centennial Team in 1996, and inducted into the school's Hall of Fame in 1997. In 1999, he was placed in the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame and was inducted in the South Carolina Football Hall of Fame last week. Bostic has won more Super Bowls (3) than any other former Clemson Tiger.

Bostic was a member of the Redskins from 1980 to 1993, helping them win Super Bowls XVII, XXII and XXVI. He was also named one of the 70 greatest players in Redskins history. Bostic was one of "The Hogs", the Redskins' famed offensive line which also included guards Russ Grimm and Mark May, tackles Joe Jacoby and George Starke, and a few other new additions over the years.

In Washington, Bostic played for legendary offensive line coach Joe Bugel, widely regarded as the best offensive line coach in history. I asked him what he sees different about offensive line today and in his era, and he didn’t hesitate: leverage and splits.

“Well, here's the thing that is much different. What Joe Bugel taught us was leverage and making defenses line up on you,” Bostic said. “So obviously as a center you can't make a big split because you have to hold the ball. But our guards would have two and three foot splits, which was unheard of back then. And our tackles would be two or three feet from them. So, guess what? The defense lines up on you, you're creating holes just by how your offensive line lines up. Unless by the way, early in the hog career, we had another offensive lineman running the ball that was 250 pounds, in John Riggins. I mean, if you got a little bit of a hole, he'd make it a big one.”

Bostic said offensive lines play closer together today because of a lack of confidence and athleticism.

“I think what it is today, they're not as confident that they're going to be able to close down the gaps and people don't realize how athletic our offensive line was,” Bostic said. ‘A guy like Jacoby was 6-8, 330 to 345 pounds, depending on which meal he ate. And Mark May was 6-6, 320. Russ Grimm was 6-3.5", probably 315. Raleigh McKenzie and Mark Schlereth were both 300. I mean we were strong. And the good thing is we had a guy that was not only the head coach but he was basically the offensive coordinator. He called the plays, Joe Gibbs.”

What would he change about the Tigers’ offensive line play?

“They do a lot from the up position. It's got to be with leverage,” Bostic said. “The guy that gets under the other one first typically wins. And if you're an offense, you know when the play's starting, so you ought to be able to get contact with the defense before they really get a chance to move. And you've got to use leverage. If you're higher than that defender, you've lost your edge.

“I don't think we ever had, except the tackles, a third-and-long when we were in Washington and they would go from an up-stance, but the guards and center, no, we stayed down in a stance. And then split out. Split out. Get some space, make the defense line up on you because their job is to cover that area in which they're lined up in. If you keep them close together, they don't have as much area to defend.”

He then said he has no issue with the zone blocking scheme.

“Zone blocking is what we did in Washington. And it's really, it's a great way to move the down lineman back to where the secondary, the second level is,” Bostic said.