The starters for the offensive line have been set, but only two of them have starting experience.
David Washington at center and David Koenig at right guard are the two starting veterans.
Washington and Koenig have started 24 consecutive games and represent as the leaders for the offensive line.
With the Oklahoma State Cowboys Saturday opening at Georgia in Sanford Stadium, which seats more than 92,000 fans, a huge emphasis has been placed on whether the Cowboys can handle the type of environment that Sanford Stadium poses.
For Koenig, a senior and four-year starter, said the environment in Athens would be nothing different from what the Cowboys have experienced at fellow Big 12 destinations.
“This is why I came here, to compete against the big boys,” Koenig said. “Playing in the Big 12 is comparable, I think.”
The Cowboys played at Kansas State, at Texas and Texas Tech last season to prepare them for the hostile environment they will face in Athens.
“This offense has been in many situations that Georgia will provide,” Koenig said. “Every week we have tough teams with large crowds and we’re going to prepare for that every week.”
The starters for the offensive line feature players who have starting experience, except sophomore Andrew Lewis, who was recently named the starting left guard.
Koenig said he will be there for Lewis as much as he can to be sure to keep Lewis composed and his attention solely on the game instead of letting the Bulldog fans distract him.
Only one game has rattled Koenig enough to distract him.
“I played in the Alamo Bowl game against Ohio State, and that got to me,” Koenig said. “That was the very first time that (the crowd noise) got to me.
“They had just as many fans as we did, but the Buckeyes were a lot louder.”
Koenig and the rest of the Cowboys said they don’t have much time during the game to worry about everything that goes on in the stands. Koenig said players have more on their plate to worry about than what the crowd is saying to them.
Offensive coordinator Larry Fedora said he believes he has a stellar group of offensive linemen who often get overlooked and that Koenig and the rest of the o-line will not get distracted.
“I don’t expect any of them to get rattled with the way (offensive line) coach (Joe) Wickline coaches those guys,” Fedora said.
“It will be much easier for them to go into this game than to face him (Wickline) in practice every day.”
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The article mentions that the starters have been set, but only list 3 names. Who else is starting??
Your story needs some facts added to it…..Washington and Koenig aren’t the only ones who have starting experience….When Corey Hilliard went down with an injury last season, left tackle Russell Okung started several games….Brady Bond (Right tackle) got quite a lot of playing time last season as well as a few starts, so the left guard Andrew Lewis is the ONLY lineman who doesn’t have any starting experience….Washington and Koenig may have three years under their belts as starters, but don’t say that the other two haven’t had any starting experience when they have started some games for us…..