UNI offensive line seeks improvement under new coach Mike Simmonds

CEDAR FALLS - Northern Iowa's offensive line, according to junior left tackle Cal Twait and his fellow linemen, is now under the guidance of an old-school, high-intensity coach in Mike Simmonds.

Quite possibly a perfect fit for a group that was put on notice publicly by head coach Mark Farley at the end of last season.

Know that Farley didn't absolve himself from the blame of the offensive line's shortcomings a season ago. It was a long 'look in the mirror” moment for the 17-year head coach and all others involved after witnessing the likes of South Dakota State and North Dakota State impose their will on the Panther linemen a season ago.

How much improvement can be made in one offseason won't be answered in full until a week from Saturday, when the Panthers open at Iowa State. However, there have been a number of positives since the end of the 2016 season.

'I'd say everyone increased their maxes quite a bit over the offseason with our (strength and conditioning) programs,” junior left tackle Cal Twait said. 'I think there's been a great amount of strides made as a whole team, especially upfront on the offensive line. And then, coming into spring ball, our first time with Coach Simmonds, he really changed our mind-set and our attitude. I think that's carried over through summer and into fall camp.”

A new mind-set, along with some reshaped bodies along the offensive line, bodes well for the Panthers. Twait himself is 10 pounds heavier than he was last season and said he feels like he's moving even better on his feet with the additional weight.

'Comparatively when you look at Iowa State last year, I see these guys' frames and what they've done with their bodies, some of them are night and day from what they were last year,” Simmonds said. 'They made the commitment with (strength and conditioning) Coach (Jed) Smith in the weight room. To me it's more like coaching a BCS offensive line than it is an FCS, just with the size and strength these guys have.”

It's important to remember a complete overhaul, or a renaissance, is not a requirement for the UNI offensive line to compete with the FCS' best. Five of the Panthers six losses in 2016 were by six points or less. Catch a few more breaks a season ago and the narrative is much different.

In the midst of all those close losses a season ago, the offensive line was tasked with making the transition from blocking for a running quarterback to a pocket-passing quarterback when Eli Dunne took the reins for the final five games. That's a transition that changes how protections are designed, and consequently how they should be executed.

'It's definitely different,” Twait said. 'You're blocking schemes differently.”

Having an offseason to scheme knowing the situation at quarterback has been a positive for Simmonds' linemen. Simmonds - one of seven new assistants on the UNI staff - has aided the transition under his brief tenure by adapting parts of the previous staff's verbiage into his schemes.

'The goal, right now, is simply get better everyday,” Simmonds said. 'We're a hybrid system of a few different schemes I've been in over the years. I've kind of tweaked it my way and they've adapted well to that. So those are some of the things we've done to keep it simple and keep them aggressive.”

Simmonds said the Panthers are getting close to locking in their starting five. A bigger, stronger Twait at left tackle, along with the return of Bryce Sweeney, a 2015 All-MVFC honoree at right tackle, gives the Panthers solid footing.