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Offensive line plows the way for UA rushers

Kristy Mangos Arizona Daily Wildcat The UA offensive line gets down in their three-point stances against UTEP, as they await the snap count from junior quarterback Ortege Jenkins. The offensive line had two major holes to fill after Edwin Mulitalo and Yusuf Scott left for the NFL draft, but are finally coming together as a unit and giving senior running back Trung Canidate the holes he needs to get good yardage.

As a game, football is perhaps only second to baseball in the sheer amount of statistics that are kept about it.

There are stats for quarterbacks, receivers and running backs, for kickers, punters and all the guys on defense.

But there aren't really any stats for the men on the offensive line.

Well, not specifically.

"They rely on being able to run the football, being able to protect the passer, those stats," UA offensive line coach Charlie Dickey said. "That's where they get their pride at. They get their pride on winning the fourth and one, on scoring at the goal line. That's where they get satisfaction at in those critical situations."

Coming off a 396-yard rushing performance against Texas-El Paso last weekend, it's clear that Arizona's offensive line has reestablished itself as a force to be reckoned with.

"We are trying to be the best offensive line in the Pac-10," sophomore right tackle Makoa Freitas said.

Freitas and junior right guard Marques McFadden are the new starters on the line, having replaced current NFL players Edwin Mulitalo and Yusuf Scott. Both Freitas and McFadden saw playing time last year, with McFadden saying they each got "about 30 plays a game."

Dickey has been impressed with the progress the two have made in going from part-time to full-time players.

"They've made some great strides on both sides," he said. "They all had different areas they needed to improve on. Makoa's really worked hard to step up his play in terms of being physical and becoming a better pass blocker. Marques has improved in other areas."

Junior center Bruce Wiggins, whom Dickey called the best center in the Pacific 10 Conference, is the acknowledged leader of the group.

"I'm not a real big vocal guy," Wiggins said. "I think everyone who plays on the offensive line wants to win as bad as I do. If I don't see that, I'll say something."

Wiggins has been impressed with how McFadden and Freitas got over their early season struggles.

"He's gotten a lot better, too," Wiggins said of Freitas. "He's one of the guys who at the beginning of the season wasn't playing that well."

"He's (McFadden) doing a good job. We played against No. 66 (Brian Young) this weekend from UTEP who gave him his money's worth. Other than that, he's been playing solidly. I expect that from him all year."

McFadden said Young was a handful out there for him and his teammates agreed on that.

"66, he's a man-child," sophomore wide receiver Malosi Leonard said with a laugh. "I walked next to that guy and just looked down. I didn't want to make eye contact, I'm scared of that guy."

Freitas said the first two defenses Arizona faced this year were two of the best he's ever played.

"TCU and Penn State both had really good lines," he said. "Courtney Brown on Penn State is really talented."

In addition to getting McFadden and Freitas into the mix against such tough competition, senior left tackle Manuia Savea spent his off-season recovering from knee surgery, a recovery that slowed his start this season.

"Manu's improved a lot since the beginning of the season," Wiggins said. "I think he only had about 10 days of Camp Cochise after surgery to get ready. He had some problems with his footwork, he had some problems getting it together."

Sophomore left guard Steven Grace has handled his position quietly and effectively, laying down several key blocks to free up senior running back Trung Canidate.

"Trung makes us look better than we are and we make Trung ... I don't know about that, Trung's pretty good," Wiggins said, smiling.

Freitas said he felt "the USC game was where we really felt good about our play" and the line started to gel as a unit.

Wiggins agreed.

"We're just starting to do the right thing finally," he said. "When we go and meet with Coach Dickey on Sundays and count pluses and minuses, there are just a lot more pluses right now. (When) everyone does their jobs we can run the ball."