The Program: 'They are the epitome of what an offensive line is'

Sep. 19—ST. JOSEPH — Gather the St. Joseph-Ogden offensive line together, and the one-liners fly.

With the same force and quickness Spartans offensive line coach Nick Bialeschki demands out of his starting five. Like senior left guard Quincy Jones assessing sophomore right tackle Cameron Wagner while standing next to him outside of the SJ-O locker room.

"He's big in size," Jones said with a grin of the 6-foot-6, 300-pound sophomore who is only 15 years old and already has three Division I offers from Illinois, Louisville and Miami (Ohio), "but not in strength."

Or this from senior left tackle Nolan Earley on how often he envisions playing another position.

"All the time," Earley said with a smile. "I imagine myself as Derrick Henry at running back."

And this from Wagner, who stepped into the starting lineup as a freshman in Week 6 against Bloomington Central Catholic last year after Earley sustained an injury.

"You didn't win your spot back," Wagner said, trying not to laugh.

Or senior right guard Jackson Ennis disputing the notion he is the most serious among the five, with Ennis claiming that distinction falls on junior center Brennan Oleynichak.

"Bro, no I'm not," Ennis said. "Oli says nothing except the play."

The banter flows freely, with the chemistry evident early on in a 20-minute conversation among the five. Just like the blocks they make each Friday night are important to keep quarterback Kodey McKinney upright in order to deliver the ball to the plethora of wide receivers the Spartans rely on in Coy Taylor, Tanner Siems, Tim Blackburn-Kelley or Kaden Wedig or to free up space for McKinney or running back Wyatt Wertz to create in the open field, the close bond this group has created is also important.

"We've got guys who have a pretty high football IQ who are tough, hard-nosed kids that want to be really good as a unit," Bialeschki said. "That's made us better. Aside from Cam, we're not a huge line, but these are guys who you want."

Wagner dwarfs the rest of the SJ-O starting offensive linemen in size. Understandable since his dad, Jacob, is 6-8 and was an offensive lineman at Indiana in the early 2000s. His mom, Jenna, is 6-0 and the daughter of former legendary Tuscola coach Stan Wienke.

"People always ask me if I've hit my growth spurt," Wagner said, "and I tell people I've been on a 15-year growth spurt."

Ennis checks in at 5-11 and 215 pounds. The 5-8, 210-pound Oleynichak has replaced four-year starter Braxton Waller at center, with Waller starting the previous three seasons at a guard spot.

"I know it's a big difference having to fill his role," Oleynichak said, "but my teammates are out here for me, giving me support and helping me when I need it."

The left side of the line features Jones (6-0, 225) and Earley (5-10, 190), with both also contributing on defense for the Spartans.

"As fast as we want to go on offense, the center is huge. Oli has done a great job stepping in for Waller," Bialeschki said. "For what we do offensively, we love a 6-foot, 190-pounder that's tough who can run. Because we don't traditionally have the size that our opponents have, we have to be faster and better with our feet."

Wagner is the exception. It's not just SJ-O coach Shawn Skinner or his assistants who have noticed, either. Illinois coach Bret Bielema offered Wagner a scholarship in mid-June after an offensive lineman camp at Memorial Stadium in Champaign. He visited Memorial Stadium again on Aug. 29 for the Illini season opener against Eastern Illinois, took in the Wisconsin-South Dakota game on Sept. 7 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wis., and spent last Saturday in Norman, Okla., on an unofficial visit to see Oklahoma host Tulane. This Saturday, after the Spartans (3-0) play at Chillicothe IVC (0-3) on Friday night, he'll make the trip to Louisville, Ky., to see Louisville host Georgia Tech.

"Most Saturdays, he's going somewhere, but he's also the first guy Saturday morning texting me and asking if film is up so he can watch it," Skinner said. "He's certainly staying locked in. He knows there's one thing that's more important than another."

The attention and offers will likely only increase for Wagner, who garnered four-star status last month from 247sports and is rated as the No. 1 offensive lineman in the state of Illinois in the Class of 2027.

His older teammates, though, like to keep him in check.

"They rib him and get underneath his skin a little bit, but he's good with it," Bialeschki said. "It's a running joke that if he misses a block, they'll say, 'Well, that wasn't a D-I block.' There's a good back and forth between the older guys and Cam."

Wagner takes it in stride, too.

"When you see this dude walking around the school, you kind of know something is different. He looks like a father walking around the school," Jones said with a laugh. "If you don't talk to him about (recruiting), he's not bringing it up to you. He keeps it on the down low."

Getting after opposing defensive lines so the Spartans, who are averaging 37.7 points through their first three games, can get the ball to their playmakers is the main priority for the SJ-O offensive line.

"We're a rag-tag group of guys, but we're the most physical offensive line we've had in a while," Ennis said. "This is a good group of guys who are just going to put their heads down and work."

Skinner said the next step he wants to see out of the SJ-O offensive line is increased communication underneath the Friday night lights. The work ethic and effort is there, showing up in summer practices and carrying over to the season.

"They're all very capable," Skinner said. "They're all five different personalities. They're all five different body types. They are the epitome of what an offensive line is."

Their task for the next six weeks is straightforward, too. Put SJ-O in a position to win an Illini Prairie Conference title, host a first-round Class 3A playoff game and go on a deep postseason run.

No matter if college coaches like Bielema at Illinois, Kirk Ferentz at Iowa, Sherrone Moore at Michigan or Jeff Brohm at Louisville might pay extra attention to what this group of Spartans is doing with Wagner lined up at right tackle.

"I personally don't think about if I'm playing a game, then there's some college coach that's going to watch it later on film," Ennis said. "Our job remains the same every week. We come out here and it's high school football. We're out there to be with our guys, have fun, play physical, play fast and win games."