BEAUMONT, Texas – Over the course of the next week LamarCardinals.com will be breaking down the 2021 Lamar University football team, position-by-position, leading into the season opener against North American University Thursday, Sept. 2 from Provost Umphrey Stadium.
 
Today LamarCardinals.com will look at the LU offensive and defensive line.
 
OL Quick Facts:
 
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 7/4  

Starters Returning/Lost: 5/0

Newcomers: 8

Top Returner: All five returning starters. After a season that saw LU face an experience gap in every game and then overcome mounting injuries just to get better each week, they all (including the returning reserves) deserve recognition.
 
Stats: Big Red's O-Line protected for an offense that averaged 119.0 yards per game through the air and 145.5 on the ground. LU finished the COVID-shortened season ranked sixth in rush offense. Not great numbers on their own but consider LU's offensive line started at least four freshmen in just about every game. In addition to that, the Cards overcame mounting injuries to get stronger each week. Now, consider, last year's brand new offensive line was working with all new quarterbacks, and those numbers start to look a little brighter – as in, the future is looking brighter in the trenches for the Red and White.

Noteworthy: Something for LU fans to keep in mind is offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Patrick Covington has made a career of building strong offensive lines from the ground up. He was in a very similar situation at Coastal Carolina and turned a once youthful squad into a very formidable wall.
 
The Storyline
While still very young, the Cardinals enter the 2021 season in a different position than last year. The Cardinals came into last season with no returning starters. To say the team was young or inexperienced was an understatement, and injuries only added to the inexperience. The Cardinals youthful front went to work each week and continued to improve, despite ending the season with a starting lineup that consisted of four freshmen and one sophomore.
 
Flash forward five months, and the Cardinals return all five starters, to go along with the fact that each player gets that COVID season back – meaning those five players are still listed as four freshmen and a sophomore.
 
The returning starters include Bless Harris (6-4, 295, sophomore), Devon King (6-2, 350, freshman), Ja'Darrius Winans (6-3, 320, freshman), Jevale Roberson (6-2, 298, freshman) and Jacob Dicharry (6-5, 256, freshman).
 
Behind this core group up front, the LU coaching staff has surrounded them with a strong mix of incoming talent to go along with returning letterwinners who saw plenty of time although not all were returning starters. The newcomers consist of James Collins (6-3, 270, Mesquite, Texas), Ashton Janise (6-3, 279, Beaumont), Caleb Leonard (6-4, 310, Pearland, Texas), Carter Murray (6-3, 304, Lovelady, Texas), Tyler Webb (6-1, 271, Vidor, Texas), Jacob Bayer (6-4, 315, Grandview, Texas), James Williams (6-3, 293, DeRidder, La.) and Drew Moss (6-4, 270, Richardson, Texas). The cast of fresh faces will be battling a strong mix of returning redshirts and reserves from last season which includes Alex Acosta (5-10, 275, Deer Park, Texas), Marcques Mayo (6-3, 245, Opelousas, La.) and Alexander Frithiof (6-4, 323, Springtown, Texas),
 
DL Quick Facts:
 
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 7/3

Starters Returning/Lost: 3/0

Newcomers: 9

Top Returner: Tylo Phillips. He garnered all-conference honors after his first season in Beaumont. An anchor on the Cardinals' defensive front, Phillips should've been a preseason All-WAC selection, but the preseason voting consisted of several voters who didn't get a chance to see Phillips in action last season.

Stats: The Cardinals starting trio combined for 49 stops, including 5.5 for losses, three sacks and four quarterback hurries. By season's end the Cardinals' depth chart consisted of one senior, two junior college transfers, a sophomore and a true freshman. Obviously, the coaching staff will look for continued growth from this group, but the production they received in the COVID-shortened 2020 season pointed toward a bright future for Big Red's defense.

Noteworthy: LU is fortunate enough to return all three starters from last season. The three letterwiners lost from the 2020 campaign were all reserves. The most important note about the Cards' three returning starters is the fact they retain their eligibility from last season.
 
The Storyline
The Cardinals enter the new season with an anchor on the line in the form of Phillips. Standing 6-3, 272, the Collinsville, Miss., native is one of two returning all-conference players on the defense from last season (the other we will cover when we go over the Cardinals' secondary). I know Big Red is moving into a new league this year and it can be argued that last year's accolades are meaningless (actually, that is an argument that can be made regardless of whether a school switches leagues) but let's not forget the WAC is a new league and the Cardinals squared off against the eventual FCS National Champions last season. So, Big Red is used to squaring off against some of the nation's best every season.
 
Along with the return of Vincent Rollins (6-3, 296, Phelan, Calif.) and Jack McCarthy (6-4, 249, Houston, Texas), the Cardinals start the year with a strong nucleus up front. That alone is a tremendous benefit to the incoming youth as the newcomers have arrived fighting for a starting role.
 
Before we even look at the incoming crop of recruits, Big Red's starting trio is surrounded by several returning letterwinners who provide immediate depth while fighting for increased playing time. That list includes Jaxon Richards (6-6, 212, redshirt freshman), Kirsten Williams (6-3, 248, Jr.), Caleb Williams (5-11, 300, Fr.) and Chidera Umeh (6-4, 281, redshirt freshman). This group should also not be overlooked to eventually crack the starting lineup.
 
During the recruiting process, the coaching staff brought in a wealth of freshmen to add size, speed and strength to the line. The incoming class – of mostly freshmen – includes Breylon Charles (6-5, 240, New Orleans, La.), Jaymond Jackson (6-3, 241, Lindale, Texas), Tonga Lolohea (6-5, 300, Euless, Texas), Zac Yassine (6-0, 283, Sugar Land, Texas), Jared Byrd (6-2, 243, Tyler JC), Ayden
Bell (6-3, 261, Silsbee, Texas) and Reggie Brooks (6-3, 309, Wylie, Texas).
 
In addition to the prep standouts (and one JC transfer – Byrd), the Cardinals also added another transfer in the form of Addison Shackelford. The 6-3, 290-pound prospect makes his way to the Golden Triangle after signing with Azusa Pacific out of high school.