UF's 'longstanding tradition' of strong OL play continues

Michael Jerrell made his first professional start last week, playing offensive tackle for the Seattle Seahawks in a 34-14 win in Atlanta. Jerrell, a University of Findlay graduate who was the Great Midwest Athletic Conference lineman of the year a season ago, was a star for the Oilers. Now, he's succeeding on the game's biggest stage. "I think everybody in our program were excited to see him play football (at the next level)," said UF coach Kory Allen. "He stayed loyal and true in a day and age where that's rare." As good as Jerrell is, his graduation could have created a problem for the Oilers 2024 offensive line. But the position group, led by seniors Yoeseph Carter and Cole Jones, has continued to excel. "I think there's a longstanding tradition here of excellent line play," said Allen. "We returned a lot of guys with a lot of starting experience. I'm very happy with where they're at right now." The offensive line has done a solid job of protecting quarterback Matthew Rueve as the Oilers have started the 2024 season by winning six of their first seven games. Findlay, which is 4-1 in the G-MAC, will play a conference foe Saturday, when it travels to Kentucky to take on Thomas More. The Saints (3-4, 2-3 G-MAC) have lost three straight games. They lost to Ashland 28-3 last week. But Allen isn't taking Thomas More lightly. "I think they're a physical football team," Allen said. "They get after it in all three phases." One advantage the Oilers might have is at the kicking position, where Cameron Shirkey has been doing well. Shirkey made four field goals in the Oilers' 26-10 win over Ohio Dominican last week. He was named Player of the Week in the G-MAC. Allen said Shirkey struggled some at the beginning of the season, but Allen – and members of the team – went to him and told him they had confidence in him, trusted him and would keep going back to him. ""I was so proud of Cameron for how he played last week," Allen said. Kickoff is at noon