Who Has the Best Big Uglies?

Offensive and defensive linemen get to square off in local skill competitions.

While glued to my television last month watching the NFL Scouting Combine for a week, I realized something I'd never really thought of before.

While all of the flashy numbers thrown down at the combine are usually by wide receivers and running backs with their blazing 40-yard dashes or by the big-named quarterbacks making all the throws with precision, I found the most joy in watching the guys who live in the trenches show off their skills.

The thing about watching offensive and defensive linemen running 40s or shuttle drills that's so intriguing is that you hardly ever see them run more than 10 or so yards on any given play, so to see them in open field displaying their athleticism is pretty fun to watch.

So why not bring that same aspect of the giants' games to the high school level and have some local competitions?

Well, look no further than here. For a few years now, these have been going and they are skills challenges between various schools' offensive and defensive linemen. This year, they are set to take place at W.T. White (April 18) and North Garland (April 4).

Check out Kevin Sherrington's column last year in The Dallas Morning News to hear more about what to expect at the competitions.

Undoubtedly, one of the marquee names at both of these will be Arlington offensive tackle Luke Joeckel (6-6, 280 pounds), who is one of the top offensive lineman recruits in the country, and whose brother Matt is also a highly sought-after quarterback for Arlington. Luke has 13 big-time college offers but has yet to commit. He'd be a fun one to keep an eye out for.

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Adam Boedeker is a sports writer/blogger for the Denton Record-Chronicle. He's counting down the month and a half until spring football starts.

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