ROCHELLE — Competition in the trenches has been a theme throughout the week for the Rochelle Hub football team, which kicked off its four-day lineman camp at RTHS on Monday.
Controlling the line of scrimmage enabled the Hubs to run for well over 4,000 yards during the 2024 season, when Rochelle went 10-2 and reached the IHSA State Quarterfinals in Class 5A. The work starts up front for the Hubs, who lean on all five offensive linemen, plus two starting tight ends and all three of their running backs, to make their blocks and establish the run game. The lineman camp provides an opportunity for returning players to sharpen their blocking skills.
“We have a lot of holes to fill from last year,” assistant coach Erick Olson said. “We have a good group of kids coming back and we have a lot of kids who’re going to be juniors who’re going to be filling those spots. We had a great day on Monday... We have four kids who are competing for the right guard spot and three kids who are competing for the right tackle spot… We don’t know who those starts will be right now, but we’re going to figure that out and our defense will fall in line. Everyone will get a chance to play and our focus is to keep getting better each day.”
The lineman camp runs Monday through Thursday from 4 to 5:15 p.m. for returning sophomore, junior and senior players. Offensively, the camp allows players to work through individual and team blocking drills as well as head-to-head reps. A focus on defense has been on pass rushing skills, where assistant coach Max Basler, an RTHS and Aurora University football alum, has given the program a boost. Coaches and players concluded Tuesday’s practice with a cookout.
“It’s a lot of hard work to run block on every single down,” Olson said. “They put the work in up front and that’s what Rochelle football is all about. We’re reloading and I think we’re going to figure it out. There’s going to be a ton of competition, which is exciting… Coach Basler has been working more and more with our kids on pass rushing techniques. He’s given them more tools to use in passing scenarios. He’s been a huge asset with the staff and it helps that he works with the defensive linemen as freshmen and he continues to work with them until they’re seniors.”
Junior tackle Adam Cobos and senior tight end Brode Metzger are among the returning starters who took the field during Tuesday’s lineman camp. Senior lineman Markell Pogue, who played guard and earned a big role on the defensive line last season, also stood out during camp, winning several one-on-one reps. Cobos, Pogue and Metzger will be counted on for leadership in the trenches as the Hubs look to build on an impressive offensive performance last season.
“All three of those guys are going to play next to each other and I feel really good about that,” Olson said. “That also gives us some time to figure out what we want the right side to do and it gives that side a chance to grow. I feel really good about this group of kids… The camp is a really good opportunity for the kids who are going to battle for positions. It’s more for us to get the linemen together and we feed them after practice. The closer the group is, the easier it becomes for that group of kids to put everything on the line and battle for each other.”
The Hubs will be retooling on both sides of the line, as Rochelle lost a potent group of graduates including starting offensive lineman Kaiden Morris, Colton Czekala, Jack Carmichael and Alex Pemberton. Jack Pavlak and Ryan Senne, two leading contributors on the defensive line, are also departing from the program, meaning Rochelle will have returning varsity players and rising fresh-soph players battling for starting roles. Among the newcomers competing for positions are senior Brandon Cortes along with juniors Cooper Holmgren, Grant Daugherty and Tyler Etes.
“There’s going to be a lot of competition and I really like that,” Olson said. “The style of defense we play lends us to get a bunch of guys out there. We rotate three defensive linemen and we try to keep our guys as fresh as we can. Even if a kid doesn’t make it into an offensive spot, we’ll play as many defensive guys as we can.”
