BC Pro Day Was Reunion for Latest Installment of ‘O-Line U’
Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom)Publisher
Zion Johnson started listing Boston College offensive linemen that have heard their names called in the NFL Draft. First Anthony Castonzo, then Josh Beekman.
Alec Lindstrom did the same: Pete Kendall, Tom Nalen and Damien Woody.
“I mean, there’s a bunch,” Lindstrom said after Friday’s Pro Day. “I can’t name ’em all. I’d be here forever.
“It’s a tradition. Being able to be part of that is amazing, and it kind of makes you want to work harder because it is O-Line U, and you have a name to represent. And that’s what just makes it that much better.”
From 1999 to 2015, BC had 15 offensive linemen selected in the NFL Draft. The program had 34 total draftees during that span. In other words, 44% of BC’s NFL Draft picks over the course of that 17-year period came from the offensive line.
Since then, however, Chris Lindstrom—Alec’s older brother and the last Eagle to go in the first round—is the only offensive lineman to be picked. But Johnson and the younger Lindstrom are ushering in a new era of “O-Line U.”
They have a chance to become the first pairing of BC O-Linemen to be selected in the same draft since Ian Silberman and Andy Gallik in 2015.
The Eagles could have as many as four offensive linemen taken in this year’s draft. Ben Petrula and Tyler Vrabel joined Johnson and Lindstrom at BC’s Pro Day. It was a reunion for a group that started 34 games together during their time in Chestnut Hill.
“I thought all four of us did really well,” Lindstrom said. “We were fast, clean, sharp. We have that connection. We just kind of hopped right back into it. It feels like I was in Week 8 of the season doing indy drills.”
Johnson said that the biggest thing to come from Friday was seeing “my boys on the O-Line.” Except, the potential first rounder disagreed with Lindstrom’s assessment on one front.
“I'd say it felt more like Week 2,” Johnson said laughing. “Week 8, that's a little tough. But Week 2, it felt good. Energy was high. It felt like we'd been here for a while. ... It was just good to see everybody.”
Johnson and Lindstrom stood on their NFL Combine numbers but competed with Vrabel and Petrula in the position drills with offensive line coaches from the Atlanta Falcons, Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Cincinnati Bengals and New England Patriots on hand, according to Senior Bowl Executive Director Jim Nagy.
Petrula and Vrabel, meanwhile, participated in most of the conditioning drills and tests.
Petrula got the nod for a program-record 60 consecutive games, starting full seasons at center, guard and tackle. Then there’s Vrabel, who came in and put on 50-some pounds to be a three-year starter for the Eagles.
Vrabel—the son of three-time Super Bowl champion and Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel—started two seasons at left tackle. He didn’t allow a single sack while protecting the blind side as a redshirt freshman. Vrabel played through a shoulder injury the following year, sliding over to right tackle rather than sitting out. In the process, he posted the best Pro Football Focus pass blocking grade (81.3) of his career.
“You don't really know what that means ’till you're in it,” Vrabel said. “Loving on each other, taking care of each other. But, at the end of the day, just being tough, physical. Just doing everything the best you can as hard as you can. That's O-Line U.”
Petrula and Vrabel will try to catch on as late Day Three picks or, more likely, undrafted free agents. Johnson and Lindstrom, on the other hand, are expected to be selected. Regardless, their days together as a college offensive line—a family in its own right—are over.
That said, even though Friday was one last hurrah inside Fish Field House, the chemistry that was on display is timeless.
“They're my best friends,” Lindstrom said. “We have a great connection. I'm going to miss that playing on the field. But everybody goes their separate ways and paths in life. I know once I see them again, whether it's in two weeks or in two years, it's going to be the same.”
