San Diego Chargers: Top Offensive Linemen Prospects
Reese Dismukes
Originally out of Spanish Fort, Alabama, Reese Dismukes was meant to play Auburn football. During his time at Spanish Fort High School, Dismukes was able to perform at an unbelievable level. During his junior season as a captain, Dismukes was graded at 92 percent on his blocking with 34 pancake blocks and 0 sacks allowed.
Eventually by the end of his senior season, he had helped the Toros to a Alabama state title and had found a way to rank the number one center by ESPN.com/Scouts Inc. and 247Sports.com. Not to mention, Dismukes played in the 2011 Under Armour All-American game and was voted the 2010 5A Lineman of the Year by the Alabama Sports Writers Association.
In short, Dismukes was the best center in the nation and it showed in college as well.
A four-year starter, Dismukes earned SEC Coaches’ All-Freshman Team and CBS Sports Freshman All-American honors as a true freshman in 2011. Dismukes started in all 13 games for an Auburn offense that ranked fourth-best in the SEC in terms of running the football .
And while his sophomore season saw some injuries, he still was able to make his way onto the Rimington trophy (best center in college football) watch list and preseason all-SEC 2nd team.
His junior and senior seasons were where Dismukes showed his real NFL talent. As a junior, Dismukes and his 90% blocking grade earned Sporting News third team All-American and first team All-SEC center recognition. Even though Dismukes did not win the Rimington trophy during his junior season, he won it in his senior year along with first team all-SEC (coaches, AP), consensus first team All-America (CBSSports.com, Walter Camp, Scout, ESPN, FWAA, AP) and Reese’s Senior Bowl honors.
Dismukes nearly won the Outland Trophy which celebrates the best interior lineman in football, but Iowa’s Brandon Brandon Scherff won it instead.
Regardless though of Dismukes’ national recognition and awards, he deserves his place on this list of Chargers prospects due to his raw talent and work ethic.
At Auburn, Dismukes shows prowess in zone blocking schemes due to his light feet, good hand placement and ability to bend his knees and hunker down against pass rushers. And although he may not have the arm and hand size that NFL scouts look for (32″ and 8 1/4″, respectively), he makes up for it with his 6’3,” 296-pound frame and overall football IQ.
I’ll be the first to admit that the Alabama state prospect is a bit of a risk. According to the Associated Press (via ESPN.com), he was arrested for public intoxication prior to a game against Clemson during his sophomore season. As well, his combine performance showed that he couldn’t handle bigger nose tackles (which the AFC West has plenty of).
I believe though that given his performance in college and ability to consistently play at a high level, Dismukes is a worthy candidate for the Chargers center position in 2015.
Next: Number 3: Laken Tomlinson (The other Tomlinson)