By: Kipp Branch

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

The position group that will be the primary key to the 2016 season for Brunswick High on offense will be the Pirate offensive line. All 5 starters return in a group that came into its own at the end of the 2015 season.

I have been associated with Pirate football now for 42 years as a fan, player, alumni, and now radio broadcaster for the past 10 years.

As a former offensive lineman on a Pirate playoff team in 1981, I think I know a little about the position. When I look at this 2016 offensive line on Altama Avenue I see the potential for it being classified as the best in school history.

Let’s start with the straw that stirs the drink; big 6’6 319 pound left tackle D’Antne Demery.

Demery, a senior, is a massive offensive lineman that is rated as one of the top 200 players in the entire country by most rating services.

Demery just committed to UGA on June 15^th which means he will be the first Pirate ever to attend UGA and play football right out of high school. This kid is an athlete with great feet and has started since he was a freshman in 2013.

Highway 77 as he is called will be the anchor of this group and expected to open big holes for the Pirate running game this fall. Coach Larry Harold on Demery “he has a very good chance to play at the NFL level one day”.

At Left Guard you have massive 6’4 315 pound Jabori Williams who just received his first D-1 offer from Central Florida at the Pirate Exposure Camp in June.

The senior is huge and can be a game changer as he has all of the physical tools needed to play on Saturday’s in a major conference after his Pirate playing days are over.

At Center you have 6’0 272 pound Ty Hinson who started all 10 games as a sophomore in 2015. He is also a pretty good long snapper and the rising junior could compete for all region honors at his position.

At Right Guard the Pirates have junior John Cano returning after starting all 10 games in 2015. Cano at 6’1 251 pounds is the smallest member of the Pirate OL in 2016, but may be the most technically sound of the group and is an accomplished wrestler on the Pirate wrestling squad. This kid is tough.

At Right Tackle you have sophomore Warren McClendon Jr. back after starting 6 games as a freshman in 2015. At 6’4 273 pounds McClendon already holds an offer from the University of South Carolina. In his first start last year against Camden he graded out over 75% for the game. He will be possibly as big of a prospect as Demery when his playing days are over at BHS.

Coach Harold says “this offense has the potential to be very good if our OL plays the way we believe they can play.

Offensive Line Coach Ryan McKenzie is a tough hardnosed football coach that demands a lot out of this group and expects great things in 2016.

Larry Harold is a run the football first coach in his spread offense. This OL group is experienced with over 60 combined starts in the group.

The 2016 Pirates can go far if this group performs up to its talent level.