TUCSON, Ariz. -- The Arizona Wildcats' offensive line was young and inexperienced a few years ago. The future, they believed, had much to offer. They were right. The group has developed into one of the best units in the Pac-12 Conference.
"We've grown a lot as a program," said senior left tackle Mickey Baucus. "I don't know that when we got here that the program could compete the way we are competing now. But we're at the point to where we've got the talent and we've got the strength. Everything is clicking for us to be successful on the field."
Wait, the question was about the offensive line. But it's an appropriate answer for the team and the offensive line. The success of each goes hand-in-hand as the Wildcats are 5-0 and ranked 10th in the AP poll heading into Saturday night's home game against USC.
"It's almost the same thing," said Baucus, who has seen the rise and fall of the Arizona program in his five years. When he was a freshman, Arizona, then under coach Mike Stoops, climbed to No. 9 in the polls and, as Baucus said, "the wheels fell off."
A season later, Stoops was fired and Rich Rodriguez was hired.
Three seasons later, Arizona has returned to the top 10 with a mix of talented skill players, a freshman quarterback and a veteran offensive line. Arizona is 27th nationally in rushing (224.0 yards per game) and has allowed 2.2 sacks per game. Many of the Pac-12's preseason darlings -- Oregon, UCLA, USC -- have worse marks as they have struggled up front.
"We've been OK," said Rodriguez, not known for hyperbole. "We've been pretty solid. We haven't had our best game yet. For us to win Saturday night, they will have to be at their best."
Goes to show you, you can't rush potential. Much of the group has grown up together. Baucus, junior left guard Cayman Bundage, senior center Steven Gurrola and senior right tackle Fabbians Ebbele are clearing holes and being steady. Junior Lene Maiava and redshirt freshman Jacob Alsadek have started at right guard this season.
Arizona's offensive linemen have combined for 129 career starts. Baucus and Ebbele have 77 together after joining the Wildcats in 2010.
"It's a nice luxury to have," USC coach Steve Sarkisian, who has started two true freshmen on the offensive line in each game this season, said of UA's experience.
"You have a group that has played a lot of football together. They communicate well with one another. You're not going to give them something new. They have seen everything to this point."
So far, so good. But every game offers a different challenge. Next up is USC's talented defensive line, including All-American junior end Leonard Williams, a potential No. 1 pick in the 2015 NFL Draft.
"You don't really get rattled as a senior," Baucus said. "Obviously, you'll have a bad play here or there, but (things) don't shake you anymore. You know what to expect."
Ebbele likes to think the offensive line is the group Arizona "can lean on and depend on" if there is a struggle of some kind.
"We're the group that you shouldn't have to worry about as much," he said. "But no way have we arrived. We don't want to get complacent. It's a grind and we want to grind."
That's exactly what their coach wants to hear. Offensive line coach Jim Michalczik tempered his praise, knowing plenty of games remain.
"They're competing hard," he said. "That's the No. 1 most important thing. I still think we can still do things better fundamentally and be more efficient and more powerful."
If anything, the group has come a long way. It was a young group that needed to get stronger and better. What they had was time. Well, now is that time.
"I've seen them develop," Michalczik said. "I see them still need to do more. That's the thing about this game; everyone thinks it's about natural talent. But they've put in work and it's about growth and development. That's what this is about."
Ebbele said he felt something like this was going to happen. The group of guys has a chemistry.
"The way they recruited, I felt we'd be tight for a long time and be around each other," he said. "I expected something really good."
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