Offensive linemen are usually happy enough to do their work with their heads down and get little recognition from the general public and media. But on the Towson football team, the five players who make up the offensive front are part of what offensive line coach John Donatelli calls “The Sexy Six.”

According to Donatelli, the moniker refers to the quarterback and five offensive linemen because of their seemingly constant presence when the offense takes the field.

“Every other position on this field rotates in and out,” said Donatelli, entering his 20th season with the program. “There's a rotation, and they've got these specialists. But there are six guys who never come off the field. When it's their turn, those same six guys are running onto the field and they're running off the field. It's the same six guys. The makeup around them may be different, but those five linemen and the one quarterback are the whole thing.”

The nickname has grown on players such as senior guard Sam Evans, a Loyola Blakefield graduate.

“If us six aren't on the same page and working together, I don't think it's going to be as good as we drew it up,” he said.

The offensive line is shaping up to be the foundation for a Tigers offense that ranked in the top half of the Colonial Athletic Association in points and yards per game last season.

The unit welcomes back eight players who made at least one start last fall. And redshirt sophomore Jesus Barrio, who started 10 games at right tackle in 2014, is returning after sitting out the 2015 season because of a back injury.

With only five positions on the offensive line, tough decisions must be made, but it's a quandary coach Rob Ambrose is happy to confront.

“Anybody that has watched us the past couple of years, we've had some freaky stuff happen,” he said. “We had two broken legs in one year. So depth is key, and at that spot, depth is monstrously key. They're competing their faces off because they want to be the starting five.”

As the Tigers decide which quarterback among five candidates will start the season opener Sept. 3 at South Florida, the offensive line is in a similar state of flux. On Wednesday, the starting five was redshirt junior Antonio Harris at left tackle, redshirt junior Amos Campbell at left guard, redshirt junior Shawn Flaherty at center, Evans at right guard and Barrio at right tackle.

But in previous practices, senior Samuel Edmondson was the left tackle, redshirt junior Brady Stup lined up at center, and senior Fred Santarelli and redshirt sophomore Matt Kauffman rotated at right tackle. Harris said the number of players with game experience has fostered a competitive environment.

“We're just out here fighting for a spot, each and every one of us,” said Harris, who started the first four games of 2015 at left tackle before suffering a broken left leg. “We want that continuity by the end of the camp. Working together and jelling together, that's the main thing for continuity between five guys and the quarterback.”

Although former quarterback Connor Frazier finished last fall ranked in the top half of the CAA in passing yards and fewest interceptions, only three starting quarterbacks in the league had fewer touchdown passes than Frazier's seven. Harris said the blame should fall on the offensive line for not protecting Frazier, and Donatelli said he has emphasized the connection between the play of the offensive front and the man under center.

“I tell those guys, ‘We have to be tied together with almost an umbilical cord,'?” Donatelli said. “We've got to understand that if he takes care of us in so many ways, we have to take care of him. If he's fine and we're fine, everybody else around us will be just fine, too.”

Considering the wealth of experience on the offensive line, it's almost natural to wonder whether this group can be as strong as the 2013 unit of tackles Eric Pike and Randall Harris, guards Anthony Davis and Charles Johnson and center Doug Shaw. Antonio Harris (no relation to Randall Harris) said it's too early to tell, and Evans said the current linemen view their predecessors as the standard.

“They grew a lot over their time together,” Evans said. “That's the standard we look up to. It is achievable. They were able to jell together. I feel like once we get better together and start growing more, we'll be able to reach the levels they reached.”

Ambrose is quick to point out that Alabama captured the national championship and the Denver Broncos won the Super Bowl on the strength of solid offensive lines. As for Towson's “Sexy Six,” he's still getting used to the nickname.

“That's a new term I must acquaint myself with,” Ambrose said. “But I'll buy it.”

edward.lee@baltsun.com

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