It would not have been fair to classify Austin Peay's offensive line as untested as it debuted Thursday night against North Carolina Central. Kyle Anderton is a long-time starter and former All-OVC choice; Hunter Schmeisser, a fifth-year senior; Blake Mitchell, an SEC transfer from Mississippi State; Seth Johnson, a starter when injuries handicapped the line at times a year ago; and Bucky Williams, a redshirt freshman—albeit a talented one—making his first start. So yeah, Bucky was getting his first taste of Division I football but everyone else had been through it a time or two.

Except. With the departure of four-year starters Byron Glass, Ryan Rockensuess and Ethan Self and two-year stalwart Charles Mosley after last season, these guys had very limited reps together on the field. A year ago, Mitchell was in Starkville, Williams and Johnson were largely on the sideline, Schmeisser was providing punt protection and Anderton was a few weeks away from an injury that would cost him the rest of his season.

So while there was some experience on the field, there wasn't a lot of cohesion within the unit and just a month's worth of practice to get up to speed ahead of the 2019 season opener. So much of what an offense does is predicated on how quickly an offensive line can come together and become a functioning, simpatico force. With Glass, et al, the past couple of years had reduced those questions to practically nil. It wouldn't be fair to compare the group the Govs had deployed along the offensive front in 2017 and 2018 to the unit starting 2019. There would be a learning curve; there would have to be.

Maybe not though?

Because on Thursday, the starting five—and everyone else who composed Austin Peay's offensive line—imposed its will on the Eagles. On the ground, they punished the North Carolina Central front seven, helping Austin Peay's ball-carriers average nearly six yards per carry and rolling up 291 yards. For Jeremiah Oatsvall, they kept the Eagles out of the backfield and allowed him plenty of time to go through progressions to find second, third or fourth options as he picked the Eagle defense apart.

And sure, it was just one game. But if this is the standard Governor fans can expect, these guys are going to be just fine in 2019.

"Our offensive line was extremely impressive," Oatsvall said postgame. "All the credit there goes to Coach (Eddy) Morrissey. The offensive lineman always have an incredible bond, and Thursday night showed that our o-line are some mean dudes."

But Anderton, the elder statesman of the group, isn't letting up at good enough.

"I think we showed signs of being a good o-line," he said. "But we aren't just going to line up and look jaw-dropping like you see at Georgia or other places. We have the pieces to become good, but we also saw some things to fix before we take on Central Arkansas."

You can't say enough about the job Morrissey did with the guys up front. He got these guys rowing in the same direction. Not everyone could inherit this mishmash of veterans, transfers and fresh-faces and make it work. But Morrissey has been coaching linemen for over a decade now, often at the highest levels of college football. He knows what he's doing, and in the still-blossoming Austin Peay offensive line, he's found willing and able learners.

"Where we are from January until now, I like how they've developed as a group," Morrissey said. "They care about one another. They're united as a group. They've bought in 100 percent. We have tremendous leadership in the room, and Kyle does a great job of leading them and echoing the message. It's a great group, how they approach work every day."

The line doesn't accrue statistics (I know it was popular 20 or so years ago to talk about how many pancake blocks former Ohio State standout and future NFL Hall of Famer Orlando Pace had; somehow having someone officially stat that during a game is as fictional as having someone chart Santa Claus' route). The line does the dirty work that then allows the skill position players to thrive, rack up the big numbers and the accompanying adoration. Most days, thankless barely covers it; and that's before you get to the wear and tear a body absorbs when it's that large, taking that many hits, over such a long span of time. Show me an offensive lineman who isn't maneuvering into a brace the size of a toddler before every full-padded practice and every game and I'll show you someone who either hasn't been absorbing the punishment for very long or someone who has been inordinately lucky. Or someone crazy. It's one of the three.