Iowa State’s offensive production greatly increased from 2015 to 2016, and a large part of that — literally and figuratively — was the performance from the offensive line.

Offensive line play can be tough to judge. Unlike every other offensive position, there aren’t any mainstream statistics to use with the guys in the trenches, and even the few statistics that are used do not tell the whole story.

But generally it is pretty easy to tell when a line is working and when it’s not. When the offense is firing on all cylinders and moving the ball consistently, there’s a good chance the offensive line deserves credit.

The 2016 season didn’t get off to a great start for the linemen. Jake Campos, the top lineman on the team, missed the entire season with a knee injury.

Young and inexperienced linemen filled his place. Brian Seda, a redshirt junior walk-on who didn’t see the field in his first three seasons, started the final 10 games of the season. The patchwork offensive line ended up being part of an offense that set school records in the Big 12 era for points per game and yards per game.

Offensive line gurus, recruiting changes

It only makes sense for Iowa State’s offensive line to have stepped up as soon as head coach Matt Campbell and offensive coordinator Tom Manning arrived on campus.

Campbell’s coaching career was entirely centered around the offensive line until he took the head coaching job at Toledo in 2012. Same with Tom Manning, who had followed Campbell around from Mount Union to Toledo, always coaching the offensive line.

Thanks to Manning and Campbell, Iowa State is now winning recruiting battles for offensive linemen against traditionally strong teams.

With such a focus on the offensive line, Iowa State was able to pick up six offensive line recruits in the 2017 class, including three from the state of Iowa.

One of those recruits, Colin Newell, chose the Cyclones over an offer from Iowa. Another offensive line commit, Josh Knipfel, reportedly held offers from Michigan State, West Virginia and Virginia Tech.

The 2017 offensive line

This year’s offensive line should be better than last year’s. With a healthy Jake Campos and players like Julian Good-Jones, Sean Foster and Bryce Meeker one year older, the line can take another big step.

Additionally, the line should benefit from having solid skill players around it. With Allen Lazard, Jacob Park and David Montgomery all returning, the offensive line will not need to be perfect. Montgomery showed the ability to break tackles and fight for extra yards as a freshman, and Park can improvise when a play breaks down.

If Campos can stay healthy, if Foster and Meeker are ready and if Good-Jones and Knipfel can improve as they get older, Iowa State’s offensive line should be very strong. There are a lot of “ifs,” but the pieces are in place for a solid offensive line.