Georgia Southern’s offensive linemen know that they’re supposed to be somewhere on the line before the ball is snapped, but with less than three weeks to go until opening day, that’s about as far as it goes.
    Take junior Brandavious Mann, who has practiced as a center, tackle and guard throughout the fall in an effort by GSU’s coaching staff to find the five best linemen they have.
    Labeling them with a position can wait.
    “One day you may be at center, and the next, guard or tackle,” Mann said. “They’re just trying to get the best five on the field.”
    The Eagles released the first two-deep roster of the fall Monday, and the offensive line featured six underclassmen and only one senior.
    “There’s a lot of different combinations that have been in there,” said GSU coach Jeff Monken. “Right now, I think in the starting lineup (Monday), (sophomore center) Blake DeBartola was the only one who was on the offensive line last year. Two of them were in high school, one of them was at a different college and one of them was the backup long snapper.”
    The lone senior is Brett Moore, a 6-foot-3, 253-pound tackle who was the backup long snapper in 2009.
    Sophomore Ryan Byrne, a transfer from Western Michigan, is currently listed as the starter at right guard.
    “There’s some new faces,” Monken said. “Hopefully, we’ll get them ready.”
    Mann and junior William Maxwell were listed as twos at right guard and right tackle respectively Monday, but right now, nothing is in stone.
    “We’ve got some people banged up,” said Byrne, who played defense at Western Michigan, “so we have to move some people around to different positions. We’re all just trying really hard and get it to click.”
    Freshmen Dorian Byrd and Zach Lonas were listed as the ones at left tackle and left guard.

Winded sprints
    At the end of practice, the Eagles ran sprints ranging from 30 yards to five yards, and back up to 30. It was part of the conditioning GSU will undergo each week throughout the season.
    “We’ve always done it once school started, and it will be standard throughout the year,” said Monken. “The first three days of the week are hard — Monday’s really hard, Tuesday is hard again and Wednesday is mental conditioning, making sure we’re not jumping offsides. It’s good for our mental toughness.”

GSU Practice Update
    The knee injury suffered by junior fullback Zeke Rozier in Saturday's scrimmage has him sidelined indefinitely. Junior linebacker K.R. Snipes is also out indefinitely after surgery for an injury suffered during summer workout sessions.

    GSU released its first depth chart of the fall Monday. Freshman fullback Robert Brown replaced Rozier as the No. 1 fullback. Senior Lee Banks was listed at No. 2. 

    Three sophomores — Chris Williamson, Dawson Kilcrease and Bucky Free, have left the team.   

    Of the 50 positions listed on GSU's two-deep, 14 are occupied by freshmen.

    Matt Yogus can be reached at (912) 489-9408.