A quiet leader, the "People's Voice" and the rest of the Ohio offensive line have built a camaraderie bigger than football.
There’s a double standard for offensive linemen.
If they play well, they go unnoticed with the more flamboyant positions — the quarterbacks, running backs and receiving corps — collecting all the praise.
But if they mess up, whether it’s missing a block, not moving the line of scrimmage forward or committing a penalty, the linemen are immediately spotted, sometimes even criticized.
It’s a difficult position going overlooked by the general public, despite their massive stature.
“Not in a bad way, but we’re the biggest guys on campus, living that everyday,” Mike McQueen, a redshirt senior, said. “So maybe it’s kinda hard from the outside to see how we live.”
In a sport that prides itself on teamwork and camaraderie, it’s the linemen's play that is arguably the most selfless.
“O-line is a special bond,” redshirt senior Mike Lucas said. “We’re the only position group where it takes all five guys to do your job. I mean, you could be a corner or a receiver, or at any position, and be great. But as an o-lineman, I can’t have a good drive unless my center next to me does a good job. For all of us as a whole, we really need each other.”
As a group of 20, the linemen spend the majority of their time together, from practice and team meetings to weight lifting and dinners.
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“When you’re always around those guys, they become your brothers,” Lucas Powell, a captain and redshirt senior for Ohio, said. “You do everything together. We’re just big guys. We’re always eating together, hanging out together, going to a movie together. You spend so much time around them that it just becomes second nature to hang with them outside of football.”
There’s a sense of "family" that second-year offensive line coach Dave Johnson said develops between the unit and its growth. He said they go through struggles together, allowing their bond to strengthen.
In terms of experience and leadership, it's the left side of the line. With McQueen at left tackle, Lucas at left guard and Powell at center, all three have been with the program for five years now.
“All three of the seniors have done a really good job since spring with leadership,” Johnson said. “Mike McQueen and Mike Lucas are a little more verbal than Lucas Powell. But Lucas Powell is first at every meeting. His work ethic, all those types of things are great. He leads by example.”
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Lucas said McQueen makes up for Powell with his verbal communication.
After a debate trying to come up with the best nickname with his teammates, McQueen considers himself to be “the People’s Voice,” sticking up for everyone and sharing his teammates’ grievances with the coaching staff.
“I’ll be the one to relay it or make the comment out loud no one wants to make,” he said. "I’m that guy … but this is just football, no personal problems.”
Joking aside, the linemen all said their bond has helped establish friendships with best friends and off-campus housemates. It’s a life lived behind the scenes.
“But we all know we pretty much live the same lives,” McQueen said. “We’ve got school, got football and we’ve got each other. That’s probably the biggest three things we got.”
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