Tim Burchett could hardly believe it.

The Knoch football coach saw junior offensive lineman Wyatt Foster working out in the weight room — one day after he and his family lost their house to a fire last winter.

“I figured I wouldn’t see him for a while,” Burchett said. “The day that fire happened, he sent a message to me through a teammate apologizing for not being able to put in the weight room work that day.

“Obviously, he was thinking about his family and what they were all dealing with. He cared about his football family, too. That’s the kind of person he is.”

The 6-foot-1, 225-pound Foster will be a starter along Knoch’s offensive front this season.

“Football is my outlet,” Foster said. “Having something like that to concentrate on ... going in and hitting the weights, working out ... It helped me. And I got a lot of support from my team.”

Burchett described Foster as a “different type of kid. I’ll take 10 more just like him. His work ethic and inner strength inspires the whole team.”

Butler coach Eric Christy points to 5-11, 225-pound senior Keegan Bracken as the leader of the Golden Tornado’s offensive line.

“He’s a leader in our weight room,” Christy said. “Keegan wants to play college football and he’s putting in the work to get there. He’s also got a 4.1 grade point average and comes from a great family.”

Bracken understands the importance of his position.

“We have a lot of backs and receivers who can make big plays,” he said. “We have to give them space and time to do it. It’s on the linemen to do our jobs that way and I like that challenge.”

It takes a certain mentality to not just play on the line, but play the position well. Guys up front know that recognition compared to that received by their teammates at the skill positions will be slim. That fact doesn’t bother Mars senior left tackle Isaak Winters. He takes pride in the success of his teammates.

Winters helped Mars running back Evan Wright rush for over 1,000 yards and 18 touchdowns in 2022.

"Evan always gives 110 percent,“ he said. ”I enjoy blocking for a guy like that and I don't want to let him down."

Jayden Keene is the only returning starter on the Moniteau’s front. His versatility on the line of scrimmage should make Moniteau coach Bob Rottman’s task of molding things around him an easier one.

“He’s the only proven lineman that we have at this point,” Rottman said. “He can play all three — center, guard, tackle. ... When you get some young guys coming in, a guy like Jayden Keene allows you to put them in places where they’re comfortable.”

A senior with two years of first-string experience to his name, Keene has been exemplary to his younger colleagues, especially in the weight room. He’s added size to go with another trait that should help him in the trenches — quickness.

“He’s probably as fast as some of our skill guys,” Rottman said. “He’s a strong kid, he’s not overly big, but his speed helps him.

Slippery Rock coach Larry Wendereusz admits he didn’t expect his most important lineman — tackle Blaise Mullen — to grow into what he’s become.

“I think Blaise is a late bloomer, in a sense,” Wendereusz said. “Blaise has the size, he’s got great feet, but the one thing he didn’t have was that strength when he was younger. He worked his tail off in the off-season to become stronger. We’re excited to see what he’s going to do this year.”

Freeport’s Brady Paga had the same sort of growth spurt, playing center his freshman year, then guard, and now is a bookend on the Yellowjackets’ offensive line.

“I think he could be in the running for the Bill Fralic Award,” Freeport coach John Gaillot said. “He’s just solid all around, offensively and defensively. He’s just precise on everything he does. ... He has a legit shot to play some place (in college).”