Although a dominating offensive line probably won’t happen in 2016, it is reasonable to expect a solid unit that shows improvement over the 2015 season.

With starters Evan Plagg, Chandler Miller and Willie Wright returning, and injured Blake Belcher expected to be back, the offensive line could play significantly better in 2016.

The line provided enough protection for Tulsa to pass for 4,332 yards last season, all from quarterback Dane Evans, which is the second most yards by a TU quarterback in school history.

However, giving up 41 quarterback sacks for 282 yards is an area which needs to be fixed. By comparison, Tulsa’s defense provided only 21 sacks for 112 yards.

When sack totals are taken out of the running game statistics, and the NFL method of computing running statistics is used, Tulsa gained 2,546 yards rushing in 2015 at 4.6 yards per carry, while its opponents gained 3,228 yards for 5.7 yards per carry.

Granted, Evans is a pocket passer rather than a runner, and Tulsa’s defense wasn’t great by any imagination last season. But clearly, those numbers need to change in order for the Golden Hurricane to improve on its 6-7 record in 2015.

That gets us to why the offensive line should be improved over 2015.

First of all, the team is in its second year under the fast-paced system of TU coach Philip Montgomery, and that alone should provide improvement.

Next are the tackles, and Guthrie products Plagg and Belcher should be...

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