Having the most talented skilled position will only get you as far as your offensive line. That is a luxury that the Cadillac Vikings have this year with two big time offensive line prospects. Jack Ford is already committed to Central Michigan while his teammate, Riley Norman, is still deciding.
Norman stands at a 6’7” and weighs in at 315 pounds. From the highlights, he is big and he is powerful, what I really like from what I saw was his footwork.
There were the typical straight forward runs where he blew his guy off the ball and pancaked others. What I liked most about him was the plays where he was required to pull. He moved efficiently and got to the guy he is supposed to block quickly.
The highlights I saw were all running plays; I still need to do more research to see how he is in pass blocking. I also wonder how his football intelligence is and if it is possible for him to play left tackle.
With his size, he would be that perfect anchor to protect his quarterback’s blindside. Everything I saw he was playing right tackle. If he lucked out to play with a left-handed quarterback, then he is in the perfect place.
The Vikings had a rough year last year, going 5-4 and didn’t make the playoffs. Norman and Ford are looking to open up some holes and protect their quarterback as they push to improve this year. They do have a favorable schedule to do so.
The first game of the year will pit them against one of their toughest opponents of the year in the Glenn Bobcats. The Bobcats won last year at home against the Vikings 42-7. This time the game will be in Cadillac and they will be hoping for better results this time around.
The toughest team they will play this year is the Petoskey Northmen. Last year the Northmen drubbed the Vikings 63-24 as the Northmen went on to win the conference. The Vikings will have to travel there which doesn’t look like an easy thing to do.
The rest of their schedule is pretty favorable as most of the rest of the teams last year where under .500 expect for one, the Traverse City West Titans, who will host Cadillac and slipped by the Vikings last year 21-16. With two talents on the line like that, they should be able to make some noise and find themselves in the playoffs at year’s end.
Norman is being recruited mostly by the Big 10 by the Michigan Wolverines, Michigan St. Spartans, Penn St. Nittany Lions and Wisconsin Badgers. He is also being looked at by the Oregon Ducks and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Only the Spartans have officially gave him an offer at this time though.
