A major priority for Maryland this offseason was retooling the offensive line. As known by now, the Terrapins lost a majority of their starting offensive lineman from the 2023 season. DJ Glaze and Gottlieb Ayedze are in position to hear their names called in this upcoming weekend’s NFL Draft and Corey Bullock looks to be an undrafted free agent. The portal era has made it easier to address key needs, such as the aforementioned Ayedze and Bullock who both came in from the portal last season before making significant impacts in the trenches. Mike Purcell was another portal addition last offseason that saw playing time.
Maryland focused a heavy portion of their 2024 recruiting class on the offensive line, however; it will take time for these recruits to develop into Big Ten-ready talent. Maryland dipped back into the portal to retool their offensive line adding three players thus far. Shorter (D2) offensive tackle Alan Herron, Georgia guard Aliou Bah, and Purdue center Josh Kaltenberger all joined the Terrapins squad thus far. Today, we will look at Josh Kaltenberger and what the likely new Terps’ starting center brings to the table.
Josh Kaltenberger, a graduate senior transfer from Big Ten foe Purdue, arrived at 6-foot-6, 308-pounds back in December with the goal in mind of becoming the Terps’ next starting center. Originally from Pittsburgh, Kaltenberger started in spots for Boilermakers over the past two seasons and appeared in nearly every game. How does he fit with the Terps?
The first thing that sticks out to me in watching Kaltenberger is his low pad level and effectiveness in the run game. As an interior lineman, specifically a center, run blocking is seemingly more important than pass blocking. From the position, you will not be facing the premier pass rushers in the conference and rather interior defensive linemen who usually specialize in run stuffing. It is important to stay low with a solid frame and athleticism is not as much of a priority at the position. I look for powerful steps and the churning of the feet through run blocks. Kaltenberger displays this trait on tape. In this clip, Kaltenberger is lined up at right tackle (as he filled in at this role due to injury) and gets a great jump off the ball. What sticks out is his great pad level and outstanding knee bend that allows him to churn his feet and move his defender. Exhibiting this trait from the tackle position is even more impressive. Kaltenberger never came off as the strongest player in the film, however, his effort in run blocking left a great impression on me.
From the center position, Kaltenberger exhibits these same traits. In this clip, Kaltenberger is lined up at center and gets a great jump off the ball to his zone blocking scheme. He shows solid lateral movement while staying square to the line of scrimmage to meet his assignment. Again, his feet are churning as he shows solid effort through his run block. He even scores a pancake block and opens up a solid lane for his running back to score the touchdown.
Even when his feet do not get moving in pass protection, Kaltenberger squares up defenders. In this clip, Kaltenberger does not get the greatest jump into pass protection out of his snap but has solid body positioning to wall off his defender. His hand placement is perfect as he was rarely caught holding in his tape. Hand level right on the opponent’s chest was a positive trait throughout his tape.
A poor trait I noticed from Kaltenberger was his short choppy steps in pass protection. Highlighting a few plays that capture this weakness, Kaltenberger starts nearly every pass pro set with short choppy steps rather than smooth kick steps to gain depth and wall off the pass rusher. There were a few times where this got him in deep trouble and the defender had ease breezing by him on the edge.
Kaltenberger would also tend to wait for his opponent to meet him at the point of attack in pass protection. In this next clip (lined up at right tackle), Kaltenberger takes his usual quick choppy steps and just waits for his defender to make contact. This stalls any momentum he has and allows the defender to get a push on him and knock him backward. Ideally, Kaltenberger would take longer steps in a kickstep motion and meet his opponent with force. Usually in the interior, contact is made much sooner when compared to playing on the edge, so this could be a force of habit for Kaltenberger.
Kaltenberger is also not the most athletic lineman you will ever see. His pass protection steps are very slow and can lead to his opponents gaining leverage. In this next clip, Kaltenberger has solid form in his pass protection, however it is at a snail’s pace and his footwork is very slow. His stance is very wide and not in a square, athletic stance which leads to slow feet. However, Kaltenberger stays square to his man in this next clip despite his shortcoming with speed and athleticism.
His poor traits of slow feet come into play as a center in pass protection as well. However, the position suits him better and he can make up for it with instincts and solid framing. In this clip, Kaltenberger again exhibits slow pass protection steps but does an outstanding job in picking up a blitzer and staying square to the man to avoid the defender gaining leverage. Again, I do not love his speed here but his ability to frame defenders and stay square is evident.
One more clip I wanted to highlight of his right tackle work was his slow feet really coming back to bite him. The defender blows by him as it is clear that Kaltenberger’s lack of athleticism and jump is an issue in pass protection. Again, he won’t be playing tackle but these clips showcase his shortcomings.
Pass protection from the right tackle position was definitely his weakness. However, Kaltneberger had much more success at the center position. His lack of speed is better suited for the interior line. Kaltneberger has a great internal motor and lack of effort never came up as a question on tape. Low pad level is key for interior lineman and in this clip, Kaltneberger gets off a good snap and remains in a great knee bend position and squares up the defender in pass protection. This came up many times in his tape and it is why I am more optimistic about his play at center than him having flexibility to play tackle for the Terrapins. Interior line requires less range and more playing in a small area. His short choppy steps and internal motor fit well for the center position.
Overall, Kaltenberger is a hard-working player who does not pose the best athleticism in the world but is a proven piece at the Big Ten level. Run blocking is the key to interior line play and Kaltenberger is exceptional in this aspect–a sight Maryland fans welcome with a need to improve the run game in 2024. Kaltenberger exhibits low pad level, good footwork in tight areas, and has an internal motor to keep pushing his defenders to finish his blocks. He had issues in space when filling in at right tackle as his lack of athleticism and tendency to have short choppy steps were exposed. However, his play style and body frame are built to be an interior lineman and this is where he will fill in for the Terrapins. I am high on his ability to be a solid run blocker and hold his weight as a pass blocker in the interior as the Terps’ interior line looks to be intact heading into the fall.
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