It’s easy to get mesmerized by the flash and style of a new vehicle — the look and the curves of the design, the fancy-schmancy interior and all the features of a glitzy entertainment system.

Yet, most car buffs will insist none of that matters if the engine doesn’t purr consistently in the heat of the summer or turn over in the frigid conditions in the late fall or winter.

And in football lexicon the engine is regularly identified as the offensive line.

We begin our fifth instalment of our Winnipeg Blue Bombers Positional Preview series with a look at the big eaters along the offensive side of the line of scrimmage, a unit which has been the engine of the club’s eight consecutive double-digit win seasons, including four straight first-place finishes in the West Division, five consecutive appearances in the Grey Cup game and two championships.

Over that span the club has produced some prolific offences which have included five CFL rushing titles in the last seven years in Andrew Harris (2017-19) and Brady Oliveira over the last two seasons.

So, heck yeah, over this current run these guys have been as solid as they have been consistent.

The Blue Bombers will enter 2025 with one change up front, possibly more, as West Division All-Star guard Liam Dobson left in free agency for a significant raise from the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. That follows a 2024 free agency period which saw right tackle Jermarcus Hardrick bolt to the Saskatchewan Roughrider for the same financial incentives.

Offensive line coach Marty Costello with his troops

Even with that change, the Blue Bombers still have future hall of famer Stanley Bryant at left tackle, Chris Kolankowski at centre, three-time CFL all-star Pat Neufeld at right guard and Eric Lofton at right tackle.

As well, veteran Canadian guard/centre Tui Eli returns, as does mammoth guard/2024 CFL Draft pick Gabe Wallace — who stands 6-6 and has the scales screaming at 340 — and two intriguing Americans in Kendall Randolph and Micah Vanterpool, with that group joined by the annual collection of import talent consistently unearthed by the scouting department.

Who ultimately steps up to replace Dobson at guard will be one of training camp’s compelling storylines, and it could also impact the team’s Canadian/American ratio. The Blue Bombers could slide Wallace or Eli in there or turn to Randolph and Vanterpool and run with three Americans up front.

Randolph, the former University of Alabama regular who began his college days as a tight end before being converted to tackle, dressed for six games last year and made five starts at both tackle and guard when injuries sidelined Bryant and Neufeld. Vanterpool is also a large human being at 6-6, 315 and was kept around all last year because the club’s coaching staff, including offensive line guru Marty Costello, clearly see upside.

Bryant, who turns 39 in a couple of weeks, continues to be dominant — he was named a CFL All-Star and the Blue Bombers Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman once again last year — while Neufeld is 36, Kolankowski is now 33 and Lofton turned 32 last month. Wallace, 25, and Eli, 29, should be part of a succession plan and there may be an option there, too, in next week’s CFL Draft, although the O-line class is said to be thinner than in previous years. That could also open the door further to the discussion of using three Americans up front.

Still, in the here and now there’s talent and depth with this crew to help Oliveira chase another title, to keep Zach Collaros clean and tidy in the pocket — he threw for a career high 4,336 yards last year — and for the Blue Bombers to keep fighting to stay in the Grey Cup championship discussion.

POSITIONAL PREVIEW ’25

The Offensive Line

The Returnees:

Starters: Left tackle Stanley Bryant, centre Chris Kolankowski*, right guard Pat Neufeld*, right tackle Eric Lofton.
Returning vets: tackle/guard Kendall Randolph, guard Gabe Wallace*, guard/centre Tui Eli*, guard Michah Vanterpool, Chris Walker (practice roster addition last fall).
2025 CFL Draft pick: Ethan Vibert* (Rd 3, 27th overall), Iwinosa Uwubanmwen (Rd 8, 71st overall; not attending camp)
Newcomers: Matt Kickel, Aidan Hemphill, Alexis Lévesque-Gallant*, Christophe Atkinson, Michael Todd, Austin Euler
Departed: Liam Dobson* (Hamilton)
*Indicates Canadian

Keep an eye on:

OT, #69 Kendall Randolph

Randolph flashed enough in his first CFL season to force himself into the conversation to start at a couple of spots. He filled in for Neufeld at guard and then Bryant at left tackle and could get looks at left guard as the replacement for Dobson but also, potentially, to push Lofton at right tackle. He’s got good size at 6-4, 300 and has the feet to play on the edge as a converted tight end.

Did you know?

The Blue Bombers had a run of six straight seasons where one of their O-linemen was a finalist for the CFL’s Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman award end last year.

Bryant won the award four times — the first lineman in CFL history to do so — in 2017, 2018, 2021 and 2022 and was a runner-up in 2019 while Hardrick was the runner-up in 2023.

Bryant was again the Blue Bombers nominee last season, but it was Saskatchewan’s Logan Ferland who earned the West Division nomination while Toronto’s Ryan Hunter won league-wide award.

Notable Number:

The Blue Bombers surrendered 36 sacks last year, ranking as fifth best in the CFL behind Edmonton (29), Calgary and Hamilton (30) and Saskatchewan (35).

Interestingly — or, shockingly — a third of those sacks, 12 in total, came in two losses to the Toronto Argonauts in July and October.