Tristan Wirfs Credits, In Part, Justin Skule For Helping Him Master Left Tackle
April 17th, 2025
Chats up OL analyst.
On paper or a screen, it looks so, so, so simple for guys to flip to a different side of the ball on the offensive line.
Joe’s research suggests the PFF tribe started this — yeah, shocking — call for former Bucs left tackle Donovan Smith to play right tackle, so Joe asked him about it.
Smith roared and said he would be brutal on the right side. There’s a reason he never played there, Smith said.
Fast forward a couple of years. As a rookie, the Bucs tried Luke Goedeke, a right tackle in the MAC, at left guard. He struggled big time. Joe had an NFL offensive line coach tell him this past winter at the combine that he thought the Bucs hung Goedeke out to dry as a rookie because having a rookie not just change positions, but flip to the opposite side of the ball, is a very tall task.
That same year, the Bucs had Tristan Wirfs move from right to left tackle. This got Wirfs so freaked out he had to seek out counseling.
So yeah, flipping to a different side of the ball is much trickier than it appears.
So this week, Wirfs did a Zoom call with Brandon Thorn, one of the very few NFL analysts who focuses specifically on offensive line play, seen on Thorn’s Substack “Trench Warfare.”
It is an hour-long video and Wirfs and Thorn got into very heavy X’s and O’s, technical chatter. But Wirfs did share good stories.
The two discussed Wirfs moving from right to left tackle.
Wirfs said he finally began feeling comfortable playing on the left side when the Bucs traveled to Silicon Valley to play the 49ers in late November.
There, Wirfs said (before he blew out an ankle in the fourth quarter), with encouragement from backup tackle Justin Skule, he began to relax knowing he had left tackle somewhat figured out.
“‘Just throw your hand and you will be fine,'” Wirfs said Skule told him.
Wirfs said he finally was able to throw out his left hand to initiate contact with power, what he called his turning point in moving to left tackle.
Previously, even if he did throw his left hand to initiate a block, Wirfs didn’t think he was doing so with power.
This is part of why offensive linemen say moving from one side of the ball to the other is like wiping your backside after a No. 2 with your non-dominant hand.
Wirfs also noted that Skule was a sounding board for him and Goedeke. Skule was like an extra assistant offensive line coach. He would watch Wirfs and/or Goedeke and when the two came to the sideline after a possession, Skule would go over the blocking on the previous possession and offer tips and adjustments.
“It was good bouncing stuff off of him and having a different set of eyes,” Wirfs said.
Another fun element was Wirfs raving about how Cody Mauch is able to quickly recover in the middle of a play if he makes a mistake early.
“Cody Mauch has insane recovery skills,” Wirfs said. “It’s unbelievable.”
April 17th, 2025 at 5:31 am
Another OL with a future as a scout/coach/GM. Hopefully, Skule won’t be missed on the field as much as his teammates will miss him. Love info on the most misunderstood/thankless positions in the game. Run blocking and pass protection are so totally different skill sets. Nothing better in this game than seeing your offensive linemen showing smiles on the sidelines after they’ve done their jobs. Keep it up, Joe and thanks.
April 17th, 2025 at 5:48 am
Not much has been said about the Bucs losing both of last year’s primary swing OL backups to free agency. (Skule and Hainsey)
Charlie Heck was signed to replace Skule. Heck has 23 starts in his 5 years in the league. Is he an upgrade at swing tackle? Pre-season might provide some insight – but we won’t really know unless/until he gets thrown into the fray of a real game. Here’s hoping both Wirfs and Goedeke both play every game and we only see Heck in the 4th Quarter of some blow outs…..
Bredeson is the primary Center back up I believe.
Opeta who reportedly looked good last year leading up to his injury in preseason will compete with last year’s 6th rd pick Klein for the primary swing Guard role in 2025. Initial reports on Klein from last year were somewhat promising – so we’ll see how far he’s come and hopefully he’ll be ready enough for prime time this year if any interior linemen get hurt….
I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see Licht draft another Oline player in the 5th, 6th or 7th round this year – probably a Tackle….
April 17th, 2025 at 6:00 am
Now we’re talking business. Seems like a football teams most limiting factor is the OLine. Licht knows this and man we have a good one! Getting better too. Bredeson can play center in a pinch but I’m all for drafting another center for depth purposes. Someone say that we should draft an OLineman every year. And Cody Mauch doesn’t play till the whistle- he plays through the whistle. No wonder Baker had a career year last year. And now we’ve got the same line with another year of experience? I don’t know much. And we’ll lose some games this season. But not many.
April 17th, 2025 at 6:10 am
Would love to see Klein. Ross trained at center
April 17th, 2025 at 7:15 am
History tells me that anytime coaches start plying musical chairs with the O line bad thing usually result. Tristan Wirfs is all world. Donovan could barely play on the left side.
Go Bucs!
April 17th, 2025 at 7:19 am
Even in Mauch’s Rookie season I noticed him getting rocked and somehow getting himself back in control. and maintaining the block. Remarkable!
Go Bucs!
April 17th, 2025 at 7:26 am
awesome to hear about Mauch, even if it means he makes plenty of errors initially lol
April 17th, 2025 at 8:01 am
Sounds like Justin Skule has a future in coaching.
April 17th, 2025 at 8:11 am
Look, Wirfs is a rare player who has the size and athleticism, but also that extra something that no one can put into words, to play any position on the OL.
So it’s not Skule. It’s not coaching. It’s all Wirfs. The guy is on a HOF path.
April 17th, 2025 at 8:51 am
That’s what Joe is thinking. He’s a really impressive guy to talk to. Guess that’s why he went to Vanderbilt? 🙂
April 17th, 2025 at 9:08 am
Skule showed how difficult it is to switch sides and that’s why he’s gone. He struggled at RT replacing Goedeke but did much better at LT when Wirfs went down. I’m guessing Heck is more versatile and able to play both RT and LT better than Skule.
April 17th, 2025 at 9:17 am
Skule’s gone because the Vikings are paying him twice as much as we did. The Bucs may have resigned him if the Vikings didn’t.
He wasn’t a bad player, just had tons of trouble with Hutchinson, like most starters and pretty much every backup would. He played much better down the stretch until Goedeke returned.
April 17th, 2025 at 9:44 am
Skule got better after that terrible Detroit game (the Bucs still won!). He actually played pretty well against Nick Bosa when Wirfs went down. Had a Bucs type tell Joe he thought Skule was better suited for left tackle.
April 17th, 2025 at 3:48 pm
He watched Sucke and learned to never do anything he was doing.
April 17th, 2025 at 4:16 pm
Rod beat me to it.
April 17th, 2025 at 6:34 pm
That’s funny Rod!