CAMP TONTOZONA - Almost as unpredictable as Hurricane Charley, the ASU football team's offensive line has continued to change by the hour.
First, senior Drew Hodgdon went down with a break in his right foot, forcing redshirt freshman Mike Pollak to move from backup right guard to starting center.
Then, junior Grayling Love couldn't participate in contact drills because coaches didn't want to expose his surgically repaired shoulder, so sophomore Stephen Berg moved into the starting left guard spot.
On Friday, Brandon Rodd, a redshirt freshman, overtook Berg at left guard, adding to the carousel of moves that has made for an intriguing opening week at Camp Tontozona.
With Rodd thrown inside, junior Chaz White is unchallenged at left tackle. Ditto for sophomore Zach Krula, now that Pollak has moved to center. Sophomore Andrew Carnahan hasn't been pushed at right tackle, partly because redshirt freshman Julius Orieukwu is limited with an ailing shoulder.
Berg still is expected to challenge Rodd at left guard while Love recovers, and Robert Gustavis, also a redshirt freshman, could push Pollak for playing time until Hodgdon comes back. Love should be ready for the Sept. 2 season opener, but Hodgdon likely will miss the first two games, coach Dirk Koetter said.
"Everybody is having to pick up the slack," Koetter said. "Carnahan is just being a stallion right now, and Chaz White has really picked it up. I like those young guys, but the young guys are facing a tougher learning curve."
The biggest burden has fallen upon Pollak, who never played center in high school and worked primarily at right guard last season. That's why Koetter isn't fretting about four fumbles during the quarterback-center exchange over the last two days.
"I'm having to worry about front calls and blitzes, and I have to make a good snap at the same time," Pollak said. "It's a little more pressure, but I think I'm handling it pretty well."
For senior quarterback Andrew Walter, working with Pollak isn't quite like having Hodgdon in the lineup, but there have been no complaints.
"He's a smart kid and he wants to be in there," Walter said of Pollak. "He wants to work hard, and he does work hard. Any time you have those attributes, everything works out in the end."
White contends that losing Love and Hodgdon for Camp Tontozona forces the team's young linemen to learn on the fly, although he isn't concerned.
"I think everything is going to be fine," White said. "I have confidence in Pollak or Brandon Rodd if they have to play. It's not a problem."
Koetter has managed to stay positive, despite the abundance of new faces up front.
"We've got a huge silver lining because all those guys are coming back (next season), and when Drew and Grayling are back, they'll be rolling in about two seconds," he said. "This is actually going to make us better in the long run."
Reach the reporter at brian.gomez@asu.edu.
