“Sometimes,” Fritz told Grantland, “particularly in a program where you’ve had this kind of success, you worry about change.” Of particular concern to Fritz was the offensive line, laden with upperclassmen, who’d have to transition from the man blocking they’d spent their careers executing, to zone techniques. “Everything we do starts with zone play,” said Fritz, “but after about three or four days of spring practice, it looked like they’d been doing it a long time.” Fritz credits the teaching abilities of the offensive line coach, Alex Atkins. He recalls being on the field before the Eagles’ season opener at North Carolina State and suspecting that he had something special: “I looked out there on the field, and particularly our offensive line — they looked the part, you know?”
This hurt to read.