Husker in WI
All-Conference
NU DL during the hey day of the 90's had the majority of guys under 300 lbs. Faster and meaner than the oppossing OL's they went up against. The old axiom "speed kills" still holds true. I don't think we can have 245 lbs DL bang week in and week out against B1G OL, but I do think we can get guys who give up 15-20 lbs (maybe a little more) and do well. If they are taught how to exploit the "slower" OL.
I agree we could trade some bulk for some athleticism, but OLs were smaller in the 90s too. The DL was not comparatively undersized. Florida didn't have a single starting OL listed at over 300 lbs in 1995. Colorado had Chris Naeole who was considered massive, and he was listed at 310. We had one of the bigger lines in football, and only Dishman was listed at 300+.
All that to say, 290 is the new 270. And I like 290 a lot more than 310 for Ty Robinson.