Offensive Linemen Have Big Shoes to Fill : Football: Unit lost three starters from 1991 season to the NFL.

In an affectionate way, Coach Al Luginbill likes to compare his offensive linemen to a prairie-dwelling species, such as buffalo.

“They’re like herds of animals. The tighter they can get, the closer they can get, the happier they are,” Luginbill said. “They run in a unit. They herd up. That’s the way they play the game. They need each other on every snap.”

San Diego State’s interior line was the bulwark of the nation’s sixth most productive offense last year. But there have been times this year when Luginbill has wondered if his big people were becoming an endangered species.

With a plague of injuries and ailments that started in spring workouts and continued through the first fall scrimmage, Luginbill’s herds were reduced to clusters. At the same time, concern was growing about who would be healthy enough to protect Marshall Faulk, David Lowery and the rest of the offensive weaponry.

“In spring, every day we had a different O-line,” said Joe Heinz of Chula Vista, the Aztecs’ returning weak-side guard. “But now I think we’re all pretty much ready to go.”

But as the Aztecs wrapped up camp and began preparation for Saturday’s game against USC, the linemen were returning to full strength.

Not that the injuries were serious. But Luginbill said they were enough slow a group that last season propelled an offense that averaged 478.3 yards and 33.6 points per game and helped the Aztecs gain a Freedom Bowl berth.

It will be a tough act to follow. Three members for the 1991 line--center Kevin Macon, tackle Jim Jennings and tight end Ray Rowe--graduated to the NFL. Three starters are back: senior Heinz (6-feet-3, 280 pounds), senior tackle Tony Nichols (6-5, 290) and junior guard Carlson Leomiti (6-3, 340).

Behind them, Faulk became only the second true freshman All-American in NCAA history last year. He led the NCAA in rushing (158.8 yards per game) and set 22 records, 13 of them NCAA marks.

“They were the most important part of my success,” Faulk said. “A lot of things that I did last year would have been impossible without them. They were experienced, and they knew what they were doing.

“Most people don’t get the kind of opportunity I got. They made some incredible holes. Anybody could have run through those holes.”

In return, Aztec blockers knew when they reported for spring training they would have the good fortune of blocking for a Heisman Trophy candidate. And that, coincidentally, is when the misfortune began.

Louie Zumstein, picked to succeed Jennings at tackle, was rehabilitating a severe ankle injury (suffered in October) when he was felled by a knee injury. Mark Koenig, Heinz’s backup at guard, was lost to a neck injury. Nichols was sidelined by a dislocated shoulder and Leomiti, who had shot up to about 400 pounds, was removed from the squad and put on a weight-loss program.

“I guess I was fortunate not to get dinged up,” Heinz said. “We heard, ‘Tony’s going to be out the whole spring,’ . . . ‘Mark’s hurt his neck,’ . . . ‘Carlson’s not going to be practicing,’ . . . It went on and on.”

By the first fall scrimmage, Luginbill still needed an eraser for his depth chart because four players who were penciled onto the No. 2 team were out: Aaron Mertens (urinary tract infection), Brandon Bejarano (stomach flu), Burton Ewert (removal of planter wart on his foot) and Zumstein (ankle). Adam Norberg (stomach flu) and Eric Peterson (bronchitis) also missed a chance to improve their stock.

Said Leomiti, who lost nearly 70 pounds to get back to the playing field, “We’re all like blood brothers. And if one of your blood brothers is missing, it hurts.”

But by Saturday, all the Aztec linemen were back in pads and hitting.

“I was getting really concerned,” he said. “Finally, we had a week with 10 people healthy for every practice. That’s the first time that’s happened since a year ago.

“They need to play next to each other. That’s the key.”

The line is set. Junior Mike Alexander (6-3, 260) and redshirt freshman Chris Finch (6-6, 280) will join Nichols, Heinz and Leomiti. Alexander will play center and, with Zumstein still mending, Finch will start at tackle.

Zumstein, who, like Heinz, played at Chula Vista High, started three games last year before he went down with an ankle injury against Utah.

He spent six months in a cast after he had surgery to repair a ligament and reattach the joint with a screw. One month after spring practices, he had surgery to remove a fragment of a chipped kneecap. Both injuries still give him problems.

“It’s frustrating,” Zumstein said. “I’ve got to tell myself that I’ve got to compete for the starting job. I don’t want to sit back and watch.”

The big question heading into Saturday’s season opener: Is this new line ready for a game against USC and a WAC showdown with Brigham Young five days later?

“The injuries, you work through that and it makes you a better team,” Nichols said. “I have total confidence we’ll come out and be ready to play. I have no doubt we can be just as effective as last year.”

Those are strong words, considering SDSU quarterbacks were sacked only 22 times in 12 games last year and the Aztecs held their minus yardage to 22.8 per game (sacks included). The Aztecs also converted 41.7% of their third-down opportunities.

“That was great,” said Lowery, a junior who passed for 2,575 yards and 19 touchdowns after becoming a starter at midseason. “You really couldn’t ask for more.”