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OL snapshot

(Fifth in a series of position snapshots leading into the start of Patriots training camp, July 28.)

Offensive line

STARTERS: Left tackle Matt Light (6th year), left guard Logan Mankins (2nd year), center Dan Koppen (4th year), right guard Stephen Neal (5th year), right tackle Nick Kaczur (2nd year)

RESERVES: Center/guard Brian Barthelmes (rookie), tackle Wesley Britt (1st year*), tackle Jon Doty (1st year*), tackle Brandon Gorin (5th year), tackle Randy Hand (rookie), center/guard Russ Hochstein (6th year), center/guard Gene Mruczkowski (4th year), tackle Ryan O’Callaghan (rookie), guard Nick Steitz (1st year*), guard Dan Stevenson (rookie), center/guard Ross Tucker (5th year), guard Billy Yates (3rd year)

2005 OFFENSIVE LINEMEN: Light, Mankins, Koppen, Neal, Gorin, Hochstein, Kaczur, Mruczkowski (8 games), Tucker (2 games), Yates (5 games), right tackle Tom Ashworth

2006 ROSTER LOCKS: Light, Mankins, Koppen, Neal, Hochstein, Kaczur

OUTLOOK: The health of center Dan Koppen (shoulder surgery) is of primary importance to the offensive line. Koppen didn’t participate in team drills during June’s mandatory minicamp, and if he’s not available, that likely elevates Russ Hochstein into the starting role. Right tackle appears to be the one position in which there is no clear-cut starter. Second-year man Nick Kaczur is the leading candidate, but Brandon Gorin and Wesley Britt are also possibilities. With Kaczur and Gorin not working in team drills during June’s minicamp, Britt, a practice squad player in 2005, stepped forward. On the other side, Light locks down the left tackle spot, with Kaczur able to play there if necessary. The front-line guard spots are well manned with the return of Mankins and Neal, both of whom started every game in 2005. Some of the more heated competition will be for projected back-end roster spots. The Patriots project to keep about nine linemen, which means Britt, Gorin and Ryan O’Callaghan will vie for 1-2 roster spots at tackle, while Ross Tucker, Gene Mruczkowski, Billy Yates and Dan Stevenson compete for 1-2 roster spots as interior players. Brian Barthelmes, Jon Doty, Randy Hand and Nick Steitz are longer shots.

QUOTE OF NOTE: “We have a young line, and you hope it stays together. There really is something to be said for a group of guys that have had years of experience together. They know what’s expected of them, they know what the staff expects of them, and they know the way we do things up here. That’s half the battle.” –- Matt Light (Boston Globe, May 10, 2006)

(* Britt, Doty and Steitz are designated first-year players, which means they aren’t rookies but don’t have an accrued season toward free agency.)