For Kansas State offensive line coach Tim McCarty, the time is now. A unit that has been viewed as a weakness in the recent past is expected to function as a team strength in 2008, as the Wildcats return 43 total starts along the line. Getting this ultra-experienced group to live up to heightened expectations will fall on the shoulders of McCarty, however, and the task is not to be taken lightly.

The K-State offensive line graces the cover of this month's issue of Powercat Illustrated, which hits newsstands and mailboxes starting Tuesday, and in an effort to give readers a peak into the pages of the magazine, GoPowercat.com talked with McCarty about the unit many believe holds the key to a successful 2008.

I don't know if catching up is the right word. It's more that you're constantly chasing. You're never going to say, 'We've got this.' You're constantly chasing a model for the types of players you want in your program. You're relentlessly pursuing that at all times and at all costs to make sure the product you ultimately give the rest of the team is that type of player.

We've had five days of practice, and the kids have done a good job with their effort. We're constantly pushing them for competition. Our depth charts are always wide open because the best players are always going to play, particularly in our system. Around the country, you'll find stuff like that but in our place it's uniquely that way. As this roster has grown with more and more depth, it's provided more competition. You're in a stage this year to really evaluate and have some competition at that position.

They're doing the things we're asking of them, giving us the right stuff. When you're five days into practice in a season, they haven't played here before. They have to learn how we do things at Kansas State. You can't put a date that this guy is going to be here and ready to go. You press them for performance at all times. When they're ready, we're ready.

I feel uniquely qualified to answer that question because I've played it and coached it. We have a head coach that played it and a head coach that coached it, we have a defensive line coach that played it, a linebacker coach that played it and a defensive coordinator that coached it. There's a transition time there. So many times you can get frustrated with a guy and bury him in the depth chart if you don't understand the process those kids are going through. So our transition time with our background, in my mind, helps us with those players and allows them to grow into those positions and feel comfortable and confident.

Both. The light will come on quickly for some of them. For some of them, it's a process. There's still going to be the up-tempo competition for all positions, playing on TV and playing in other stadiums, those all have different ramifications for every kid. Time is very valuable. Their time is well monitored. That's a major difference in their lives. All of that is transition. Being away from home, playing locally, playing in a different state, all of those kinds of things. I'm an absolute firm believer that we have a qualified background in assessing that and helping in that transition. We feel that is a strength of ours.

What you've got is a corps of people that are working to do something special. The excitement is very high in our camp. Our kids want to play, want to win, want to play well, so they're excited about it. I'd say the temperature is really good for those kids. They're really excited.

That's just a continued work in progress. There are a lot of positive things that happened. That's one stat and you can manipulate those stats a little bit. You've got a good quarterback, you've got a system, you can move pockets. The kids still accomplished that, I'm not taking that away, but you're just developing more and more confidence. When I'm saying confidence, I'm talking about understanding your sets, knowing how the fit onto a defense, a lineman, a defense that's moving and those are things that I look at.. You want to ascetically look right. That's how I look at my positions. When I find it aesthetically pleasing to look at and that's affective, then I'll be happy with it.

I tell you what; this has a chance to be a multiple-type look of team. We've got some kids that can move well. We're excited about how they perceive themselves fitting into offense. From being an offensive lineman, you have a chance to showcase skills in this offense – blocking, being a protector. You have a good, balanced running game that basically employs schemes that are going to challenge their movements to make them potentially valuable at the next level.