The legacy goes back much further—names like Jim Dombrowski (Col '85) and Mark Dixon (Col '93) come to mind—but in this century, first-round picks like D'Brickashaw Ferguson (Col '05), Eugene Monroe (Col '09) and Branden Albert (Col '09) have allowed UVA's football program to snag a formidable nickname.

"When I was getting recruited here, all I heard about was UVA's offensive line and, 'UVA is Offensive Line U'," says current Cavalier tackle Morgan Moses.

Moses, UVA's junior right tackle, and his counterpart on the left side, senior Oday Aboushi, have done a lot since they arrived here to bolster their budding legacy.

The two bookends for the 2012 Cavalier offensive line give UVA a foundation up front that makes most teams across the country jealous.

Oday Aboushi Thomas Wilson
Both tackles sport beards—Aboushi's is close-cropped, while Moses' is longer and more substantial. They both check in at 6-foot-6 and weigh north of 300 pounds, with Moses tipping the scales at 335, while Aboushi plays at 310. And both have been named to the prestigious Watch List for the Outland Trophy, awarded to college football's best interior lineman. Aboushi is a New York native out of Xaverian High in Brooklyn, where he was a highly regarded prospect, ranked as the No. 23 tackle in the nation by one recruiting service. Instead of finding a college environment that fit his big-city pedigree—he was pursued heavily by Boston College and initially verbally committed to the Eagles—Aboushi came south to attend UVA.

"It was a little bit of a culture shock," Aboushi says. "I love my city back home … but at the same time I love what Charlottesville has to offer, the pace it has to offer, and the beauty it has to offer as well."

In September of 2011, Aboushi, whose parents emigrated from Palestine to the U.S., was one of about a dozen Muslim athletes honored by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton at a White House reception.

Morgan Moses Jim Daves
Moses also came from a large metropolitan area, albeit just an hour away in Richmond, where he was a force of nature for Meadowbrook High. He was a SuperPrep All-American and the No. 5 tackle in the nation in some blue chip rankings. But he took a more circuitous path to UVA, spending a season at Fork Union Military Academy to prepare academically after wrapping up his prep career. Since that time, he's managed to take care of business in the classroom, including earning the Z Society's Dudley Award, awarded to a first-year player for excellence in the classroom, on the field and in the community. According to Moses, he's getting it done because he values the chance that playing for UVA provides.

"I try to do what I do on the field and operate it in the classroom—give it all I can give," Moses says.

Moses, Aboushi and Luke Bowanko, as well as graduated standouts Austin Pasztor and Anthony Mihota in the middle, gave UVA one of the ACC's most consistent lines in 2011, with the same five players starting every game last season during the squad's 8-5 Chick-fil-A Bowl campaign. With Moses, Aboushi and Bowanko back in 2012 along with a slew of key skill players such as wide receiver Tim Smith and tailbacks Perry Jones and Kevin Parks, the immediate future for the Cavaliers' offense looks promising.

As for that incredible offensive line legacy, the squad's two tackles are aware of the prestige and the expectations that come with playing in the trenches for the Cavaliers.

"That's something that [Oday and I] and the other lineman around here are trying to take forward and just keep running with it," Moses says.