To put it bluntly, not a lot of people were high on the prospects of a 237 pound, 2-star offensive tackle when John Lisella signed his letter of intent to become a Buffalo back in 2013, but a lot has changed since then.

Lisella was asked to grayshirt before joining the Buffaloes, meaning he didn’t come on campus until the spring of 2014 to keep his eligibility clock from starting before the 2014 season, during that “break” from football he worked with Matt McChesney at Six Zero Strength and began to transform his body.

By the time he joined the Buffaloes he was up to 255 pounds, and the work had only just begun. The homegrown prospect out of Columbine High School in Littleton redshirted during the 2014 season, giving him more time to add size and strength. Once again, he capitalized, getting himself all the way up to where he stands now at 290 pounds.

On Saturday against Arizona Sate in Tempe, Stephane Nembot will shift over to left tackle in place of Sam Kronshage, who suffered a concussion against Oregon, this will open the door for Lisella to make his first career start at right tackle, and while some fans may be worried about the redshirt-freshman getting the start, it’s nothing he isn’t used to.

“Since high school I’ve proven people wrong,” he said. “Everyone saw a 237 pound tackle, so I guess since high school and even up until now, I’ve kind of had to prove what I’m all about, I just do that and try to be the best player I can be.”

While it may be his first start, it’s not the first time the tackle has seen the field, notching time in the blowouts against UMass and Nicholls, as well as 18 plays after Kronshage went out against Oregon. It all adds up to 72 plays of valuable experience that look to be very beneficial on Saturday.

“That was huge for me, for playing time and experience getting out there and having fun,” told Lisella. “It also built some chemistry with some of the other starters.”

“Very valuable, very valuable,” head coach Mike MacIntyre said of the experience. “John Lisella is a young man that grayshirted and redshirted, so he’s more experienced, he’s bigger, he’s stronger. I’m sad that the other guys are hurt, but I’m also excited for John that he’s ready to play and that he’s kind of soaked a little bit. Definitely, the Nicholls game and the UMass game were big for him.”

It’s not easy being a backup, you put in all the work the other guys do, yet when Saturday’s come around you don’t get to put it to the test… Well until you do, and when you do, you better be ready for it.

“A lot of work has been put in, you have to put in work every day even when you’re not the starter, just to prepare,” explained the 20-year old. “I was thrown into the Oregon game and I gave it my all, but you have to get better everyday. Watching film really kind of woke me up a little bit to the speed of the game and what you have to do to prepare for the next week.

“I couldn’t say I [expected to start any games this year],” he added. “You always want to start, you practice to start. It’s disappointing to see injuries to both of our tackles, but I’m thrown into that role and I’m going to go in and do the best I can do.”

Lisella’s first big test won’t be an easy one, he and the rest of the offensive line will be going up against an ASU defense that is known for sending lots of blitzes and mixing up their pressures. On paper it seems Lisella could be in for a long day, but that’s the same paper that said a 237 pound high school lineman would never get up to playing size in the Pac-12.

Quotable:

MacIntyre on if he can use the success of guys like Lisella and Derek McCartney, who both went the grayshirt-redshirt route, when he tries to pitch that same route to incoming recruits:

“Yes, you can, and we do do that, it’s helped with some guys. Isaac Miller is another one he got hurt and his grayshirt helped him. If you had your druthers you’d grayshirt every offensive lineman because it just takes those guys a while to catch up with the size and the speed and the strength and everything. They’re big kids in high school, but they’re not developed quite yet.”