23 in '23 Wolverines to Watch: #22 C Drake Nugent

Throughout the spring and summer M&BR will be counting down the "23 in '23 Wolverines to Watch". These are the twenty-three players with the best chance to make an impact ranked by their potential impact.

23: EDGE Derrick Moore 22: C Drake Nugent

Drake Nugent was a 3-star recruit from the Denver suburb of Highlands Ranch. Nugent seemed a Stanford lean throughout his recruitment. A strong athletic center that excelled in the run game, he was a perfect fit for then head coach David Shaw's Cardinal offense.

Nugent spent his last 4 seasons with Stanford and comes to Michigan as a graduate transfer. He did not play much in his first two seasons, but was an All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention after earned the starting job in his junior season.

Nugent was voted a team captain for his senior season, once again starting at center. He would earn All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention once again. In his two seasons with Stanford Nugent was one of the better run blocking centers in the country. He exceeded expectations in pass protection with only four sacks allowed in his 27 career appearances and 24 starts.

Nugent has been limited this spring, as he finishes rehab from an offseason surgery, but is expected to be a full go by summer and fall camps.

Needless to say, expectations for Nugent are high in 2023 as he has some big shoes to fill. Last season Michigan replaced former starter Andrew Vastardis in the transfer portal with Virgina transfer Olu Oluwatimi. The parallels between Olu and Nugent are obvious. Both were centers with starting experience in run heavy offenses. Olu and Nugent were on preseason watch lists in 2022 for the Outland and Rimington Trophy, Oluwatimi ended up winning both awards. Nugent is likely to once again be recognized in the preseason watch lists, especially joining Michigan's offensive line.

Nugent has not been promised the starting job, and while he was rehabbing this spring Greg Crippen and Raheem Anderson each had strong camps. Anderson appears likely to assume backup guard duties heading into 2023, while if Nugent wins the starting job as expected, Crippen would be jumped by a transfer for the second consecutive season.

Michigan is deep at every spot on the offensive line, so competition will be the theme of the offseason, but if Nugent can get comfortable leading the line, his experience and ability make him a heavy favorite to not only start but to be one of the better centers in the country.

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