3 questions surrounding Michigan's offensive line as spring practice nears

The resurgence of the Michigan football program begins, ends, and follows behind the offensive line.

Among the many coaching changes made by Jim Harbaugh in the 2021 offseason, moving Sherrone Moore to offensive line coach may have been the most impactful. A move that raised eyebrows initially, moving on from the decades-experienced Ed Warinner to Moore who had no years of experience coaching the offensive line. The results were immediate, as Michigan returned to its roots running the damn ball behind what would be the nation's best offensive line for the next two seasons.

In 2023, Michigan has important pieces of its offensive line returning and important pieces to replace. Also, Sherrone Moore is now the sole offensive coordinator along with coaching the offensive line. This might be Moore's deepest group yet with 9 players having career starts. Future NFL stars, role players looking to start, and three new transfers, these are three questions about college football's best offensive line.

The Wolverines got great news this winter as guards Zak Zinter and Trevor Keegan each announce they would return for another season. Michigan will still need to replace starters along the offensive line. An occasional starter in 2019 and 2020, and a full-time starter in 2021 and 2022, the line will look different without Ryan Hayes at left tackle. A transfer from Virginia, Olu Oluwatimi fit into the offensive line group immediately, eventually becoming one of the lynchpins of the group and winning the Rimington Trophy Award for being the nation's best offensive lineman.

Michigan is looking to duplicate the success of adding a player like Olu via the portal with three additions who bring starting experience. The player likely to replace Olu at center is former Stanford captain Drake Nugent. Nugent was a two-year starter for the Cardinal and according to Pro Football Focus graded out as one of the best OL in the nation last season. Heading into spring he will have to fight off current Wolverines like Greg Crippen and Raheem Anderson.

At the tackle spots, there is competition to be had. With Keegan back at left guard, Arizona State transfer LaDarius Henderson is the current favorite to replace Hayes at left tackle. Henderson has 29 career starts and is a former captain like Nugent. Although he recently played guard for the Sun Devils, he was initially a tackle prospect and has played on the outside. He is an NFL talent and has the footwork and length to anchor the line.

He will face competition from current Wolverine Jeffrey Persi. Persi had his first career start in 2022 and is more than capable of being the next great Michigan tackle. Both tackle spots are technically up for grabs. Trente Jones and Karsen Barnhart both return, each starting at right tackle last season. The third transfer Michigan added was right tackle Myles Hinton from Stanford. Hinton is a former Michigan recruiting target and the brother of Christopher Hinton. He brings more starting experience to the position battles. There is a host of names such as Tristan Bounds, Andrew Gentry, Connor Jones, and Alessandro Lorenzetti looking to crack the two-deep and potentially win a starting job. Despite the return of Zinter and Keegan, there are talented guards like Giovanni El-Hadi pushing as well.

With what we know of Moore's philosophy, we can expect an open battle starting this spring. Michigan will look for its 5 best offensive linemen and then sort out positions later. But with NFL talent returning, solid depth developed, and a group of experienced transfers added, the competition will be fierce.

As I mentioned before, Sherrone Moore has been nothing short of spectacular since arriving in Ann Arbor and since taking over the offensive line.

Heading into 2023 he has gotten a well-earned promotion and will now be the sole offensive coordinator after serving as co-OC for the last three seasons. In his co-OC role, Moore has been heavily involved in the game planning and in some way that Jim Harbaugh will not share, involved in the play-calling decisions. Safe to assume Moore will now inherit the play calling and while the game planning will continue to be a group effort amongst the offensive staff, as offensive coordinator the bulk of responsibility will fall on Moore.

Last season when Matt Weiss was named co-offensive coordinator with Moore, Harbaugh made it clear that Moore's success coaching the offensive line was valuable, and he wanted Moore to continue to be able to focus on that group. It is rare for an offensive coordinator to coach offensive line because it is simply a lot of work.

When Harbaugh first arrived at Michigan, his offensive coordinator Tim Drevno was also the offensive line coach but Jedd Fisch and then Pep Hamilton were heavily involved in the play calling as pass game coordinator. In 2017 Michigan added Greg Frey to coach offensive tackles and tight ends. An interesting setup, but a move aimed at helping Drevno. It wouldn't work and in 2018 Michigan and Drevno went separate ways with the Wolverines adding Ed Warinner to be offensive line coach.

I am not saying Moore can not balance the two positions, I believe he can. He has worn multiple hats in multiple seasons with his heavy focus on recruiting. A change to NCAA rules this year means analysts can now assist during practices which will help Moore. Grant Newsome, who came up under Moore, is still a tight-end coach but can assist with the line as well. Moore is too good and makes too much of an impact in all of the things he touches. How Michigan best utilizes him without stretching him too thin will be something to watch heading into spring.

With all that said, can Michigan do it again? The offensive line being as good as it has been has been crucial to Michigan's success. And we have seen in games where Michigan struggles it is usually because the offensive line is not having its best day.

The talent is there, in fact on paper this is Michigan's best group of offensive linemen in the Harbaugh era. Keegan and Zinter are true NFL prospects, and getting them back is a massive win, especially with how Michigan utilizes guards in their run game.

I've heard coaches debate which position is more important, left tackle or center, but either way, losing a fixture like Hayes and a talent like Olu is no slight loss. Yet, Michigan is once again reloading and not rebuilding. No one will start on this line by default, they will have to prove they are the best player for the job. Whether they have been here for a few seasons or they are an experienced player transferring in. Much like Olu last season, players like Henderson, Nugent, and Hinton won't be promised anything and will have to work hard to learn the Michigan scheme. None of the players recruited to Michigan are going to roll over and give up.

There is a good chance everyone on the roster currently won't be past spring, so the competition is truly starting right away. We know one of Harbaugh's favorite philosophies is iron sharpens iron. We know Moore believes in finding the best players first and making the group work after. With the talent Michigan has on the offensive line heading into spring practices, there is no reason to not believe they will ultimately end up with a group as good or even better than the last two seasons that the offensive line could once again be the best in the nation by season's end. Who starts and how Moore balances his roles ultimately won't be answered until much later, but the path to those questions being answered begins in just a few short weeks.

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