Buy Or Sell: Karsen Barnhart Will Take Over For Jalen Mayfield At RT
The Michigan Wolverines' football team will need to replace all five of its offensive line starters the next time it takes the field, following the recent early departure of redshirt sophomore right tackle Jalen Mayfield to the NFL.
The coaches have had time to groom newcomers at the other four spots (Ben Bredeson, Mike Onwenu and Jon Runyan graduated, while Cesar Ruiz announced his departure on Jan. 3), but Mayfield's early departure is a result of the 2020 season being canceled and leaves a significant void at the right tackle spot he was expected to man.
Is it fair to expect Karsen Barnhart — a redshirt freshman who has only played 13 collegiate snaps — to be the team's new starting right tackle, or is a veteran more likely to win the job?
Austin Fox and Clayton Sayfie discuss below.
Austin Fox — Buy
Michigan has a lot of talented linemen waiting in the wings that position coach Ed Warinner is admittedly high on, but the problem is that just about all of them are young and possess little to no experience.
The Wolverines are slated to have 14 scholarship offensive linemen on their roster the next time they take the field (including fifth-year senior Andrew Vastardis, who came to U-M as a walk-on), and 10 of those 14 will either be a redshirt sophomore or younger.
One of the few returning veterans with starting experience — redshirt junior Andrew Stueber — started the final two games of 2018 at right tackle and is undoubtedly a candidate to earn the starting job there once again, but appears more likely to instead serve as U-M's right guard.
Michigan brought in an outstanding six-man offensive line recruiting class in 2019 (four of the six players were four-stars), and Barnhart wound up being the only one of the six who saw game action as a freshman in 2019.
It's fair to assume he's a bit further along than his fellow redshirt freshmen classmates, especially after redshirt sophomore left tackle Ryan Hayes confirmed to the media last week he's (Barnhart) currently running with the first-team unit at right tackle.
Barnhart certainly won't be a shoo-in for the starting job, but it's difficult to pinpoint another lineman who will beat him out when considering the lack of experience the offensive line as a whole possesses.
Clayton Sayfie — Buy
It makes perfect sense for Barnhart to slide into the starting spot at right tackle following Mayfield’s decision to head to the NFL Draft.
Just last week, Stueber revealed who’s been working in with the ones, and said Barnhart was at that spot. In addition, we had heard this offseason that while Mayfield was out with an injury, Barnhart was impressing at the spot. Keep in mind they’re not in pads yet, but we’ve received further word recently that if the season were to start now, he’d be the guy at right tackle.
At 6-4, 301 pounds, Barnhart moves well and is a fit for playing out wide, though he has the ability to play at guard if needed, too. He played in two games last season at left tackle, but the transition to the right side shouldn’t be a problem.
He’s actually a similar athlete to Mayfield, who was an athletic defensive lineman in high school and filled out once he got to Ann Arbor. Barnhart caught five passes, including two touchdown grabs, as a prep senior, showing he’s more than just a big body.
Gone are the days where guard type linemen are playing tackle for the Wolverines, with position coach Ed Warinner building up depth and talent in the trenches, while favoring those with longer frames.
Other tackles such as redshirt junior Joel Honigford and redshirt freshman Trente Jones will be in the mix, but will likely back up Barnhart whenever the ‘2020 season’ kicks off.
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