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With Mason Cole heading to the NFL, Michigan is in need of a new starter at left tackle this fall. Fifth-year senior offensive tackle Juwann Bushell-Beatty may be that guy.
He’s worked at both left tackle and right tackle in spring ball, but he appears to be the leading man at the left tackle position right now.
Redshirt junior offensive tackle Jon Runyan Jr. is leading at right tackle, with redshirt freshmen James Hudson, Andrew Stueber and Chuck Filiaga also rotating in at both tackle spots.
The battle at each spot is far from over, but Bushell-Beatty is entering the summer with the mindset that he’s a starter.
“It’s in the back of my mind, I know that’s what I want, but at the end of the day I don’t want to make it too big of a picture and just focus on what I have to do in the moment,” Bushell-Beatty said.
He likes working with new offensive line coach Ed Warinner, who he says is doing more to break things down and simplify protections. Having less moving parts has been important this spring.
“I think just confidence and pass protection have been coming along,” Bushell-Beatty said. “It took me a little bit of time to get used to it and understand how to do it and be comfortable with myself and moving at the right speed. I think that’s my biggest improvement.”
Going up against Michigan’s stout defense in practice has been helpful as well — and he’s not going to find much better practice competition than junior defensive end Rashan Gary and fifth-year senior defensive end Chase Winovich.
He doesn’t have a preference to whether he plays left or right tackle. He started most of last season at right tackle after taking the job from redshirt junior Nolan Ulizio. Now, he’s one of the position groups leaders and is focused on the task at hand.
When the rest of the team heads to Paris later this week, Bushell-Beatty will be staying in Ann Arbor for something he that only comes around once — his undergraduate graduation.
It was a tough decision to skip the team trip, but he knows that Paris will still be there after football is over.
“I feel like it’s important to my family that I stay,” Bushell-Beatty said. “It’s not something you get to do every day. As a football player, we do a lot and spend a lot of time here [at Schembechler Hall] and I just want to be more of a student for a day.”
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