Michigan Football Offensive Line Position Battles Continue To Rage On
Michigan Wolverines football offensive line coach Sherrone Moore switched over from mentoring tight ends this offseason and added a co-offensive coordinator tag to his job title. He hit the ground running in the spring, and loves what he's seen from the team so far in fall camp as he works alongside six new assistant coaches, including quarterbacks coach Matt Weiss and running backs coach Mike Hart.
"It’s fun to be here, fun to be working," Moore said Thursday. "It’s really cool when you walk over to the defensive side of the ball, and the vibe doesn’t change; it’s all the same. Those guys get along, and we’re all really meshing.
"It’s been a great environment — it’s been energetic, it’s been fun, it’s been competitive, it’s been physical, it’s been exciting. It’s been all the things you want in a training camp. Just ready to get going."
Michigan has three likely starters on the offensive line — redshirt sophomore Ryan Hayes redshirt junior Andrew Stueber and second-year freshman Zak Zinter. Hayes is a left tackle, through and through, but Zinter, who exclusively played right guard last season, also has the ability to play center, while Stueber can step in at either right tackle or right guard.
Six days into fall camp, it appears Moore is still shuffling some pieces around in an attempt to find the best combination of the top five up front.
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Zinter and sixth-year Andrew Vastardis continue to both receive reps at center.
"[Zinter is] getting some reps there," Moore said. "'V' is, as well. We’re really trying to keep them balanced, keep them all fresh, but make sure they understand each position to keep the variation going. He’s getting reps there, as well as guard, so we’re keeping it rolling."
Offensive coordinator Josh Gattis recently said that Zinter may be the team's top offensive player regardless of position. Moore raved about Zinter and the value he brings in the trenches.
"You just see versatility," Moore said. "He has everything you want in a lineman — he’s tall, he’s big, he’s strong, he’s physical, he’s athletic, he’s smart, he can make every call that you need to have made, he can block every front, he can block any defender … and he does it with a violence and a physical that you want, that you need, that you have to have.
"He’s just very athletic; he has the versatility to do it, and that’s the main reason we chose to be able to move him and work him around, because he can do that versatility-wise. And if he can’t do it, then there’s no reason for us to do it.
"As coaches, we’ve got to be smart in how we manipulate players. We talk about, in our room, it’s just like a slot receiver. You’ve got to put a slot receiver in the slot and put an outside receiver on the outside. Some guys can move from outside to in; some guys can’t — it’s the same thing on the offensive line, so we try to make sure we can do that with our guys."
Moore and Co. have multiple options at right tackle, and a lot of those have to do with how center and right guard shake out. If Zinter does indeed slide over to center, it's likely that Stueber moves down to right guard and one of redshirt freshman Karsen Barnhart or redshirt freshman Trente Jones takes over at tackle.
Left guard is perhaps where the most true battling is going on. Redshirt freshman Trevor Keegan came out of the spring ahead on the depth chart, but redshirt junior Chuck Filiaga is competing to win his job back, having started all six games at the position a year ago.
"It’s been awesome, man. I think both of those guys are playing at a really good level," Moore said, not revealing who's ahead at this point. "They’re competing their tails off. They’re playing physically.
"Obviously, with Chuck, you have an experienced guy who’s started some games. And then Keegan, a little bit younger of a guy who started a game last year and gained some game experience.
"We’re going to need both of them to win this year. It’s been a great competition, and I’m just ready to continue it as we go through the rest of camp."
It's a balancing act for an offensive line coach when it comes to competition versus finding the best five and allowing them to build chemistry. At some point, it's expected that the Wolverines will — tentatively — settle on a pecking order and stick with it for the season opener (Sept. 4 against Western Michigan). However, it doesn't look like they're at that point yet.
Moore also pointed out how they're laser focused on building chemistry within the entire offensive line room, not just with five guys, which will give them more flexibility to plug and play.
"It’s a day-by-day process, and as you grow as a line, you build that chemistry, whether it’s the five on the field or you switch a guy out and put another guy on the field," Moore said. "The more they all play together, the more they’re in the room together, the more they speak the same language, that chemistry is built.
"Not to say, necessarily, that those same people are on the field, but I think it’s also the ability to communicate without even saying words, them looking at each other and understanding, play by play, I know exactly what you’re going to do, and not even be able to say a word. Sometimes, you’re not even able to hear a word, depending on where you’re at in the Big Ten.
"It’s the chemistry that you build on, but off the field as well, being able to do that is really important for us."
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