Michigan's spring football practice begins in just four days on March 23, which means it's time to take a look at how each position group stacks up entering next season.
Today we move on to offensive guard and center, which figures to be the strength of the offensive line next season.
Returning Players
Newcomers
Observations
Splitting the offensive line into interior and exterior lineman, we begin with the inside.
Bredeson, Ruiz and Onwenu should be locks to start somewhere along the offensive line. In a perfect world, those three would be the left guard, center and right guard in that order.
If that's the case, it's actually a pretty formidable interior of the line. Bredeson will be a third-year starter, Ruiz could be one of the best center's the school has ever had — his potentially is that high — and Onwenu is a mauler that can really run block.
Ruiz, who has proven to be one of the more fun personalities on the team through social media and team videos, played with U-M junior quarterback Shea Patterson in high school. Their connection could be critical this year.
Bredeson, while a mainstay at left guard, could be forced out to either left or right tackle like Mason Cole was, should Michigan's young tackle not develop quick enough. The same could be said for Spanellis, who is a candidate to start at both guard (of Bredeson is moved out) and tackle. He can also play center, so on the off-chance the coaches see Ruiz as more of a guard, Spanellis could fill the center spot.
Regardless of who plays where, it's a good bet that those four players will be starting come fall. We'll have more on the offensive tackles tomorrow.
Runyan Jr. can play both right tackle and right guard and will compete for both spots, but will likely serve as a backup. A backup with his experience will be nice to have, since the injury bug can strike at any time.
Projected Depth Chart
Left Guard: Ben Bredeson
Backup: TBD
Center: Cesar Ruiz
Backup: Stephen Spanellis
Right Guard: Michael Onwenu
Backup: Jon Runyan Jr.
Position Battle To Watch
The position battles to watch on the offensive line will be at the tackle positions, which could be filled by a number of young players which will cover tomorrow, or by Bredeson and/or Spanellis. New offensive line coach Ed Warinner will have his hands full coaching up the talent Michigan does have at the position and picking his starters. The man to watch from this particular group of linemen is Spanellis, who has a strong chance to find his way into the starting lineup somewhere, the question is will it be at center (ahead of Ruiz/next to Ruiz if he plays guard), guard (if Bredeson moves to tackle) or tackle. Coach Jim Harbaugh always says that the five best players will play, so regardless of position, that should happen again here.
More Spring Previews From The Wolverine
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