Michigan offensive line has two position battles

Myles Hinton, who started games at right tackle last season before getting injured midseason, is slated to start at left tackle. The Michigan coaching staff has essentially named him the starter since day 1 and believes he has all the talent to be an elite left tackle.

Both Michigan guard spots are likely filled with veteran Giovanni El-Hadi and Northwestern transfer Josh Priebe. El-Hadi is a senior with 20 games of experience in his time in Ann Arbor, while Priebe made 29 starts in Evanston.

During Big Ten Media Days Thursday, Moore confirmed the battle at right tackle between former top 100 recruit Andrew Gentry and longtime Wolverine Jeff Persi. Both players played last season, with Gentry taking snaps at each tackle and guard position. Persi has a career start at right tackle. No leader is named here, but many expect Gentry, now in his third season in Ann Arbor, to ultimately win out.

A bit of a surprise came when Moore mentioned a battle at center. Greg Crippen has long thought to be the leader to start at center. Crippen was beat out by Drake Nugent last season and was behind Olu Oluwatimi in 2022. But Moore said that Raheem Anderson continues to fight for the starting job.

“Super excited to see who wins it. Both those guys have been waiting in the wings. They’ve been around really good players. Andrew Vastardis to start off when they were both freshmen, Olu Oluwatimi, who won the Rimington and Outland, and then Drake Nugent who was an All-American. It’s not like they’ve been around players that haven’t been pretty good, so those guys have really sat back in the shadows."

It's worth noting as well that Oluwatitmi and Nugent transferred to Michigan above Crippen and Anderson, but both have stayed with the program—something Moore did not miss.

"And with the world of the transfer portal and the era for them not to leave tells you the dedication and love they have for Michigan. So they both deserve the right to go get this job. They’ve been awesome, so I’m excited to see what happens.”

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