Pro Football Focus (PFF) analyst Josh Liskiewitz was kind enough to swing by TheWolverine and discuss a few of the topics surrounding the Michigan Wolverines' football team so far this season, specifically involving the offensive line.
Many were frustrated with U-M's offensive line this past weekend against Army when the club averaged just 2.4 yards per rush (the lowest in a victory of the Jim Harbaugh era), but PFF actually declared that Michigan's front five had one of the best showings of any offensive line in the country in week two.
They praised senior right guard Mike Onwenu specifically, who was tabbed as the starting right guard to their College Football Week 2 Team of the Week.
"The Wolverines’ offense struggled to move the ball against Army but Onwenu wasn’t a reason why," they wrote. "He logged 40 snaps each in pass protection and for the run game, finishing with the nation’s best grades in each facet."
Note: Liskiewitz confirmed that 64 is an average PFF grade for a game, 68 is par for a season, and 72 is average for a career.
Onwenu has actually been rated as Michigan's best overall offensive player this season, grading out with an 81.8 mark through two contests.
“He’s been better assignment-wise this year than he was last season," Liskiewitz explained. "He had a couple of mishaps against Army, but generally did well. His strength and power at the line of scrimmage have been huge, especially in the run game — that’s what’s been most impressive about him.”
Liskiewitz also went into specific detail on how PFF critiques its offensive linemen, and helped explain why the U-M front five received such an outstanding review against Army last Saturday despite the overall poor rushing statistics.
