Michigan Wolverines football offensive line coach Ed Warinner met with the media yesterday to discuss how his unit has been impacted following redshirt sophomore right tackle Andrew Stueber's indefinite injury.
Warinner discussed a few moves that have since been made along the offensive front, while providing a detailed description of what the two-deep now looks like.
We break down the highlights of what he said in this News & Views format:
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NEWS: Redshirt freshman Jalen Mayfield will almost assuredly now be Michigan's starting right tackle (and may have been anyway) against Middle Tennessee State following Stueber's knee injury last week.
Warinner explained the impact the setback has had, while also admitting he's thrilled with the depth Michigan finally has up front.
WARINNER: “I don’t have a timeline [on Stueber]. The medical staff is seeing how quickly they can get him to respond, so time will tell. [Redshirt sophomore] Joel [Honigford] had been playing right guard, and with [redshirt junior Andrew] Vastardis playing so well at guard/center, we felt very comfortable having Vastardis as a right guard and bumping Joel out [to tackle].
"Joel has only been at tackle a couple days but has looked real comfortable, and that may be a better position for him anyway. I tried him out there a year ago and he struggled with pass protection, but he’s worked on it for a year and has the fundamentals down, and has looked good in that area.
"That was the piece that kept him from playing tackle a year ago, but now I feel comfortable with his pass protection and he knows what’s going on. That will be a good move for him.
"Vastardis is also a solid guy inside. We also have [redshirt junior Stephen] Spanellis at center, [redshirt sophomore] Chuck [Filiaga] at left guard and [redshirt freshman] Ryan Hayes at left tackle.
"We’re also bringing the freshmen along and have some good ones, so we’ll see which ones rises to the top.”
VIEWS: Warinner revealed what the two-deep looked like in the spring as well, and it was almost identical to the one he recited yesterday. The only change back then was that Honigford was backing up senior Mike Onwenu at right guard, but with the former now being moved to tackle, the aforementioned Vastardis appears to have been the main beneficiary.
It wouldn't be a complete shock if one of the six freshmen were able to eventually crack the two-deep as well, with Warinner stating yesterday that he expects to play several of them in at least four games and won't redshirt them if they're capable of producing.
The most significant takeaway, however, involves the depth U-M has finally built up front.
Injuries to potential starters (like Stueber) have often spelled doom for the group over the last decade, but that is not the case anymore.
Michigan's offensive line would probably still be fine if one of the backups were forced to play significant snaps (Spanellis, for example, has meaningful experience in his career), which is a testament to how far the group has come under head coach Jim Harbaugh.
NEWS: Although Michigan's offensive line clearly progressed as last season went on, it still wasn't at an elite level and seemingly took a step in the wrong direction in the final two games against Ohio State and Florida.
Warinner admittedly challenged the unit in the winter and spring to change their bodies and continue to progress, and they appear to have answered the call.
WARINNER: “My impressions during spring ball were that every single starter was better at the end of spring than they were after our last game. When I got them in August and started coaching them again, they were all physically better and conditioned, and were more fit.
"They made physical changes, which was important because we had given them all goals at the end of spring. Each of them did it by physically changing their body compositions — losing fat and adding muscle mass.
"I could see they were different guys physically from day one, in a better way. They care, work hard and had good summers, and it’s important to them. It’s a blessing to go to work every day and coach those guys.”
