An offensive line that was a major weakness for Michigan in 2017 began to turn into a strength last year, thanks to the tutelage of first-year position coach Ed Warinner.
The unit improved immensely throughout the campaign and returns four starters in 2019 (fifth-year senior left tackle Jon Runyan, senior left guard Ben Bredeson, junior center Cesar Ruiz and senior right guard Mike Onwenu), with right tackle being the lone exception.
Warinner spoke this evening about the group’s progression as a whole, and began by providing an update on the ongoing battle to replace the departed Juwann Bushell-Beatty at right tackle.
“I don’t think it’ll be resolved in the near future,” he revealed. “[Redshirt sophomore] Andrew [Stueber] started the last few games for us last season and was solid, and [redshirt freshman] Jalen Mayfield kept his redshirt while playing in a few games as well.
“We’ve had six practices and Andrew and Jalen have each started three. Somebody will eventually be more consistent and separate themselves from the other.
“They’re very different guys working on different things though, and I think it could go into the middle of August — the two guys control it themselves. We didn’t want to lose Jalen’s redshirt last year and kept him out on purpose, because I still want to be coaching him four years from now.
“We have some good video on Andrew from those games he started, and it’s good for him to have been tested in big contests like that. If you can perform against our defense in practice, you can perform against anybody.
“Jalen, on the other hand, was only about 255 pounds when he committed to us, so he needed to develop size and strength. He’s 307 right now after playing at 287 last year.
“We saw tremendous signs of him growing all throughout the year, but there was no sense in putting him out there when he wasn’t quite ready. We took our time with him and he’s in a good place now because of it. I’d rather bring a guy along slowly than have them get shell-shocked and lose their mojo.”
One player that Warinner doesn’t have to worry about getting shell-shocked is junior center Cesar Ruiz.
The veteran actually started five games as a freshman in 2017, and has become a favorite in the locker room for his outgoing personality and enthusiastic disposition.
“Cesar is the quarterback for us, and the things he does are amazing in terms of how we run our offense,” Warinner exclaimed. “I wanted to see him get better at pulling in space, and I can tell he’s worked on it. We also asked him to lose some weight and get better at his pass protection, and he has.”
Perhaps none of the returning starters, however, had to improve in the offseason more than Onwenu, especially from a conditioning standpoint.
The Detroit native played at 350 pounds last year, and noticeably struggled in several areas that required lateral quickness.
“Big Mike has slimmed down and is now leaner and quicker,” Warinner revealed. “He’s moving so well and playing better with his hands, and it all starts with his attention to detail. He’s trained so hard this offseason — he was down 15 or 20 pounds pounds at one point, but his muscle mass and density is as good as anyone’s on the team, because he’s such a big human.
“We explained to him how to get leaner and how to train better, because his ceiling will be so high if he can play at his highest level of intensity. Mike doesn’t get tired now and practices a lot faster, and the details are clicking as a result. If he plays with good pad level and uses his hands, he’s unstoppable. It’s all about consistency with him.”
Runyan also endured his own growing pains during his first three years on campus, but then earned a starting job last year and actually went on to have a pretty nice campaign.
Now one of the most experienced players on the offensive line, Warinner explained how high his expectations are for Runyan heading into his final season.
“He’s different now in that he’s confident and a better communicator because he’s confident,” the position coach said. “People don’t communicate when they’re not confident. Jon has been able to evaluate himself on tape and is at a completely different place than he was a year ago at this time. We’re expecting him to be one of the best players we have.”
Warinner also had some strong words for Runyan’s expected backup this season, redshirt freshman Ryan Hayes, who originally came to U-M as a tight end out of Traverse City.
“I’m so proud of Ryan,” Warinner gushed. “He weighed 260 pounds when he got here and is now in the 290s. We’re seeing results with the new weight that we weren’t seeing before.
“His pass protection has been solid and he’s improving in the run game as well. Ryan’s growth has been tremendous, but we knew it would be because of how much potential he had. He’s easily in our two-deep right now and I’m proud of him for it.”
Speaking of the two-deep, Warinner actually had no problem giving a detailed description of what it currently looks like. The backups at most of the spots had largely been a mystery, but he shed some light as to who fans can expect to see at all five spots.
“We have [redshirt sophomore] Joel Honigford and [redshirt junior] Andrew Vastardis battling at right guard,” Warinner began. “Joel had mono for most of spring last year and an ankle in the fall, so he’s been slowed because of it.
“[Redshirt junior] Stephen Spanellis is the backup center and is real solid. [Redshirt sophomore] Chuck Filiaga is the backup left guard and Hayes is our backup left tackle. We’re moving the ball with both groups, so I’m feeling really good about each of them.”
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