Michigan Wolverines football redshirt freshman right tackle Jalen Mayfield made his first career start on Saturday night, and by all accounts, performed admirably.
The Wolverines actually started another redshirt freshman in Ryan Hayes at left tackle in the wake of fifth-year senior Jon Runyan’s injury, and he too played incredibly well (head coach Jim Harbaugh actually revealed today that Hayes was the club’s Offensive Player of the Game).
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Mayfield spoke this afternoon about not only what he’ll be working on following Saturday night’s contests, but also how far his classmate at left tackle has come.
“If I trust my technique and play hard, everything will fix itself,” Mayfield said, in regards to what he’ll be focusing on moving forward.
“Once I get the technique mastered, I think I’ll have a good career here. I came out with great energy and came off the ball well, and protected well for the most part.
“Everybody is nervous on their first play and I kind of was too, but I was ready to roll after that.”
As for Hayes' performance on the other side of the offensive line…
“Ryan did unbelievable,” Mayfield exclaimed. “I’m happy for him, because he’s such a good kid. He came in as a tight end never having played on the offensive line, and to see how far he’s come since then is night and day.
“It’s crazy how much he’s grown and to see how much he’s learned over this past year.”
Mayfield and Hayes were actually the two biggest question marks on the offensive line heading into Saturday night’s game, seeing as how the interior was made up of an experienced trio of veterans in senior left guard Ben Bredeson, junior center Cesar Ruiz and senior right guard Mike Onwenu.
The combination of youth and experience blended together well against the Blue Raiders though, Mayfield admitted.
“I thought we did really well as a group,” he said. “We were prepared and I’m excited to see what we do in the future. This was our first ever game with two redshirt freshmen playing at tackle.
“The veteran group in the middle — Cesar, Mike and Ben — also helped us a ton, and I think the sky is the limit for us. Coming in, those guys told us to just play with confidence, be ourselves and do everything we’ve done in practice.
“We go up against a great defensive line every day, and they helped prepare us.”
Serving as the captain of the offense, Bredeson especially tried to instill poise in Mayfield heading into the primetime showdown.
“Be confident in what I’m doing,” the redshirt freshman revealed when asked what Bredeson told him beforehand. “Ben is a very confident guy and knows what he’s doing.
“He explained how you’ll never be wrong if you play with confidence, and also told me to make sure I come off the ball fast.”
Mayfield was listed at 296 pounds on last season’s roster as a freshman, but is now tabbed at 319 pounds this time around.
Having put on 23 pounds in such a short amount of time was a credit to second-year strength and conditioning coach Ben Herbert, the young lineman noted.
“Coach Herb is an unbelievable guy and pushes us to the limit,” Mayfield began. “There’s no other guy I’d rather do this with.
“He’s so encouraging and only wants the best for you — he’ll get on you if he sees you doing something wrong, and that’s what I love about him.
“I still I feel like I did before [despite being 23 pounds heavier]. I feel faster, stronger and smooth. Being with Coach Herbert here sets you up to be stronger and physically in better shape. I’m naturally a bigger guy, so it’s not hard to add weight.
“I also met [Tennessee Titans left tackle and former Wolverine] Taylor Lewan this weekend, and thought he [physically] looked like Ryan.
“Taylor just told me [beforehand] to have confidence and have fun. He’s one of the best in the NFL, so to hear that he goes out there every week and still has fun was awesome.
“You don’t have to be a big slob or an out-of-shape mess. Coach Herb prides himself on building us as big and strong as we can be.”
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