Michigan Wolverines Football: Two Andrews Have Led Offensive Line Dominance
We suspected Michigan Wolverines football's offensive line could be one of the strengths of the team this year, but this good?
Never saw it coming.
Line coach Sherrone Moore inherited some good players, but putting a line together usually takes time, even when there are veterans like Andrew Vastardis and Andrew Stueber leading the way. That's especially true when there are injuries, and there have been plenty this year, especially at the guard spots.
Moore's group plays hard, though, no matter who's on the field, and they play well together. It's clear how much they respect their coach, running backs coach Mike Hart said last week, and it's evident every time they take the field.
They seem to get stronger as games progress, a great sign heading into the season's last five games, and that started in the spring.
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"It really starts with how they trained in the offseason and in the summertime, in training camp and spring ball," Moore said. "They're really taking a lot of pride in that, playing fast, playing physical, and really a non-stop mentality until the whistle blows, until the game’s ended.
"It’s really on the kids and what they’ve done. It’s been really fun to watch.”
Credit the coach, too, for finding the balance between coaching them hard and loving them up, something former Michigan lineman Jon Jansen has seen Moore do to near perfection. It's one thing to be hard on them, Jansen told us Monday, and Moore is — they have to know, however, that he's got their back, and they have great respect for him knowing he does.
The leadership up front, too, has been outstanding. Vastardis at center was a huge question mark heading into the season. He's instead become one of the strengths on offense after adding mass and speed in the offseason.
"He’s been outstanding," Moore praised. "He’s obviously a captain, but he’s a captain for us [on the line, too]. He gets everything started. The strength gains and everything he’s done — his summer was huge. The player he was in the spring compared to now are two different people.
"It’s just a huge credit to him and what he’s done and [strength coach Ben Herbert] Herb and the staff, and Abigail in nutrition, to the strength training — all those things, you can see the development and what it’s done for his body. It helped him health-wise and from a physical standpoint, being able to move faster and quicker and be stronger at the point of attack.”
Two doors to his right, redshirt junior Andrew Stueber has quietly had an outstanding season, as well. He's given up a single pressure all year and has been dominant at times in the run game .
"He’s been outstanding [too]," Moore continued. "He’s playing at a real high level, playing physical. He’s done some things [where] he’s surprised some people ... not a surprise in what he would do, but he’s just playing outstanding football right now.
"He's playing intense; playing focused."
Moore isn't sure if starters Trevor Keegan and Zak Zinter will return for Michigan State (we expect they will), but he can rest easier given how the backups have performed in their absence. Third-year lineman Karsen Barnhart, especially, has played well at left guard, and he'll continue to vie for time there even if Keegan is ready to go.
"I’m really excited about what he’s done, going back to the Nebraska game, when he came in there and played well throughout that game, and in the last game he played well," Moore said. "I'm very excited about his development. We kind of knew he could go inside if we ever needed him to, and it helps to cross-train those guys to do that.
"I’m really excited about what he’s done and the physicality, and being able to move inside. We're very excited to see what he’s been doing.”
The same can be said for all his guys. He considers them all starters, and he's preparing each of them as though they're going to play.
We'll know Saturday who can go and who can't, but it's a good bet whoever sees the field will be well prepared for what figures to be the most intense game of the season.
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