Two Wolverines appear on PFF's Top 10 returning interior OL list
Michigan's back-to-back Joe Moore Award-winning offensive line room returns plenty from last year's squad to make a run at a three-peat during the 2023 season. Pro Football Focus recognizes what the Wolverines are returning, too, by giving two Wolverines in particular positive press.
In PFF's Top 10 returning interior offensive linemen list released this week, two U-M players are recognized, with a new face also making the cut.
Zak Zinter, who decided to forgo the NFL Draft to spend his final season in Ann Arbor, and Stanford transfer Drake Nugent are the Wolverines representing on the list.
Below is where PFF has the two ranked and the reasoning behind it.
No. 3 Zak Zinter
Zinter is one of Michigan's three returning starters on the offensive line, which is the first two-time defending winner of the Joe Moore Award that is given to the nation’s best offensive line.
The junior was the second-most-valuable guard in the Power Five this season according to PFF’s wins above average metric. On 389 pass-blocking snaps, the right guard only surrendered nine pressures.
No. 6 Drake Nugent
Despite losing Outland Trophy winner Olusegun Oluwatimi Michigan should still have elite play in the middle of its offensive line.
Nugent is the highest-ranked center on this list and is the most valuable returning one in the Power Five according to PFF’s wins above average metric. The Stanford transfer’s 84.1 run-blocking grade ranked third among all centers in the country this past season. Between Nugent creating holes in the middle and two top-10 running backs in Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards, the Wolverines’ ground game should once again be deadly next season.
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