The Michigan football team has won three straight Big Ten titles, they have made the College Football Playoff three times in a row and they are coming off of a national championship. The recipe for success for the Wolverines during this stretch has been their bruising run game and their strength and toughness in the trenches. The offensive line has been a huge part of their dominant run, but Michigan is losing almost their entire OL from the national championship team.
Zak Zinter, Karsen Barnhart, Trevor Keegan, Drake Nugent and Trente Jones were all big contributors on the offensive line last season and they won't be back in 2024. They will all be hoping to hear their names called this weekend at the NFL Draft. Now, Michigan football has to find their replacements.
Michigan had their spring game this past Saturday and we got our first look at the 2024 Wolverines. A huge question mark for this team is the OL, but according to quarterback Alex Orji, who is fighting for the QB1 spot, things are looked pretty good throughout spring practices.
“I think it was awesome throughout the spring, different guys getting different opportunities,” Alex Orji said in regards to his OL. “Whether someone wasn't available for this practice or whatever it was. I'm sure that you all already knew this but Josh Priebe is gonna be a dog for us, gonna be a monster. Myles Hinton, if you've ever seen him I don't have to say too much. The guys that are stepping up, Raheem Anderson, Greg Crippen, it's awesome to see those guys do what they do at a high level, especially just being violent. You know who our head coach is. Guys just have to step up, that's the way that it is.”
Orji is right, guys are going to have to step up. Based on what he said, it sounds like that was happening in spring ball.
Donovan Edwards shares his thoughts on the new OL
Another player that will be relying on the OL a lot is running back Donovan Edwards. Edwards will be RB1 this season for the Michigan football team, and he is capable of having a big season if the big fellas up front do their jobs. Edwards has seen a lot of good things so far from the OL.
“Josh Priebe is standing out to me, Gio El-Hadi is standing out to me, Raheem Anderson is standing out, Greg Crippen, Myles Hinton and Andrew Gentry, [Jeffrey] Persi as well, basically all of them,” Donovan Edwards said with a laugh after the spring game. “They're all standing out… the offensive line is the most talkative position group and it has to be a team within the team.”
The OL is going to be crucial for Michigan's success this season. The Wolverines have won the Joe Moore Award for the best OL in college football two of the last three seasons, and the one that they lost was this past season, and Washington won it. The national title game showed who the real winner was.
Michigan has had the best offensive line for three straight years in college football. Can they make it happen again with almost an entirely new unit?
Follow Us
Subscribe