The 2025 Michigan football offense is undergoing a massive makeover this season after its struggles last season. The most significant difference is that the Wolverines have one of the best quarterbacks under center for this game, Bryce Underwood, who is taking complete control of this offense. Michigan will also run the ball much more and try to impose its will physically on the offense behind its offensive line.
The offensive line was set after Sherrone Moore said the starting lineup was finalized on Monday. Michigan reporter Isaiah Hole said Moore announced the final offensive line depth chart as Link-El-Hadi-Crippen-Norton-Sprague. The decision was finalized as the Wolverines prepare for their Week One game against New Mexico.
“Evan Link will start at left tackle. Gio, one of our captains, will start at left guard. Greg Crippen will start at center. The right guard spot, Brady Norton, looks like he’ll start right now, with Nate Efobi, who will also play. And right tackle will be Andrew Sprague,” Moore elaborated. “So I feel we’re in a good place with those guys. And we’ve got guys behind him that can play, you know, Lawrence Hattar, Jake Guarnera, Blake Frazier. Blake Frazier’s going to play. So we feel like we’ve got good depth in that group.”
The only notable news about the line was that Brady Norton is starting at right guard over Nate Efobi. Norton was expected to be more of a depth piece or future project as he transferred from FCS-level Cal Poly, where he was a starter at tackle. However, he bulked up and had an entire spring and fall camp to earn the position.
Senior starting center Greg Crippen shared what he saw in fall camp that allowed the transfer to surge into a starting role when talking with the media.
“Yeah, it's interesting with that — it's because he came off as a tackle,” Crippen said. “And, obviously, our coaches see him playing guard as well. And he transformed his body a bit, too, because he came in, obviously below 300, and now he's a bit above 300. And just a bunch of muscle mass. And, yeah, I think he's done a great job at guard. Just being physical. And, yeah, I'm really proud of how he's developed the guard.”
The expectations for the 2025 Michigan football team have started to go through the roof thanks to Bryce Underwood. Still, this offensive line is their bread and butter, especially with Sherrone Moore being a former offensive line coach.
