The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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THE WOLVERINE 2019 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 87 OFFENSIVE LINE QUICK FACTS Position Coach: Ed Warinner (second year). Returning Starters: LG Ben Bredeson (33), RG Michael Onwenu (22), C Cesar Ruiz (18), LT Jon Runyan Jr. (14), RT Andrew Stueber (2). Departing Starters: RT Juwann Bushell-Beatty (19 career starts), RT Nolan Ulizio (5). Projected New Starter: RT Jalen Mayfield. Top Reserves: OG Joel Honigford, OG Andrew Vastardis, C Stephen Spanellis, OT Ryan Hayes. Wait Until 2020: OG Nolan Rumler. Newcomers: Rumler, OT Trente Jones, OT Jack Stewart, OT Karsen Barnhart, OG Zach Carpenter, OT Trevor Keegan. Moved In: Hayes (from TE). Moved Out: Ulizio (transferred to Pitt). Rookie Impact: None. Most Improved Player: Onwenu. Best Pro Prospects: Runyan, Bredeson, Ruiz. FYI Fifth-year senior tackle Jon Runyan Jr. joined a unique combo this past season, when he earned the Hugh J. Rader Memorial Award, given to Michigan's best lineman. He's now part of the only father- son duo to capture that hardware, with Jon Runyan Sr. pulling off the feat in 1994. Senior guard Ben Bredeson has the opportunity to become a rare two-time captain for the Wol- verines, pending the players' vote in August. Bredeson should also rank high on Michigan's list of offensive line starters, bringing 33 starts into his final season. Junior center Cesar Ruiz never knew defeat in his final two seasons of high school football. Ruiz, out of Camden, N.J., played for Florida's IMG Academy, which won every game it played in 2015 and 2016. Michigan's offensive line in 2018 paved the way for 2,653 rushing yards, its second- highest total since 2011. Only in 2016 did the Wolverines surpass that mark (2,768) under head coach Jim Harbaugh. ESPN NFL Draft expert Mel Kiper Jr.'s 2020 rankings include two from the Wolverines' front line. He lists Bredeson the No. 1 senior offensive guard and Ruiz the No. 3 underclassman center in the land. season involved an immense move up in confidence. He simply adjusted to where he was, looked around and understood that he belonged. He earned the Hugh H. Rader Memorial Award as the team's best lineman, with a pair of team Offensive Lineman of the Week honors (Wisconsin, Penn State) along the way. "He had never started," Warinner pointed out. "Now, we're expecting him to be one of the best players we have." Bredeson (6-5, 320) appears likely to re- tain the captain's job he held last fall as a junior. He's been a starter since his freshman season, earned Michigan's Toughest Player Award in 2018 and even garnered midseason All-America honors from the Associated Press last fall. Warinner regards Bredeson as a rock-solid leader, forming a very strong tandem with Runyan on the left side. For his part, Brede- son has expressed gratitude that Michigan's offensive line has grown into a strength of the team. "We've got a bunch of guys coming back, we know what it takes to win, and we know what it takes to not only win but be domi- nant," Bredeson said. "We enjoy the games where we rush for 200, 300 yards, and peo- ple can finally pat the O-line on the back and say that we did a good job. "We like dominating games, and we know how to do it now. I fully expect that we're going to be shooting for that every single week." Ruiz will be called upon to help Michigan shoot straight in the new offense instituted by coordinator Josh Gattis. Huddles are far in the rearview mirror, with calls made from the sidelines and communicated on the field. The junior center (6-4, 319) will play a huge role there. Warinner thinks he's ready for it, following a role as a full-time starter in 2018. "He is a quarterback for us," Warinner said. "The things he does are amazing, in terms of his communication with how we run our offense. A lot of teams have their quarterback do that. We take a lot of load off our quarterback and have him do it. He's very good at that." That doesn't mean Ruiz has completely arrived, Warinner cautioned. "I wanted to see him work on pulling in space," Michigan's offensive line coach of- fered. "We asked him to lose some weight and get a little leaner. He has. "Then work on his pass protection. Within his pass protection, there were some foot- work and hand-placement things I wanted him to get better at. He has definitely worked on them and definitely is better." Ruiz isn't the only Wolverine up front to YEAR-BY-YEAR RUSHING YARDS Rush Yards Yards Year Rush Yards Total Yards Per Game Per Rush 2018 2,653 5,457 204.1 4.8 2017 2,310 4,536 177.7 4.4 2016 2,768 5,524 212.9 4.8 2015 2,057 5,147 158.2 4.2 2014 1,954 3,996 162.8 4.6 2013 1,634 4,855 125.7 3.3 2012 2,389 4,980 183.8 4.8 2011 2,884 5,261 221.8 5.2 2010 3,101 6,353 238.5 5.6 2009 2,234 4,614 186.2 4.5