The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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84 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2020 FOOTBALL PREVIEW OFFENSIVE LINE you rarely saw him make the same mis- take twice. He's watching film, listening to coaches, practicing, working on it." Pushing Hayes and Mayfield are a pair of redshirt freshmen with incredible upside in Trevor Keegan (6-6, 316) and Trente Jones (6-4, 294), long-armed tackles who can re- ally move. In the recent past, the Michi- gan coaches have scrambled to find enough tackle prospects, even moving Runyan to left tackle two seasons ago. Though Runyan excelled, earning All- Big Ten honors in each of the last two sea- sons, he wasn't the prototypical tackle, better suited for guard. Keegan and Jones could both move inside if need be and will com- pete for time at guard, as well, but Jansen sees successful futures at tackle for both. "I like their athletic ability," Jansen said. "They just move like offensive linemen are supposed to move; no laboring involved. They just kind of flow … I don't want to say it's effortless, but at times they do make it seem effortless because they're just in the right place at the right time. That's all be- cause they have good footwork and really understand concepts." In the middle, replacing the first-round NFL Draft pick Ruiz will be one of Warin- ner's most important tasks. The center is the guy making the calls and setting run and pass blocking schemes, so experience is critical. This year's starter will likely have very little of it. Former walk-on Andrew Vastardis (6-3, 319), though, saw action at center in four games last season, including Notre Dame and Michigan State, and has a great grasp of the offense. "He has studied it. He has prepared his mind," Jansen said. "When you are talking about blitz pickup, guys have to know ex- actly where the protection is set, and every- thing goes off who the center declares is the Mike [middle] linebacker, who he declares is the guy that this is the 'zero' guy [blitzer], and now everything goes off that. "They've got to count the defensive line- men, got to count the linebackers, got to see what's going on with safeties and corners. All that will be determined by the center's call, and in the run game, as well. Where are the linebackers? Who are we calling Mike to set the run-blocking schemes? I think he's done a great job of mastering the offense, just the mental side of it, and he will have ev- erybody in the right place at the right time." He has got his body right and physically he can do it, as well, Jansen added. Even so, he might not be the favorite to win the job. Redshirt freshman Zach Car- penter (6-5, 320) is young and inexperienced and won't have the same knowledge base as Vastardis, just because he hasn't played as much football. But he has got great potential and looks the part. "He moves great," Jansen said. "I like his confidence. He does a great job like Cesar did of being able to snap the ball and get his hands up, whether it's pass blocking or run blocking. "He does a good job of having quick hands, getting the ball to the quarterback ac- curately and then getting them up to block." Whoever wins the starting guard spots, meanwhile, will have quite the legacy to fol- low. Bredeson and Onwenu started for four and three seasons, respectively, before mov- ing on to the NFL, and they will be missed. It might be now or never for redshirt ju- nior Chuck Filiaga (6-6, 341), an enormous presence along the interior who made a move in Citrus Bowl practices last Decem- ber. Spring ball could have been huge for him, but Warinner spoke highly of his left guard prospect in the winter, and Jansen added that the light finally seemed to come on for Filiaga. "This happens, sometimes sooner and sometimes later, but when it does you see a guy that finally understands what it takes at any given position," Jansen said. "It will obviously be at guard for Chuck, and I think he's going to be a guy that can really help. "You're playing in a box at the guard posi- tion, it's like being in a phone booth. I like his power there. His hand placement has been so much better … he's compact, but still has good arm length at this position. I just like what he provides in terms of depth of the pocket, being able to set an anchor up front there." Right behind is a pair of redshirt freshmen with tremendous upside in Nolan Rumler Redshirt junior Andrew Stueber, who missed the 2019 campaign after suffering a knee injury late in training camp, will compete for a starting job — most likely at guard — this fall. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN "We feel like we have a good nucleus of guys that have played in games, whether it's been late in games or starters, and then a good group of young guys that have been here over the past year or [longer] that have gained valuable experience from a depth standpoint." U-M OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR JOSH GATTIS