The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1497536
MAY 2023 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 57 I n college football, it has be- come popular for schools to be branded as Position U. There are certain schools where, when people hear their name, they think of a specific position. They think of that position because that school has been the best in the na- tion at developing that spot. During its resurgence the last two seasons, Michigan football has been making its case to be honored as Offensive Line U, or OL U for short, and it looks like the Wolver- ines' case will only become stron- ger in the future. After the COVID-impacted season in 2020 and dabbling with "speed in space" as college football shifted to more spread offenses, the Wol- verines have found a different identity on the attacking end. They have returned to head coach Jim Harbaugh's roots and pri- oritized the style that defined him when he was coaching at Stanford: pounding the football in heavy packages with mul- tiple tight ends or extra offensive linemen and in various schemes. Michigan leapt from 61st in run play percentage (53.0) in 2019 to 23rd (58.4) in 2021 and 12th (60.8) in 2022. Michigan's determination to move the ball on the ground has paid off. Although the Wolverines' rushing numbers were not elite for all of 2021, they closed the season by steamrolling Ohio State in The Game and Iowa in the Big Ten Champi- onship Game. That caught the nation's attention. Then Michigan took this success and confidence and carried it over into 2022 when it ranked a clearly elite fifth in rush- ing yards per game (238.9) and third in yards per carry (5.58). As a result, Michigan's running backs, such as Hassan Haskins, Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards, have received large amounts of credit for the Wolver- ines' production on the ground. But for as lethal as Corum and Edwards are, the foundation of Michigan's offense is its big bullies. Not only did the Wolver- ines' offense line work beautifully in tan- dem to seal linemen and linebackers and create lanes for Corum and Edwards, the line also kept pockets clean for its quarter- back on the more seldom occasions when Michigan aimed to throw. The Wolverines were fifth in sack rate allowed (3.42 per- cent) in 2021, although they dipped to tied for 25th (4.39 percent) in 2022. Corum may have been Michigan's MVP in 2022, but the offensive line was Michi- gan's heartbeat. It was very noticeable, too. So much so that, for each of the past two years, Michigan's offensive line has been the re- cipient of the Joe Moore Award, which is given to the nation's top offensive line by a committee comprised of college foot- ball experts, especially those who played or coached the offensive line position. Michigan is the only school to win the award in back-to-back years. It was not the only offensive line honor that the Wolverines received last season either. Departing center Olu Oluwatimi secured both the Outland Trophy, given to the nation's top lineman, and the Rim- ington Trophy for outstanding play at the center position. Also, every single start- ing Michigan offensive lineman received All-Big Ten honors of some kind, includ- ing the trio of Oluwatimi and returning guards Zak Zinter and Trevor Keegan on the first team. As Michigan's offensive line makes its mark and hauls in the hardware, others have taken notice, particu- larly those who play the position and want to maximize their poten- tial on the gridiron. This offseason, the Wolverines landed three offen- sive linemen in the transfer por- tal — two from Stanford in Myles Hinton and Drake Nugent and one from Arizona State in LaDarius Henderson. All three were ranked in the top 10 for offensive tackles or interior offensive linemen in the transfer portal. Michigan is the only school to successfully recruit three offensive linemen with such a classification according to the On3 database and thus had the best OL transfer class. Current college players are not the only ones to notice, either. The Wolverines have been on a heater on the high school recruiting trail, too. In the last couple of months, Michigan has received commit- ments from Andrew Sprague (No. 10 OT in the On3 Industry Ranking), Blake Fra- zier (No. 19 OT), Luke Hamilton (No. 25 IOL) and Ben Roebuck (No. 28 OT) in the 2024 class. Plus, the Wolverines are still in con- tention to add Max Anderson (No. 12 IOL) and/or Jake Gaurnera (No. 37 IOL). Michigan is in great position to land one of the best offensive line groups in the 2024 class. Therefore, Michigan's offensive line performance the last two seasons does not feel like a small blip. It feels like the beginning of a transformation where Michigan is the prime destination for of- fensive linemen across the country, where offensive linemen want to be taught by Harbaugh and offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Sherrone Moore, want to be featured in the offense and want to bully opposing defensive lines. It feels like the beginning of something special. It feels like the start of OL U. ❏ INSIDE THE NUMBERS ❱ DREW HALLETT Transforming Into 'Offensive Line U' Staff writer Drew Hallett has covered Michigan athletics since 2013. Contact him at drew.c.hallett@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @DrewCHallett. Including returning starters Zak Zinter and Karsen Barnhart, the U-M offensive line paved the way for All-American Blake Corum and the rest of the backfield to rank No. 5 nationally in rushing yards per game (238.9) and No. 3 in yards per carry (5.58) last season. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL