The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1503142
[ O F F E N S I V E L I N E ] THE WOLVERINE 2023 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 77 BIOS POSITION COACH Sherrone Moore is in his sixth season on the Wolver- ines' coaching staff, having served as the team's tight ends coach during his first three sea- sons in Ann Arbor (2018-20) before being moved to offen- sive line coach and co-offen- sive coordinator in 2021. This year, he will take on sole offensive coordinator duties in addition to handling the line. Under Moore's guidance, Michigan's trench group is coming off its second straight Joe Moore Award, given to college football's best offensive line. Moore helped guide transfer cen- ter Olu Oluwatimi to the Rimington and Outland trophies, and all five members of the starting group earned all-conference accolades for their play in 2022. Prior to his time at U-M, Moore spent four sea- sons at Central Michigan University (2014-2017) and five years at Louisville (2009-2013), working with the tight ends at all previous stops. In his last year at Central Michigan, he served as assistant head coach and recruiting coordinator in addition to working with the tight ends. RETURNING PLAYERS RAHEEM ANDERSON • C Jr.. • Detroit Ht.: 6-3 • Wt.: 320 • Played in four games at cen- ter in reserve role in 2022. • Appeared in one game in 2021, at center against Northern Illinois (Sept. 18). Named Scout Team Player of the Week versus Wisconsin. • Enrolled early at U-M in January 2021. • Selected to the Detroit Free Press 2020 Dream Team and named first-team all-state by the Associated Press. • On3's Industry Ranking rated him a four-star prospect, and the No. 17 interior offensive lineman and No. 247 overall player. REECE ATTEBERRY • OG Sr. • Aurora, Colo. Ht.: 6-5 • Wt.: 315 • Appeared in three games during the 2022 campaign. • Played in eight games in 2021. • Appeared in one game on special teams during the 2020 season. • Honored as a CBS Sports All-American in 2018 and 2019, and he played in the 2020 Polyne- sian Bowl. • Rated as a three-star recruit, the No. 3 player in Colorado and the No. 41 offensive tackle in the country by On3's Industry Ranking. Freshmen Add Competition On The Offensive Line Michigan will add three offensive linemen to the room in 2023, and one — West Bloomfield (Mich.) High's Amir Herring — joined the team for spring ball. He told us in May he was up to 6-foot-3, 305 pounds, and he showed great improvement, offensive coordinator and line coach Sherrone Moore said. "I love, love him," he said. "Sometimes he'll play like a freshman, sometimes like a guy that was just coming out of high school — didn't know if it was right or left. But he's physical, tough, can run, can move, and is strong. I'm very excited about Amir and his progression." Herring spent most of the spring at right guard. The other two frosh — Evan Link (6-6, 305) and Nathan Efobi (6-4, 295) — are expected in June. "Both those kids are really good athletes," Moore said. "They're both physical, both have some really cool traits." Link, a four-star prospect in the On3.com Industry Ranking, is a little more polished as a tackle, ac- cording to Moore. "He played in a really good system with a really good head coach," Moore said. "He's a smart kid, tough, with a physical mindset. He comes from a great family." Efobi was a three-star with offers from Georgia, Miami, Penn State and several others. "He's very versatile, played offense and defense in high school," Moore reported. "He has a great build and great size. I'm excited to have him and Evan on campus in June." — Chris Balas weight being a skinnier build guy in high school, but he continues to get stronger and push himself from a physical standpoint. He's making good progress." At center, Stanford grad and trans- fer Drake Nugent arrives as the favor- ite to win the spot despite not playing this spring due to injury. The honor- able mention All-Pac-12 selection and two-year starter (24 games) moves well at 6-foot-2, 306 pounds, and he's ex- tremely smart. He'll be one of three vying to re- place Rimington Trophy winner Olu Oluwatimi, and he'll be back to full strength by the beginning of the sea- son, Moore said, ready to battle. "We watched a lot of guys on film [from the portal], but we saw a guy who is obviously a super smart kid, made every call for his team," Moore said. "He's physical at the point of attack, played with great physicality and great pad level. He has to battle with his stat- ure, but he could move, make all the blocks you want on the perimeter, the base blocks. "The guy is a dude. We're excited to see what he does." This spring, though, two others got most of the reps there — juniors Ra- heem Anderson and Greg Crippen. Both have game experience, Crippen going back to when he was a true fresh- man early enrollee who impressed from the get-go. He played in six games in 2021 but only one in a reserve role last year. Anderson has continued his ascent by changing his body and working his tail off in the weight room. He opened eyes with his play in a reserve role at Rutgers last year, pushing people around late in the second half. "He did well. This was his best spring from a mentality standpoint," Moore said. "He's changed his body, gotten stronger … a lot stronger. That time where he just got to watch Olu this past year was really helpful, for both him and Greg Crippen. I think both those guys have taken big, big strides. We're excited to see where they and Drake are in fall camp." Junior Dom Giudice is working there, too, having made the move from defen- sive line in the middle of last season. "He's working at guard and cen- ter for us, an excellent addition to the room," Moore said. "I'm just super ex- cited to have him in our room with his spirit, who he is. He's just done an un- believable job for us." Overall, the room is extremely deep and talented, setting the table not just for this year but also the seasons to come. ❑