The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1523593
O F F E N S I V E L I N E 76 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2024 FOOTBALL PREVIEW [a 6-3, 316-pound grad lineman] would be one — not necessarily a young guy, but it's been encouraging how he's played and has taken command this spring. I mentioned Evan Link earlier, and [6-3, 285-pound sophomore] Nate Efobi … those guys who are now entering the middle parts of their career. I've been encouraged with how those guys have played. The freshmen [early-enrollees] have been really, really good as well. The short amount of time they've been on campus, they both have handled it really well." In addition to Frazier, there's 6-4, 308-pound freshman Jake Guarnera; and additional depth in 6-4, 305-pound se- nior Dominick Guidice; 6-8, 305-pound senior Tristan Bounds; 6-6, 320-pound junior Connor Jones; 6-1, 279-pound junior lineman and long snapper James Kavouklis; 6-7, 326-pound junior Dan Taraboi; and 6-4, 270-pound sophomore Cole Morgan. There were reports in the spring about a veteran defense — including some of the nation's best defensive tackles — demonstrating the upper hand at times in spring ball. Newsome bluntly tossed out a simple solution for any days when that happens to be the case. "Play better," he said. "Not trying to be funny, but we face a really good de- fense. But we're going to face really good defenses on Saturdays, too. I think it's an awesome challenge for us that we get to go against one of the best defenses in the country and I believe the two best defen- sive tackles in the country and two guys on either side who are going to be NFL edges as well. "The challenge for us is that there is no kind of 'woe-is-me' or, 'Hey, it's all right, they're really good, it's OK if we don't move the ball well in practice.' We have to be able to execute and it may be tough but it's going to be tough in November, too. We're positive and we're uplifting, but the expectation is that we're going to move the ball and score points regardless of who the defense is." ❑ SCHOLARSHIP PLAYERS No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr. 62 Raheem Anderson C 6-3 316 Gr. 72 Tristan Bounds OT 6-8 305 Sr. 51 Greg Crippen C 6-4 309 Sr. 55 Nathan Efobi OG 6-3 285 So. 58 Giovanni El-Hadi OG 6-5 318 Sr. 77 Blake Frazier OT 6-6 275 Fr. 75 Andrew Gentry OT 6-7 327 Jr. 56 Dominick Giudice OG 6-4 305 Sr. 53 Jake Guarnera C 6-4 308 Fr. — Luke Hamilton OG 6-5 290 Fr. 78 Myles Hinton OT 6-6 340 Sr. 76 Connor Jones OG 6-6 320 Jr. 71 Evan Link OT 6-6 307 So. 79 Jeffrey Persi OT 6-8 320 Gr. 68 Josh Priebe OG 6-5 305 Gr. — Ben Roebuck OT 6-7 330 Fr. — Andrew Sprague OT 6-8 295 Fr. Michigan Offensive Linemen Drafted Into The NFL In Last Five Years Year Player Position Team Round Overall Pick 2024 Zak Zinter G Cleveland Browns 3rd 85th Trevor Keegan G Philadelphia Eagles 5th 172nd LaDarius Henderson T Houston Texans 7th 249th 2023 Olu Oluwatimi C Seattle Seahawks 5th 154th Ryan Hayes T Miami Dolphins 7th 238th 2022 Andrew Stueber G New England Patriots 7th 245th 2021 Jalen Mayfield T Atlanta Falcons 3rd 68th 2020 Cesar Ruiz C New Orleans Saints 1st 24th Ben Bredeson G Baltimore Ravens 4th 143rd Michael Onwenu G New England Patriots 6th 182nd Jon Runyan Jr. T Green Bay Packers 6th 192nd Senior Greg Crippen has played well in reserve for several years but has never started a game for Michigan. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN