The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MARCH 2025 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 11 ❱ INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS Building A Good O-Line Is Paramount By Chris Balas Michigan's offensive line was a disappointment last year — no way around it. Several players underperformed, including both guards (Josh Priebe and Giovanni El-Hadi), and while tackle Myles Hinton played pretty well on the left side, right tackle Evan Link struggled most of the year. Cen- ter Greg Crippen took over from Dom Giudice halfway through the year, but he had his ups and downs at one of the most impor- tant positions on the line. Line coach Grant Newsome's goal this spring is to find a way to improve this group im- mensely. Crippen and El-Hadi both return, but that's only a positive if they take their games to another level. Right tackle Andrew Sprague showed potential in the ReliaQuest Bowl with Alabama, and while Link was OK at left tackle for a game, he'd probably be better at guard. That leaves an opening at the all-important left tackle po- sition, and there don't seem to be any obvious answers there. True freshman five-star Andrew Babalola is a future star, but asking a first-year guy to play at a high level in the Big Ten is asking a lot. Sophomore-to-be Blake Frazier has potential here, but he needs to add size and strength to his frame. Clearly, the quarterback battle is going to be a critical development for 2025, with Mikey Keene and true freshman Bryce Underwood battling for the starting job. We'd put that as 1B on the list of priorities this spring behind finding the guys in front of them to protect them and keep them clean in the pocket. This is where all good offenses start. Establish An Offensive Identity By Clayton Sayfie Michigan had one of the worst offenses in the Power Four last season and still mustered up eight victories while playing a gantlet of a schedule. The Wol- verines found their formula late in the year, but there wasn't much margin for error due to the offense's woes. They fin- ished the campaign ranked 113th nationally in scoring (22 points per game) and 129th in yards per game (286.2). Even after beating Alabama, 19-13, in the ReliaQuest Bowl, head coach Sherrone Moore redirected the conversation to his desire to be "more explosive" on offense "especially in the passing game." The Wolverines have their work cut out for them, but new coordinator Chip Lindsey is known for developing NFL quarterbacks and engineering great passing attacks. Michi- gan is still going to lean on its identity of being a physical unit, but it has to strike the right balance. That's not an easy task, considering it lost its two best offensive linemen, top running back and star tight end. While it seems Michigan has nowhere to go but up on of- fense, it did suffer key departures. There are big shoes to fill and improvements to be made in the weak areas from last season, such as quarterback, wide receiver and on the line. Getting the new signal callers — graduate Mikey Keene and freshman Bryce Underwood — comfortable and tailoring the offense to their skill sets will be crucial. ❱ POINT ❙ COUNTERPOINT ❰ WHAT IS U-M FOOTBALL'S MOST IMPORTANT OBJECTIVE IN SPRING BALL? MICHIGAN'S BLUE-CHIP RATIO IS TOP 10 IN THE NATION Michigan reeled in the No. 6 recruiting class in the nation in 2025, according to the On3 Industry Team Ranking. U-M's 24-member haul included two five-star prospects and 14 four-stars. At 66.7 percent, the Wolverines have the nation's eighth-highest blue-chip ratio (the number of recruits that are rated as four- or five-stars). Michigan's blue-chip ratio in 2025 is much higher than it was in the last few cycles. It was 50 percent in 2024, 35 percent in 2023, 55 percent in 2022 and 50 percent in 2021. In fact, this is U-M's highest blue-chip ratio since 2020, when it was also 66.7 percent (16 of 24). However, that class didn't include a five-star prospect. Until the Maize and Blue landed five-star plus+ quarterback Bryce Underwood (No. 1 overall recruit) and five-star offensive tackle Andrew Babalola (No. 16), they hadn't brought in multiple five-stars in one class since 2019 (defensive back Daxton Hill, defensive tackle Christopher Hinton). CBS Sports' Bud Elliott, who coined the "blue-chip ratio" measurement, purports that teams need to have more blue-chip players than former three- or two-star prospects (over 50 percent) to win a national championship. Michigan, for example, had a 56.3 percent blue-chip ratio in its previous five recruiting classes combined before winning it all in 2023. The Wolverines slipped in the 2023 cycle but appear to be back on track to remaining well above the 50 percent threshold. — Clayton Sayfie BLUE-CHIP RATIO LEADERS IN 2025 ON3 INDUSTRY RANKINGS Total Blue Chip Rk. School 5-Stars 4-Stars Commits Ratio 1. Oregon 3 15 19 94.7% 2. Georgia 4 19 28 82.1% 3. Alabama 3 14 21 81.0% 4. Texas A&M 2 17 25 76.0% 5. Texas 5 13 25 72.0% 6. LSU 2 14 23 69.6% 7. Ohio State 3 15 26 69.2% 8. Michigan 2 14 24 66.7% 9. Missouri 0 11 17 64.7% 10. Tennessee 2 14 25 64.0% 11. Auburn 1 15 26 61.5% 12. Oklahoma 1 10 18 61.1% 13. Florida 1 14 26 57.7% 14. Miami 0 12 21 57.1% 15. Notre Dame 1 13 25 56.0% Offensive line coach Grant Newsome (left) and new offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey enter the spring on a mission to develop their talent and improve offensive production. PHOTOS COURTESY MICHIGAN FOOTBALL