The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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O F F E N S I V E L I N E M E N 76 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2025 FOOTBALL PREVIEW Jansen said. "I could see him playing left tackle in a pinch. He does have some playing experience, just not at this level." Nor does true freshman Andrew Ba- balola, obviously, given he's fresh out of high school. Perhaps nobody improved as much as he did from the first spring prac- tice to the 15th, his crash course including plenty of reps at the left tackle position. Moore indicated this spring that his freshman would be right in the mix after impressing in his 6-6 frame. He's added 20 pounds of muscle in going from 280 to 300, has great feet, balance, and flexibil- ity, Moore praised, and is "surprisingly strong." Jansen named him one of his front- runners to start the opener against New Mexico. "It's only a matter of time," Jansen said. "I think he's got everything you want … the length, the athleticism, the will to want to learn. He has the potential to be a future first-round NFL left tackle. "There will be a learning curve. The thing about starting as a true freshman is, how can he mentally handle the offense? It's not learning the technique. "You're going to get beat at some point, probably really badly. You're going to get your quarterback hit. How do you re- cover? What happens on the next play, on the next series? Do you let it get in your head and then you're changing how you're setting up, how you're playing the game?" It's not that he can't or won't handle it, Jansen added, but you don't know until you see it. Such was the case with Andrew Sprague, for example, when he got his first start in last year's ReliaQuest Bowl as a true frosh. He more than held his own against an athletic Alabama team, cementing his spot as one of line's future leaders. Sprague was Michigan's top-rated lineman in the bowl game, according to Pro Football Focus. He is way ahead of the curve in run blocking, Jansen said, and will get better as a pass blocker. "Edge rushers are lining up wider than they ever have" Jansen noted. "It's the confidence that, 'I don't have to panic and set out to him. Just go through my normal progression. I set so I can touch him. If he's wide, I set and make him come to me instead of going out to get him.' "That just comes with reps and time. He's getting the reps in practice, and he obviously got it in the spring game. I think he's going to be a really solid piece to this offensive line." Junior Evan Link slid over to left tackle in the bowl game and held his own af- ter struggling in pass protection at right tackle much of the year. He practiced there this spring, too, but he still has to [FYI] ❱ U-M added two offensive linemen in the transfer portal this offseason in Brady Norton (Cal Poly) and Lawrence Hattar (Ferris State). Norton, an offensive tackle by trade, posted a 73.5 overall grade from Pro Football Focus (PFF) and a 90.6 pass-blocking rating, which ranked tops in the FCS last season. Hattar starred at Ferris State at guard and was a Division II All- American last season, also helping the Bulldogs to a national championship. ❱ The Wolverines signed a pair of top-50 offensive tackle prospects in the 2025 class in five-star Andrew Babalola (No. 16, On3 Industry Ranking) and Ty Haywood (No. 48). They are the two highest-rated U-M offensive line signees since Ben Bredeson in 2016 (No. 48), while Babalola is the top-rated offensive tackle to ever sign with the program. Michigan also added interior linemen Avery Gach (No. 302) and Kayden Strayhorn (No. 579) in its 2025 recruiting haul. ❱ U-M's offensive line play dropped off on PFF's grading scale from 2023 to 2024. The Wolver- ines fell from 50th (70.3) in the country in pass blocking to 84th (64.9) last season, but the biggest slippage came in run blocking, where they dropped from ninth (73.6) to 81st (60.2) in one year. ❱ The 2024 season was the first time since 2020 that the U-M did not have one of the final 12 offensive lines in the running for the Joe Moore Award, which it won in back-to-back years in 2021 and '22. Coming off a redshirt year in 2023, tackle Evan Link appeared in all 13 games and made 11 starts as a sophomore last season — 10 on the right side plus one on the left. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL