The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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THE WOLVERINE 2025 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 71 Big Ten and NFL-caliber offensive line- man. Michigan grad student offensive guard Giovanni El-Hadi wasn't exactly forced into that move when he "retired" from soccer around the fourth grade, but local parents weren't sorry to see him go. "Playing soccer, I was always the big- gest kid," El-Hadi recalled. "My final year of soccer, I was a goalie. Somebody was trying to score a goal, and I went to dive for the ball. He flipped over on top of me and broke his leg. That was the reason I stopped playing soccer." Then, as though El-Hadi had been playing for an international little league baseball team, some started to question his age and eligibility. "All the parents complained," he re- membered with a laugh. "They asked for my birth certificate all the time." His was legit, of course. But if there was a defining moment that started El- Hadi's rise as a key piece on outstanding Michigan lines, that might have been it. A good friend tried to get him to play foot- ball, but it was his Uncle Brian who really got him into the sport. "Once he showed me football, I just fell in love with it," El-Hadi said. "My uncle was only 10 years older than me, and he was like an older brother in a way. When I saw football and that I could just hit people, that sold me." That, and his size — "I got it from my dad's side. He was 6-2 and my mom 5-6. I'm 6-5, so I always say, 'God gave me a couple inches,'" he quipped — made him a college prospect. However, it took some time to sell Michigan on him. Michigan State, in fact, was on him earliest when he started to blossom at Sterling Heights (Mich.) Stevenson High, and the Spar- tans were relentless. During that time, El-Hadi recalled, he was never really a fan of a college team, more a fan of the NFL game. That changed when he realized making it to the league might be a reality, and that college was the way to get there. "I was heavily recruited by Michigan State at one point, but then Michigan came into the picture," he said. "Once Michigan came in, I said, 'I ain't going to Michigan State.'" He appeared in one game his freshman season in 2021 and has played in every game since, starting all 13 at right guard a year ago while earning All-Big Ten hon- orable mention honors. At the same time, he said, his play and the entire line's last season was "unacceptable." This year he's out to prove that fire inside to hit some- one is as strong as ever. "It's finishing 'til the whistle blows," he explained. "You have it in your heart and mind that you're going to win. You've got to have that mindset." A Move Back To The Familiar It's an approach he's continued to em- ploy since he first started playing the game. It's served him well, and in a per- fect, linear career, would have made him an All-America candidate a year ago. Of- fensive line coach Grant Newsome even said in fall camp a year ago that his then- senior might already have been in the NFL if not for some outstanding players in front of him in guards Trevor Keegan and Zak Zinter. Football, though, is unpredictable, and there's almost always adversity. When Josh Priebe arrived from Northwestern as a graduate transfer, El-Hadi moved to right guard from left, where he'd spent the previous two years. Though he'd played on the right side in high school, the transition was harder than expected. "I moved to left when I got here, and it was like learning to write with your left hand," he recalled. "It was going to take a while to be used to it, but I learned in those first three years. "Moving back to the right side was like when I first moved to the left. I had to get used to it. When I moved back to the left side this spring, it was like I never forgot the technique and my steps. It never left me. It's all natural … I feel more comfort- able there." Some might see that as an excuse. Most veterans are taught to learn as many po- sitions as possible on the line, and it's common in the pros, for example, that if someone goes down, guys shift positions without missing a beat. It's not as easy as it looks, former Michigan All-American and NFL stand- out offensive lineman Jon Jansen said. The players who do that generally have years of experience and hundreds, if not thousands of reps at every position. El-Hadi started getting more comfort- able and was moving people more regu- larly by the end of the year. "When we saw him a couple years ago, he was playing on the left side," Jansen noted. "Last year, they moved him over to right, and I know everybody thinks 'that should be an easy thing to do.' It's not. There's a certain familiarity you have with a position. Getting back to the left side is going to make him much more comfortable. Everything you see and how it registers in your brain is just more comfortable when you're on the more comfortable side of center for you. I think that's going to be a huge benefit for him this year." And for all of them on the line, El-Hadi insisted. Last year was a tough transition with the line having to replace five start- ers, even if several of the players taking over were experienced. It takes time for chemistry to emerge, and while they im- proved by the end of the season, there were plenty of tough moments. "We just didn't jell as much at the be- ginning as we did toward the end," El- Hadi admitted. "We had a lot of people going in and out, and we were working with a lot of new people. We had a young O-line, an all-new starting five, a new quarterback. It takes a while to jell to- gether. I think that was the factor in it all." Jansen saw progress this spring, led by the veterans. Graduate student cen- ter Greg Crippen has put in the work, he noted, and El-Hadi has elevated his play. If those two lead the way like they can, the rest should fall into place. Jansen has extremely high expectations for El-Hadi, especially, given his body type and ability. "I expect that he's going to be an All-Big Ten guard. He's putting in the work right now, whether it's with Grant Newsome or [analyst] Juan Castillo, and that's what he's got to do." U-M RADIO COLOR COMMENTATOR AND FORMER MICHIGAN AND NFL LINEMAN JON JANSEN