The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/213966
A week after the Spartans ran roughshod over the Maize and Blue, Nebraska dialed up the pressure even more, tallying seven sacks and 15 tackles for loss, in exploiting the waning confidence of Michigan's offensive line. Like MSU, the Cornhuskers came at U-M up the middle, knowing the Wolverines are weakest and have the most youth on the interior. "This isn't a knock on Taylor Lewan, but if we had David Molk in his fifth year playing center, I think this line would be a lot better off because he's a guy that can communicate to his guards before every snap a lot better than a tackle can," Moosman said. "When you're not communicating pre-snap like you need to, you're going to have guys coming in unblocked, which is what we saw a ton of against Michigan State and Nebraska." At the end of the day, having three first-year starters on the offensive line is not a recipe for success. Having two in some capacity of their freshman year makes attaining success even harder. "A lot of people are down on the coaches, and I get it, but these guys wouldn't be where they are if they weren't good teachers, good coaches, smart guys," Moosman said. "If we had two seniors, two juniors and a sophomore in the lineup, and we were getting destroyed like this, then I think you could say, 'This is unacceptable. Someone is not doing their job.' "But it's not like they have a bunch of upperclassmen standing on the sidelines. They've had to play fresh- men because that's all they've got, and while we can all sit here and say this isn't good enough, what we've seen is more realistic for what you normally get from young players. "They've been inconsistent in their technique, and they're losing their confidence. When you start playing timid, opponents can smell it, and it's like sharks in the water that smell blood." It Will Take Time To Fix U-M's Line Both Skene and Moosman expect next year's line to be better. Moosman thinks in 2015, the line — with a bevy of veterans and multi-year starters — should be among the best in the Big Ten, and if it's not, then he'll fume. Next season, though, could be a challenge. the roster will be without a senior scholarship offensive lineman, will feature three juniors (though only one, Glasgow, is slated to finish the year a starter), and will consist mostly of redshirt sophomores and redshirt freshmen. It is conceivable that the line could start five sophomores or freshmen. "I look at it and see guys like Kalis, Magnuson, Bosch and Glasgow that will all have starting experience, and even though they're young, that experience gives them a chance to make some big gains," Moosman said. "Then there will be some older guys that will want to win jobs and push for playing time. "I think it'll depend how it shakes out next year. If you've got three redshirt freshmen, a sophomore and a redshirt sophomore, then we'll have