Sherrone Moore explains what transfer additions bring to Michigan offensive line

Michigan took a swing on an offensive lineman in the transfer portal ahead of 2022 and it paid off, with Olu Oluwatimi arriving and being one of the best centers in the country. The Wolverines and offensive line coach Sherrone Moore are making a number of similar bets with transfer linemen this offseason.

The Wolverines added three offensive linemen in the portal: Drake Nugent and Myles Hinton from Stanford and Ladarius Henderson from Arizona State. And speaking with Jon Jansen on the “In The Trenches” podcast, produced by Michigan athletics, Moore said the experience the trio brings has been a great addition to the offensive line room.

“First of all, experience. All of them have starting experience at high levels. Two of those guys are captains, have been captains at other places. So, for me, it’s just that I’ve got more leaders in the room. Natural leaders, whether it’s vocally — whether it’s by vocal or whether it’s showing, I’ve got true leaders in the room and I’ve got guys that have played high level football,” Moore said. “Just excited for them to enter the fray and get going.”

Henderson was a team captain at Arizona State in 2022 and started 29 career games prior to transferring to Michigan. He could play tackle or slide inside for the Wolverines. Nugent was also a captain last season, anchoring the Stanford offensive line from the center position. He started 24 games for the Cardinal and was an all-conference honorable mention.

Hinton wasn’t a captain like his Stanford teammate, but the offensive tackle was a highly-touted recruit out of high school and started 16 games. He’s also the younger brother of former Michigan defensive lineman Chris Hinton.

The additions of Hinton, Nugent and Henderson to a returning group that includes Zak Zinter, Trevor Keegan, Karsen Barnhart, Trente Jones and Giovanni El-Hadi, the Wolverines have a good chance to produce another offensive line that’s among the best in the country.

Moore wants the Wolverines to be more explosive in 2023

Moore explained that the team has been working on being more consistent in finding big plays this spring.

“I think we have areas that we need to fix, things that we need to be able to exploit defenses more,” Moore said. “And we’ve got to be more consistent, whether that’s ball placement, catches, all those things and that just gives you more confidence when you gameplan and things.

“And I think in the spring we fixed a lot of those areas, which is really gonna help us when we get to the fall.”