Michigan offensive line tabbed nation's best with Joe Moore Award
We knew before the season the Michigan offensive line had potential to be good. Few, though, would have expected it to be as dominant at it became under coach Sherrone Moore.
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Moore’s first line helped pave the way for a 1,200-yard rusher and a dominant rush offense and kept the quarterbacks clean most of the year. As a result, the group earned the No. 2-ranked Michigan team’s the 2021 Joe Moore Award, given to the top offensive line in college football.
Michigan is the second Big Ten team since the award’s inception in 2015 to win it, joining Iowa in 2016.
The Michigan line helped U-M amass 5,875 yards of offense, the second-highest single-season total in program history. U-M averages 37.7 points per game (No. 13, NCAA) and 451.9 yards per contest (No. 18) and has put up 42 in each of its last two games.
Left tackle Ryan Hayes and right tackle Andrew Stueber (right) joined center and captain Andrew Vastardis in starting all 13 games. Guards Zak Zinter (right, 11 starts) and Trevor Keegan (left, 10 starts) have been stalwarts, and veteran Chuck Filiaga (four starts) and Karsen Barnhart (two starts) have also started multiple games.
Trente Jones (one start) has been the team’s “sixth man,” lining up as the extra lineman in jumbo alignments.
Michigan line dominated opponents
The Michigan five have given up the fewest tackles for loss (27), and the third-fewest sacks (10) in the nation this season. Only Army and Air Force, with a combined 204 pass attempts, have allowed fewer sacks. The line has paved the way for Hassan Haskins’ 1,288 yards, and second-year frosh Blake Corum was also approaching 1,000. He’s racked up 939 yards entering the Orange Bowl.
Michigan has the nation’s No. 10 rushing attack (223.8 yards per game) heading into the Bowl season and a chance to add to it in the postseason.
The line helped U-M amass the most rushing yards (297) against Ohio State since 1995, and its most total yards (487) since 2013. Haskins became the first player to ever record five rushing touchdowns against the Buckeyes.
Stueber earned second-team All-America honors from the American Football Coaches Association and first-team All-Big Ten by the media. Hayes (coaches), Vastardis, and Zinter (media) were second-team honorees. Keegan was named All-Big Ten honorable mention.
