Michigan fall camp observer: 'Competition is fierce' along the offensive line

Michigan Wolverines football is implementing its new offense under first-year coordinator Chip Lindsey, who spent the last two seasons in the same position at North Carolina, during fall camp. Jon Jansen, Michigan’s radio analyst, has been there to watch some of it, and he believes Lindsey is adding a twist to what the Wolverines have done in the past.

“I like what I’m seeing from Chip Lindsey, in regards to how they’re constructing this offense,” Jansen said on his ‘In The Trenches’ podcast. “It’s still gonna be a run-first offense. I think everybody has that question, is Chip Lindsey gonna be a guy that airs it out? Is this an air-raid offense? No, it’s not. There’s still gonna be a lot of run game in this.

“And I can’t tell you right now, because we haven’t played New Mexico, we haven’t played Oklahoma … what are we doing in the first quarter to set things up for the second quarter? How are we positioning and using [graduate tight end/fullback] Max Bredeson in his motions and where he’s lined up?

“I can tell you what it looks like, and it’s very similar to the offense that we saw last year in regards to the run game. But I want to see what some of those alignments and personnel groups are, and how do they relate to what they’re doing in the third and fourth quarters? Those are gonna be reactions at game time, and I’ll get a chance to see some scrimmages.”

The biggest “question marks,” Jansen continued, are at quarterback, wide receiver and offensive line. The line is the interesting one, considering it makes up about half of the offensive players on the field at a given time.

Michigan has position battles raging on along the offensive line during fall camp — namely at left tackle and right guard. At left tackle, junior Evan Link, sophomore Blake Frazier and freshman Andrew Babalola are contending. At right guard, there are a slew of players in the mix, including junior Nathan Efobi, junior Brady Norton and graduate Lawrence Hattar, who transferred in this summer from D-II Ferris State.

“Still sorting things out up front,” Jansen said. “A lot of combinations up front. And one of the things that you’re gonna hear from [graduate left guard] Giovanni El-Hadi [in his interview on ‘In The Trenches’] is about Lawrence Hattar, how big of a dude he is and how much he eats.

“But I like what I’m seeing from all of these guys that are out there. The competition is fierce.

“Evan Link has done a really nice job, like we saw in the bowl game, going from right tackle to left tackle. I think his natural position is guard, but he is doing a tremendous job of holding down the fort and putting his best foot forward to be that left tackle.”

But Babalola — a 6-foot-6, 315-pound former five-star recruit — is in contention at left tackle, as well. Nothing will be handed to Link. Jansen mentioned how often it comes up that Babalola is extremely smart, which has allowed for a smooth transition to the college level, at least in practices so far.

“Now, being smart and being a good football player sometimes don’t go hand in hand, because you gotta have a couple of screws loose,” Jansen said. “You gotta not know that when I do this, it’s really gonna be uncomfortable. Smart guys sometimes outthink themselves in regards to, well, maybe I want to put my hat here, maybe I want to do this, maybe I want to try to outthink these guys.

“That’s not what we’re talking about when I’m talking about Andrew Babalola. He is picking up the offense, the calls. He is recognizing defenses at a very impressive rate, and that’s something that is unique to him. It’s not inherent to freshmen, and sometimes it takes you a couple of years. That’s where I think he has really taken some big steps.”

He’s still growing, however, and being pushed by Michigan’s offensive line coaches, Grant Newsome and Juan Castillo.

Now, where he needs to progress — if he is to ultimately win that left tackle spot — is just in terms of technique and confidence. He’s a young guy. He’s trying new things out. Sometimes they work; sometimes they don’t.

“What I like about him is he’s willing to try new techniques, and whether it’s Grant, whether it’s Juan Castillo, no matter who it is — even if I mention something to him — he is willing to try some new things and see if they work. And it’s not just a one-off,” Jansen said of the Michigan freshman. “If they don’t work, OK, you try something new, generally it doesn’t work, but how does it feel? Is it putting you in position for success, and sometimes it’s yes, sometimes it’s no. Sometimes it’s, hey, let’s put that on the back burner and get to that the next time we get to the offseason in late January and February of next year.

“He’s doing a nice job of adjusting his sets to the speed that he didn’t see in high school but that he’s seeing now. Those are some things that I like about him. Gonna have to continue to work his hands.”

At center, graduate Greg Crippen is a returning starter who’s had a big offseason. His position is a major key to the line’s success, too.

“Greg Crippen — I think the extra weight that he has put on this year is really showing at practice,” Jansen said. “Some of those defensive linemen all seem like they’re 6-3, 320, 325 pounds. They’re bowling balls, and they’re strong, they’re powerful, they’re low. He’s doing a nice job of getting underneath them in his pass protection, his adjustments. He’s not getting off balance.

“He seems to be much more patient with how he’s using his hands and how he’s replacing his hands. Those are some techniques that he’s worked on this offseason that I’ve really liked.”