Michigan has a slew of O-linemen, including freshmen, in the mix: 'We have at least 10 guys competing for those spots'

LAS VEGAS — It’s all about the “best five” players on the offensive line at Michigan Wolverines football under Sherrone Moore, who coached that position unit from 2021-23 before taking over as head coach in 2024.

The Wolverines saw players with starting experience leave the program for the transfer portal following the 2024 campaign, such as Dominick Giudice, Jeffrey Persi and Andrew Gentry. Still, Michigan has three returning starters: graduate Greg Crippen (center), graduate Giovanni El-Hadi (guard) and junior Evan Link (tackle).

Michigan position coach Grant Newsome said in March that he felt there were “six, seven or eight” players in the mix to be in the starting lineup. But optimism has grown when it comes to depth and competition, and so has that number.

“I feel even better this year that we have at least 10 guys competing for those five spots, where I think it was maybe six or seven the year before,” Moore said at Big Ten Media Days. “I feel like there are 10 guys competing, so no one can relax. When you have that, then you feel like you’ve got good competition and you can get better every single day.”

Crippen and El-Hadi are penciled in as starters at center and left guard, respectively. Link, meanwhile, is in a battle with freshman Andrew Babalola and sophomore Blake Frazier to be the left tackle. Redshirt freshman Andrew Sprague is in the lead at right tackle after impressing in his first career start in the bowl game against Alabama last December, but freshman Ty Haywood is pushing.

Michigan right guard competition is open

Right guard is anybody’s guess, with a slew of players in the battle. Junior Nathan Efobi was likely the starter coming out of spring ball, but graduate Lawrence Hatter, a Ferris State transfer who joined the team this summer, will rep there, as will junior Brady Norton, a Cal Poly transfer who played more tackle in the spring.

“Efobi, Brady Norton is another guy, Lawrence Hatter is another guy. Even [sophomore] Jake Guarnera — he’s playing center, but he’s also playing guard,” Michigan’s head coach said of the contenders. “I’ve always been a proponent of whoever the best five are, that’s who we’re gonna play. We’ll figure out where they are, but finding the best five guys.”

Even a tackle — such as Link — could move inside to guard.

“Evan will probably play tackle, but he can play guard, too,” Moore said. “Blake is a tackle, but he could play guard. It’s just gonna be who those five guys are, because then you got Gio, then you got Cripp. Good problems to have. 

“And you’ve got Andrew Sprague and Ty Haywood and [freshman] Avery Gach. Avery Gach ain’t out the mix! We’ve got a lot of guys that we think that can definitely challenge at those spots.”

Freshmen have uphill battle, but not impossible task, to start

Notice that three freshmen have been listed as potential starters on the offensive line. It’s overwhelmingly unlikely that all three will start — but the trio of Babalola (left tackle), Haywood (right tackle) and Gach (right guard) all have individual chances to crack the top five.

“You’ll know. You’ll know when they’re ready,” Moore said with a smile, when asked how coaches come to the realization that a freshman is the top option on the offensive line. “When they stop getting bull rushed into the quarterback a couple times. When [senior EDGE] Derrick Moore and [graduate EDGE] TJ Guy stop bull rushing them and it’s hard for them to get to the passer, or they stop moving them, you’ll know.

“But it’s gonna be a process to see, because playing O-line at Michigan is hard, but playing O-line as a true freshman is really hard. If they can do that, then kudos to them and kudos to us. 

“But it’s gonna be fun to watch the development of those guys as they’ve progressed, because it’s a talented group of guys. All four of those freshmen — Andrew Babalola, Ty Haywood, Avery Gach and [center] Kaden Strayhorn — are all competitors and talented players. But not that, the mental piece is what they all have to hone in on.”

It’s tough for a freshman to play offensive line at Michigan — and it’s especially difficult at left tackle, one of the most important positions on a critical unit. That makes it impressive that Babalola is in the mix.

“Could,” Moore said when asked what makes him confident Babalola could start.

“Talent, ability — but the intelligence factor of knowing the scheme and knowing the playbook. He doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. That’s a huge piece to it, too. When you have that, at that position, it’s pretty special. There are very few guys that could do it, but he can.”

Moore said Babalola and Newsome are two of the smartest people he’s been around.

“But it’s not a given,” Moore continued, speaking on Babalola’s starting chances. “Evan Link has been there. He had a heck of a spring and a really, really good summer, so we’ll see what happens.”

Andrew Sprague in ‘pole position’ to start

Haywood, meanwhile, is trailing but will battle with Sprague for the right tackle job in fall camp. Sprague is a 6-foot-8, 295-pound mountain of a man who Moore talked favorably about all season last year, before he broke out in the bowl game.

“One, just uber talented,” the Michigan coach said of Sprague. “He’s got all the ability. He had a little injury in training camp. He possibly could’ve been fighting for that spot earlier in the season, but really throughout the season he definitely showed his ability and did everything he could to be the starter when we got to the bowl game. 

“I knew when Myles [Hinton] wasn’t playing in the bowl game that moving Evan [to left tackle] and putting Andrew there at right tackle was the best combination of five [offensive linemen] — and it ended up being a great decision. 

“Competition at right tackle is still heavy. Right now, he’s in the pole position to be the starter because of the game that he played against Alabama and what he did. But there are guys behind him pushing. Ty Haywood, a true freshman that came in at 6-6, 320-something pounds, light feet [has the] ability to go push him at that position.”

There are a few players on the offensive line that can be penciled in as starters, Moore alluded after Michigan’s spring game — Crippen, El-Hadi and Sprague — but as he stated this week, everyone will compete, and that breeds success.

“We’ve got a lot of guys at different positions to push everybody so that nobody feels comfortable,” he said. “And I think that’s what makes you a good offensive line. That’s what made us good in ‘21, ‘22 and ‘23 — there was always somebody behind, pushing. If we can continue to do that and recruit that way and bring in the type of guys to do that, then we’ll be a super successful offensive line.”