Sherrone Moore 'excited' about LaDarius Henderson at tackle, position battles along Michigan offensive line

Michigan Wolverines football offensive coordinator and line coach Sherrone Moore met with the media Thursday morning and discusses his side of the ball, including the hotly-contested competition on the offensive line. Both tackle spots and the center job are up for grabs as fall camp continues.

Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh said at Big Ten Media Days that he views the Wolverines as having four starting tackles in graduate LaDarius Henderson, an Arizona State transfer, graduate Karsen Barnhart, graduate Trente Jones and senior Myles Hinton, a Stanford transfer. Moore echoed that statement and spoke to the depth of the offensive line group as a whole.

“Competition only makes you better, so the more guys that are playing at a high level, the better,” Moore said. “It just keeps breeding high energy, keeps breeding the preparation, keeps breeding passion and the physicality that we want at every position. I want those guys to continue to keep striving to be the starter.

“Right now, I feel like we have 10 guys — we have 11, 12 — that we could play in the game, so we’re super excited about the depth. It’s the most depth we’ve had. We’re just going to keep going, and I’m excited for the next few days and the rest of training camp.”

Henderson has been viewed as the favorite on the left side, but the competition is high, and he’ll have to earn it. At Arizona State, he started 19 games at guard and only 10 at tackle. He’s not only making the transition from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten, but he’s working his way back into being a tackle.

“It’s a process that he’s working through, that he’s attacking,” the Michigan coordinator said. “I’m very excited about LaDarius and the progress he’s made just in the seven practices that we’ve had with him. It’s something that you’re going to have your ups and downs. It’s something that you’re going to have to keep working at.

“But he’s definitely made a great transition to us, just being here in the summer, and now just excited to have him and excited for where he’s at right now.”

Barnhart has opened 15 career games — 13 at tackle and two at guard — and took over the starting right tackle job after Jones went down with a high-ankle sprain in the sixth game of the 2022 campaign. Jones has started six contests at right tackle.

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Both Barnhart and Jones have significant experience at Michigan. They know the system and expectations. But they haven’t received any special treatment or a leg up when it comes to the competition. Moore said it’s all about how they’re playing now, and the best player will see the field first at each spot.

“You just turn on the film — who’s playing better? Who’s playing better, who’s more locked in on their assignments, who’s playing more physical, who’s playing more dominant?” Moore said of making decisions on who will play up front for Michigan. “It’s a very healthy competition right now.

“We’ve got four starting tackles, and we’ll see who the first two are in the first couple games, the first game, and we’ll see there. But very excited about where they’re all at and the steps they’re taking to be dominant players.”

Hinton is a potential wildcard. He said this spring that he only fell in love with football last fall, and he already had all the physical ability at 6-foot-6 and 340 pounds. The brother of former Michigan defensive tackle Christopher Hinton (2019-21), Hinton played in 23 games with 16 starts at right tackle with the Cardinal.

Michigan graduate Drake Nugent has popped up on watch lists for major awards, including the Rimington and Outland trophies, but he’s not a guarantee to be the guy in the middle of the line. Harbaugh said last month that junior Greg Crippen, who’s played 84 career offensive snaps in seven games, is right there as one of two starting-caliber centers.

The competition hasn’t been combative, Moore pointed out. The Michigan offensive line room, by all accounts, has a strong bond, starting at the top with their position coach and coordinator. The Wolverines will pare things down at some point, but for now the staff is pleased with the way things are going.

“The biggest thing for us right now, the competition is needed, it’s wanted,” the Michigan assistant said. “We mix guys up in practice. But how they study together, how they hang out off the field together is just as important as how they play together. Those guys are super close. I feel like the transfers have been here so long already that those guys have built a niche and have really bonded together.

“You always want to get the feel of, who’s in, who’s there, what the guy is doing next to you — but it feels like, regardless of what guys are in there, they’ve got a good bond already with how it’s rolling, so we’re just going to take it a day at a time.”