Michigan football — offensive line projection, and an ‘X’ factor

Michigan will be revamping its offensive line this spring, and there are several potential combinations we could see up front. Head coach Kyle Whittingham mentioned getting some guys back from injury — likely sophomore Andrew Babalola, who suffered a season ending knee injury last year, and veteran Evan Link, who missed a good portion of spring. 

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Both could be tough to keep off the field if healthy. As of now, former Michigan offensive lineman and current color commentator Jon Jansen said, a pecking order came into view this spring. 

“I think as it stands right now, your two tackles you’re looking at Blake Frazier on the left and Andrew Sprague on the right,” Jansen said. “Andrew Sprague has done a really nice job with his footwork, his pad level in the spring. I like the direction he’s going. Blake’s done everything he’s got to do, too.

“Jake Guarnera is at center, and then the guard position, you’re probably looking at a Nathan Efobi at one spot, Brady Norton at another. Now, I hope Brady Norton is taking the feedback and getting a little bit heavier.”

Guarnera has surfaced as a leader of the group, several told us this spring, and he’s going to be an upgrade in the middle. 

“In the run game, you’re going to get more push up front,” Jansen continued. “He’s not like Drake Nugent or Olu Oluwatimi where he could pull from that center position. He can, but it’s not a strength. So, you’ve got to understand what you’re working with when you’re calling these plays.

“He is going to be really good at setting that center position and doing enough so his guard is able to get on there on a double team and both guys can stay square. Then, even in those twists or one on one pass blocking, he’s just going to set a much better anchor.”

They’re all being taught extremely well by new line coach Jim Harding, he added. Last month, Frazier sang the coach’s praises for the work he’d done with the group. Jansen saw it up close.

“I like the technique and I like the awareness of all the little things,” he said. “We sat down before because having had interaction with this offensive line, having watched them, watched these guys come in, watched what their development was, he wanted to know my opinion of, ‘what do these guys do well? What do they need to work on?’

“One of the things I know he drilled on because this would drive me bonkers last year, when you’re talking about blocking movement, it is simply, hey, backside cutoffs.”

As for Babalola’s contribution on the Michigan line …

“That’s the million-dollar question. He’s missed a lot of time,” Jansen said. “How quickly is he comfortable with that repaired knee? That’s the first question is his confidence, because I’m not going to put a kid out there that’s nervous about somebody falling on his legs. And I’m not saying it is or it’s not … that’s just the first obstacle.

“The second one is, would you prefer him at tackle and move Blake in the guard, or vice versa? There are a lot of options because he was pushing for some playing time last year before he went down as a true freshman. You put him in there, another year in the weight room, upper body.

“But I’m really excited about what the options are for this offensive line and the depth that they’ll have once it gets all sorted out.”