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Sherrone Moore, Michigan football's head coach, is a former offensive lineman.
He's also a former offensive line coach. It's not too difficult to figure out what he wants as the identity of the team.
"We tell our guys from coach Moore on down, 'the team will go as the lines go,'" offensive line coach Grant Newsome said Monday afternoon in Schembechler Hall. "The offensive line and defensive line, that's any good team, gotta dominate up front ... that's something that's never lost on me or on our offensive line."
The standard was set for the position to be elite during the Wolverines' incredible three-year run from 2021-23, which saw U-M go 40-3, win three consecutive Big Ten championships and culminated in a national championship.
In both 2021 and 2022, when Moore was leading the unit, Michigan was named the Joe Moore Award winners as the best offensive line in the country. Though the group didn't earn the honor in its national title year, it was still a semifinalist.
Last season was different. The Wolverines lost their six leading players on the unit going into the 2024 season including a pair of experienced guards in Trevor Keegan and Zak Zinter as well as starting center Drake Nugent, and three rotational tackles in LaDarius Henderson, Karsen Barnhart and Trente Jones.
Players like Gio El-Hadi said U-M had "a standard to uphold" but the unit came up well short. The pass blocking was below average, as U-M's aerial attack (129.1 yards per game) was No. 130 out of 133 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision, ahead of only the three military academies — Army, Navy and Air Force — each of whom run triple-option attacks.
But the real concern was in the rushing game. U-M was middling, not the usual top-10 rate in the country it had become accustomed to, checking in at No. 73 (157.2 yards per game) nationally. While there were issues with personnel, Newsome cited something else he wants to fix first.
"We just got to have fun," Newsome said about what has to be different in 2025. "It had been a while since anyone had lost more than a game in a season. So all of a sudden it can get to a snowball effect where you're searching for answers, let's try this or let's try this, instead of taking a breath and just enjoying it.
"At the end of the day, you have to have fun playing this game and I think there were times last year where I didn't do a good enough of a job of letting them do that."
That's goal No. 1 for a group that once again went through some change over the offseason.
READ MORE: 5 Michigan football storylines to watch heading into spring camp
The most experienced players are El-Hadi, more than 1,000 career snaps, and center Greg Crippen, who by season's end took over the starting role. There's Evan Link, who coaches say had his best two showings of the year in his final two games.
Some of the names mentioned most in that "step up" category are redshirt freshman Andrew Sprague, junior guard Nathan Efobi and Brady Norton, a junior transfer from Sacramento State who can play both guard and tackle.
Sprague cracked the field last year against Alabama in the team's 19-13 ReliaQuest Bowl victory.
"Talked to Sprague mid-game during one of the TV timeouts," Newsome recalled. "I was like, 'it's just football, isn't it?' and he was like 'yeah, coach, this is easier than practice' so take that for what it's worth."
There are some other names to note including incoming five-star Andrew Babalola, four-star Ty Haywood (who decommitted from Alabama to come to Ann Arbor) and graduate transfer from Ferris State, Lawrence Hattar.
ANALYSIS: Michigan shows it can be a force on recruiting trail for years to come
While Newsome wouldn't share too much information, he said the team has between six and eight players right now who they "could make an argument" should be in the starting five on the line. He said the goal is to get up to 10 rotational players with expected wear and tear as the year progresses.
He feels confident that will come as long as the entire group stays committed to that first goal: Getting back to fun.
"Anytime you don't have the season you're expecting to have ... it's naturally not going to be as fun as winning a national championship," Newsome said. "The thing I learned is we can't compound that. We've got to find that balance, get the guys back up confidence wise, fun-wise when it's not going the best.
"Players are incredibly aware, fans may not see it that way, guys know when we're not playing well enough ... they know the pride and tradition that comes with playing like a place like Michigan ... they know the expectation."
Tony Garcia is the Michigan Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football O-line has a new goal this season
Continue reading...
He's also a former offensive line coach. It's not too difficult to figure out what he wants as the identity of the team.
"We tell our guys from coach Moore on down, 'the team will go as the lines go,'" offensive line coach Grant Newsome said Monday afternoon in Schembechler Hall. "The offensive line and defensive line, that's any good team, gotta dominate up front ... that's something that's never lost on me or on our offensive line."
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The standard was set for the position to be elite during the Wolverines' incredible three-year run from 2021-23, which saw U-M go 40-3, win three consecutive Big Ten championships and culminated in a national championship.
In both 2021 and 2022, when Moore was leading the unit, Michigan was named the Joe Moore Award winners as the best offensive line in the country. Though the group didn't earn the honor in its national title year, it was still a semifinalist.
Last season was different. The Wolverines lost their six leading players on the unit going into the 2024 season including a pair of experienced guards in Trevor Keegan and Zak Zinter as well as starting center Drake Nugent, and three rotational tackles in LaDarius Henderson, Karsen Barnhart and Trente Jones.
You must be registered for see images
Players like Gio El-Hadi said U-M had "a standard to uphold" but the unit came up well short. The pass blocking was below average, as U-M's aerial attack (129.1 yards per game) was No. 130 out of 133 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision, ahead of only the three military academies — Army, Navy and Air Force — each of whom run triple-option attacks.
But the real concern was in the rushing game. U-M was middling, not the usual top-10 rate in the country it had become accustomed to, checking in at No. 73 (157.2 yards per game) nationally. While there were issues with personnel, Newsome cited something else he wants to fix first.
"We just got to have fun," Newsome said about what has to be different in 2025. "It had been a while since anyone had lost more than a game in a season. So all of a sudden it can get to a snowball effect where you're searching for answers, let's try this or let's try this, instead of taking a breath and just enjoying it.
"At the end of the day, you have to have fun playing this game and I think there were times last year where I didn't do a good enough of a job of letting them do that."
That's goal No. 1 for a group that once again went through some change over the offseason.
READ MORE: 5 Michigan football storylines to watch heading into spring camp
The most experienced players are El-Hadi, more than 1,000 career snaps, and center Greg Crippen, who by season's end took over the starting role. There's Evan Link, who coaches say had his best two showings of the year in his final two games.
You must be registered for see images attach
Some of the names mentioned most in that "step up" category are redshirt freshman Andrew Sprague, junior guard Nathan Efobi and Brady Norton, a junior transfer from Sacramento State who can play both guard and tackle.
Sprague cracked the field last year against Alabama in the team's 19-13 ReliaQuest Bowl victory.
"Talked to Sprague mid-game during one of the TV timeouts," Newsome recalled. "I was like, 'it's just football, isn't it?' and he was like 'yeah, coach, this is easier than practice' so take that for what it's worth."
There are some other names to note including incoming five-star Andrew Babalola, four-star Ty Haywood (who decommitted from Alabama to come to Ann Arbor) and graduate transfer from Ferris State, Lawrence Hattar.
ANALYSIS: Michigan shows it can be a force on recruiting trail for years to come
While Newsome wouldn't share too much information, he said the team has between six and eight players right now who they "could make an argument" should be in the starting five on the line. He said the goal is to get up to 10 rotational players with expected wear and tear as the year progresses.
He feels confident that will come as long as the entire group stays committed to that first goal: Getting back to fun.
"Anytime you don't have the season you're expecting to have ... it's naturally not going to be as fun as winning a national championship," Newsome said. "The thing I learned is we can't compound that. We've got to find that balance, get the guys back up confidence wise, fun-wise when it's not going the best.
"Players are incredibly aware, fans may not see it that way, guys know when we're not playing well enough ... they know the pride and tradition that comes with playing like a place like Michigan ... they know the expectation."
Tony Garcia is the Michigan Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football O-line has a new goal this season
Continue reading...
