LOOK: Michigan offensive line releases limited edition Joe Moore Award T-shirts

The Michigan offensive line is celebrating their Joe Moore Award win with commemorative T-shirts. This is the first year that players can celebrate awards in this way, now that Name, Image, and Likeness benefits are legal.

The shirts feature all five Wolverines starters in front of their massive trophy. The seller says the proceeds will go to the linemen and to veterans.

The Joe Moore Award is the only award in college football given to a full position unit. Annually, the award honors the top offensive line unit in the country.

Celebrate @UMichFootball Joe Moore Award Winners for best offensive line in the country with limited edition merch! https://t.co/oOrO8a54ZD Proceeds go directly to O-Linemen and veterans. Next stop, pancakes in Miami! pic.twitter.com/KgSlXu4Gdx

— Make Your Move (@go_mym) December 23, 2021

Michigan OL excels on the way to Orange Bowl

The Wolverines averaged 223.8 yards per game on the ground this season, which led the Big Ten. Additionally, they had 39 rushing touchdowns after posting a combined 38 ground scores in 2019 and 2020. Only Army and Air Force had more rushing touchdowns, and they each had at least 150 additional rushing attempts to reach their marks of 44 and 42, respectively. 

New offensive line coach Sherrone Moore proved to be one of the best hires of the last coaching cycle. Michigan’s improvement from last year, when the team went 2-4, is one of the most drastic in the country. They posted just 131.5 yards per game on the ground last season. 

Further, the Michigan offensive line allowed just 10 sacks all year, which ranks third nationally. They were one of 12 teams to allow fewer than 100 sack yards.

All five Michigan starters on the offensive line earned All-Big Ten recognition in some form, as one was first-team, two were second-team, and two were honorable mentions. Since the unit won the award, offensive assistant Kyle DeVan, who worked primarily with the OL, left to be the new offensive line coach at Colorado.

Their efforts helped earn the Wolverines a trip to the College Football Playoff where they will face Georgia in the Orange Bowl on New Year’s Eve. It will be Michigan’s biggest test of the season, as the Bulldogs have one of the best defensive fronts in college football. They notched 41 sacks and had the best scoring defense in the country by a wide margin.

On3’s Ashton Pollard contributed to this report.