Joel Klatt discusses how Michigan's offensive line could determine ultimate success in 2023

As Michigan rattled off a run to two straight College Football Playoff appearances, the offensive line was the straw that stirred the drink. It won back-to-back Joe Moore Awards as the best unit in the country, making for even higher expectations in 2023.

According to FOX Sports’ Joel Klatt, the offensive line could determine how successful Michigan is this year.

Klatt talked about the importance of strong offensive line play for the Wolverines this year. He pointed out some newcomers who can contribute, but added some veterans who stayed rather than turn pro. But with J.J. McCarthy back at quarterback along with a two-headed monster of Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards at running back, Klatt said there’s plenty of pressure on the line to make the offense hum.

“They’ve won the Big Ten, they’ve beaten Ohio State, they’ve been run-oriented, they’ve been physical. They have owned the game at the line of scrimmage, basically, for two straight years. So the bar is very high,” Klatt said on The Joel Klatt Show. “They’ve got Zak Zinter back, Trevor Keegan back. They both could have gone to the NFL. They stayed. They’re going to have five seniors on the offensive line. They added a couple of really good transfers that a lot of programs that were after. LaDarius Henderson from Arizona State, really good player. Drake Nugent from Stanford, a couple of Stanford guys in there.

“This is going to be a really deep offensive line. And you’ve got two of the best running backs in tandem behind them. You’ve got an experienced quarterback behind them. You’ve got some good tight ends on the outside. I think that we’re gonna see an offensive line that’s going to be relied on to do a little bit of what Stanford used to do with like six and seven offensive linemen in the game.”

Joel Klatt shares how Sherrone Moore could transform the offense at Michigan

Of course, Michigan’s offensive line coach is taking on more responsibility this year. Sherrone Moore is taking over play-calling duties and is no longer sharing offensive coordinator duties with Matt Weiss, who was let go as a result of a criminal investigation.

That means the men up front are going to become even more important because of Moore’s familiarity with the linemen. Klatt argued it could create more power with the offense, especially in the running game, which led Michigan to wins over Ohio State and Penn State last season.

He compared the Wolverines’ potential to that of the “intellectual brutality” Stanford teams, which rarely allowed sacks.

“Sherrone Moore, who’s the offensive line coach and now play-caller on a full-time basis, can exercise some real power with his offensive linemen, the guys he knows best, by putting them in the game,” Klatt said. “They can rely on a sixth or seventh offensive lineman. Remember when Stanford used to do that? They coined that term, intellectual brutality. They would bring in all those extra linemen, they would run power and gap and just bludgeon people. And guess what they did? They shortened games and they made it stress-free on their offense and more specifically, their defense.

“I think because they can rotate, they’re probably going to be more fresh at the end of the season. And it’s not going to be hard because their schedule’s one of the easiest schedules in college football — them and Georgia, who were also the No. 1 and 2 teams in the country to begin the year. … If they’re as good as what they’ve been in the past, then the Big Ten goes through Ann Arbor.”