On3 names Michigan candidate for major college football award in 2022
Michigan football projects to bring another loaded roster into the 2022 football season, which could necessitate some hardware being handed out. As far as the prestigious individual awards go, transfer center Olu Oluwatimi is near the top of the list.
On3.com’s Mike Huguenin put together a list of favorites for individual honors this season where the Virginia import headed the Rimington Award race. North Carolina State’s Grant Gibson was named a dark horse.
“Oluwatimi began his career at Air Force, then transferred to Virginia and was a three-year starter; now, he’ll be the new guy for a Wolverines offensive line that returns four starters,” Huguenin wrote. “Last season, he was a second-team All-ACC selection and one of three finalists for the Rimington. Gibson is the key guy upfront for the Wolfpack, who are a prime contender for the ACC title. An aside: Gibson lined up next to former Georgia star Jordan Davis along the defensive line at Charlotte Mallard Creek.”
Oluwatimi was a Rimington finalist last season so his name being in the mix on the Joe Moore Award-winning Michigan OL is not a surprise. He discussed during the spring why he decided to come to Ann Arbor.
“Michigan as a university, it stands alone right there,” he said when asked why he picked U-M. “It stood above the rest of the options I had when I entered the transfer portal. And obviously, the brand of football — the O-line coming off the Joe Moore Award, the team coming off making the College Football Playoffs.
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“I just loved the momentum of the program. I feel like I can add to it, so it was a no-brainer.”
Michigan kicker Jake Moody could defend the Groza
Despite winning the Lou Groza Award last season and returning to Michigan, fifth-year senior Jake Moody was not a candidate. Instead, Huguenin went with Missouri’s Harrison Mevis and Boise State’s Jonah Dalmas.
“Mevis was the On3 All-American kicker last season, when he was 23-of-25, including 11-of-13 between 40-49 yards and 3-of-3 beyond 50, with a long of 56. No one in the country made more field goals of 40-plus yards than Mevis’ 14. Dalmas led the nation with 26 field goals last season.”
Moody was no slouch for Michigan leading the team with 125 points, the second-highest single-season total in program history and most-ever by a kicker. He made 23 of 25 field-goal attempts and a program-record of 56 extra points. Moody also averaged 62.8 yards on 98 kickoffs and notched 65 touchbacks in earning consensus All-American honors.
“I just wasn’t ready to leave yet,” Moody told The Wolverine’s Chris Balas. “I love it at Michigan. The NFL is a big step, and I felt like I could increase my chances to make it to the NFL, come back and enjoy one more year of college.”
