Michigan football: Why offensive line should continue to improve
Michigan football put together its most complete offensive line performance of the season in a 27-14 win at Iowa on Saturday afternoon. Folks had been waiting for a physical opponent to test the Wolverines. Not only did Michigan rise to the challenge, it often set the tone for the contest.
And it happened from the jump.
“We knew it was gonna be a physical game,” graduate offensive tackle Ryan Hayes said. “And I think every week, our O-line is just gonna keep going up and up. I think this weekend was a good stepping stone for us. We know they had a physical team and we came in there and ran the ball. We got a little stagnant in some points, but I think it’s a good step for us.
“I think we had a good first 15 plays scripted. And I think we executed those well, and it gave our whole team confidence. We just drove down the field right away, did what we wanted to do. And the next couple series, we had long drives, we had to settle for field goals which we don’t like, but they’re also good drives. Took time off the clock Definitely gives us confidence, though, that first drive.”
Michigan is still figuring things out defensively as the identity on that side of the ball takes shape. Even with that, coordinator Jesse Minter’s scheme of multiple looks, disguising coverages and more help the offense in practice adjust to what it might see on a given week.
That is helping Michigan’s offense hammer home its identity and make sure it can dictate how any matchup will go.
“Before I got here, we kind of saw one look,” Hayes said. “We knew what they were going to do. But now, with this new defense, we’ve seen many different fronts — we see three down, four down, odd. They do all these different blitzes that we would see in games, different coverages. I think that was a big part of helping our offense, just practicing and seeing those different looks every day.”
Younger Michigan linemen stepping up
Saturday’s game was the first time this season the Wolverines were completely healthy up front. Senior guard Trevor Keegan returned and played well next to Hayes, but the graduate tackle wanted to give props to the player who held down the fort in his absence.
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“[Giovanni El-Hadi] has done a great job for us for being a young guy,” Hayes said. “I was in the same situation as him as a sophomore, having to be thrown in there in the first couple of games. And he did a great job for us. Obviously with Trevor, I played a ton of football right next to him, we know what each other is going to do. So having Trevor back is definitely big for our team and big for our O-line.”
We are getting to the point of the year where we start seeing less and less of the Michigan reserves. With Hayes and right tackle Trente Jones facing graduation, the next generation will have its chance soon enough. Junior Jeffery Persi and freshman Andrew Gentry could be next in line and have progressed behind the scenes.
“Persi has gotten, since camp, he’s been getting a lot better,” Hayes said. “Whenever he gets in there in games, he really plays well. He does what he’s supposed to do. So I think he’s just ascending right now. Gentry is very impressive for a freshman. He played tackle for most of camp and stuff but then we had a couple of things happen, so we moved him into guard. And he’s been doing a great job there too. I think he found a little home there at right guard. So he’s doing great.
“It’s great to have [Karsen Barnhart] still working back and getting healthy. Once he is 100% ready, I think our O-line is going to be really good.”
