Michigan OL coach Grant Newsome praises Andrew Babalola, excited for Ty Haywood
ANN ARBOR – Michigan Wolverines football offensive line coach Grant Newsome is tasked with leading a group that left a lot on the table last year, and there are now some young pieces in place that could be the headliners of a potential turnaround.
The first is freshman tackle Andrew Babalola, a five-star recruit in the 2025 class who is enrolled early and could position himself for early playing time this fall. He is currently repping on the left side and facing a stiff challenge each practice.
Freshmen early enrollees Avery Gach and Kayden Strayhorn also received praise.
”He’ll be just fine,” Newsome told the media on Monday afternoon. “He’s incredibly smart, obviously an incredibly gifted and talented player as well. There’s always some growing pains as being a freshman left tackle, especially when your first experience is going against Derrick Moore and TJ Guy and Dom Nichols, all the elite edges that we have. But I’ve been very impressed with not only him, but really all three of the freshmen we have currently on campus.
“They’ve exceeded our expectations so far of where they would be at this point. Especially when you sometimes have to remind yourself these kids should be going to AP English in fourth period, not at a Michigan football practice. So I’ve been super encouraged to see how all three of those guys are playing so far.”
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Something that accelerates freshmen development at Michigan is the strong defensive line it puts on the field in practice every day. The speed of the game the young linemen see every day helps ease the on-field transition, Newsome says.
”[Defensive line coach Lou Esposito] does a great job of getting those guys ready,” Newsome said. “It makes us better every single day. I truly feel like we may face other good defensive linemen every single year. Maybe we face one or two guys a game who are at the level of our guys. But I don’t feel like we’re gonna face a line that is better than our guys. I don’t think we’re gonna see a better edge than Moore or Guy.
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“We get to games and it feels like everything’s going super fast. I was talking to [Andrew Sprague] mid-game versus Alabama during one of the TV timeouts. I was telling him like, ‘It’s just football, isn’t it?’ And he’s like, yeah, this is easier than practice.’ So take that for what it’s worth.
Ty Haywood, a fringe five-star prospect coming out of the cycle, is not currently with the program and is set to enroll this summer at Michigan. Newsome discussed what led him to Ann Arbor and what he could bring in time as a member of the offensive line, whether it be at tackle or guard.
”We’re thrilled to have Ty joining us here in the summer,” Newsome said. “He is interesting. He was a guy who Coach [Sherrone] Moore offered and recruited and I recruited for a long time. He ended up committing to Alabama early. He kinda reached back out and said he was considering opening things up.
“We were ecstatic. Not just personality-wise and ability wise, but also kind of who he is and how much he loves ball. It fits our room and gives us another extremely talented player who can hopefully contribute whenever he is ready, whether that’s year one, year two, or whatever it may be.”
