Michigan football has two of the top six returning interior offensive linemen for 2023, PFF says
Michigan Wolverines football has won the Joe Moore Award for the nation’s top offensive line each of the last two seasons, becoming the first-ever back-to-back winner, and is set to have a strong group up front once again in 2023. Pro Football Focus (PFF) named two Wolverines — senior right guard Zak Zinter and graduate center Drake Nugent, a Stanford transfer — two of the top returning interior offensive linemen in the country.
Zinter checked in No. 3, while Nugent appeared at No. 6.
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Zinter started all 14 games last season and was named a consensus first-team All-Big Ten honoree. He helped Michigan rank fifth nationally with 238.9 rushing yards per game. The Wolverines had only 69 negative plays on 970 attempts, including allowing just 17 sacks.
“Zinter is one of Michigan’s three returning starters on the offensive line, which is the first two-time defending winner of the Joe Moore Award that is given to the nation’s best offensive line,” PFF’s Max Chadwick wrote.
“The junior was the second-most-valuable guard in the Power Five this season according to PFF’s wins above average metric. On 389 pass-blocking snaps, the right guard only surrendered nine pressures.”
Michigan struck gold at the center position out of the transfer portal with Virginia transfer Olusegun Oluwatimi last season. He won the 2022 Rimington and Outland trophies, for the country’s best center and interior lineman, respectively. The Wolverines are trying their hand again, bringing in Nugent, a two-time All-Pac-12 honorable mention and 2022 team captain for the Cardinal. He’s appeared in 27 games with 24 starts during his college career.
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“Despite losing Outland Trophy winner Olusegun Oluwatimi, Michigan should still have elite play in the middle of its offensive line,” Chadwick pointed out.
“Nugent is the highest-ranked center on this list and is the most valuable returning one in the Power Five according to PFF’s wins above average metric. The Stanford transfer’s 84.1 run-blocking grade ranked third among all centers in the country this past season. Between Nugent creating holes in the middle and two top-10 running backs in Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards, the Wolverines’ ground game should once again be deadly next season.”
Graduate left guard Trevor Keegan is another headliner on the interior of Michigan’s offensive line, but he didn’t quite make the cut on PFF’s list. The Wolverines have options at both left tackle and right tackle, with battles set to ensue this spring and leading up to the season.
