52 days until Michigan football: Karsen Barnhart's toughness, reliability and versatility on display during fantastic career
There are 52 days until the defending national champion Michigan Wolverines football team takes the field in the Aug. 31 opener against Fresno State. Each day until then, we’ll discuss current Michigan events, the upcoming season and/or take a look at a significant number that correlates with how many days remain until kickoff, whether it be a player’s jersey number, a year, a date, a score, etc.
Former Michigan offensive lineman Karsen Barnhart, now a rookie with the Los Angeles Chargers after being picked up as an undrafted free agent, wasn’t an elite player at U-M. He played at a high level, though, for several years, starting 31 games with 43 appearances from 2019-23.
During his time at U-M, Barnhart totaled a whopping 2,031 offensive snaps. He played every position on the offensive line except center. Here’s a breakdown of his career snaps:
| Left Tackle | Left Guard | Right Guard | Right Tackle |
| 548 | 174 | 219 | 1,083 |
Barnhart regularly worked in at different positions during practice, which isn’t necessarily ideal for an offensive lineman at that moment, but it paid off in that he was versatile. Just last season, for example, he started games at three positions — left tackle, right tackle and right guard.
That versatility proved crucial at the end of Michigan’s season, when unanimous All-American Zak Zinter went down with a gruesome leg injury against Ohio State. Barnhart slid down from right tackle to right guard, and senior Trente Jones was inserted into the lineup at right tackle.
Barnhart didn’t just help block on a touchdown run for running back Blake Corum on the very next play after Zinter went down, he helped pave the way for a successful run the next three games, wins over Iowa in the Big Ten championship game, Alabama in the Rose Bowl and Washington in the national championship game.
Michigan’s offensive line was considered great — finishing as one of 12 semifinalists for the Joe Moore Award — but not great during the regular season. It even struggled during the Big Ten title game against a fantastic Iowa defense, allowing a season-worst 4 sacks (tied with the same amount it yielded against Indiana).
The group used its month off between that tilt and the Rose Bowl against Alabama to come together, with Barnhart and Jones making up a new-look right side. Michigan ran for 130 yards and 1, allowing only 1 tackle for loss, in a 27-20 overtime victory over the Crimson Tide, before paving the way for a season-best and CFP national title game all-time high (since 2014) 303 rushing yards with 4 touchdowns in a 34-13 triumph over Washington to complete the 15-0 season.
Barnhart was unselfish, and he often played through pain. At one point after he went down with an injury that he wound up returning from one week later, Michigan head man Jim Harbaugh called him “tougher than a two-dollar steak.” He’s from Paw Paw, Michigan, after all.
He was tough and good enough for Harbaugh to pick him up with his new franchise after the draft, too. He’s competing for a roster spot this training camp, and it’d be hard to bet against him.
53 days | 54 days | 56 days | 57 days | 59 days | 60 days | 62 days | 65 days | 66 days | 67 days | 68 days | 71 days | 72 days | 73 days | 74 days | 75 days | 76 days | 77 days | 78 days | 79 days | 80 days | 81 days | 82 days | 84 days | 85 days | 87 days | 88 days | 89 days | 90 days | 91 days | 92 days | 93 days | 95 days | | 96 days | 97 days | 98 days | 99 days | 100 days
