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The Wolverine Podcast: Balas and Skene on Michigan O-Line, much more

Chris Balasby:Chris Balas•06/29/23•

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Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

TheWolverine.com’s Chris Balas and analyst and former Michigan All-Big Ten offensive lineman Doug Skene talk U-M’s offensive line expectations, predictions for the season, Sherrone Moore and Jim Harbaugh‘s futures and much more.

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Balas and Skene break down what’s made the Michigan offensive line elite the last two years and talk about whether it can continue. Moore was extremely pleased with his group this spring.

“I think we’ve had really good lines in the past and the past few years,” he told Jon Jansen on the In the Trenches podcast this spring. “The ’21 year, I thought the line was outstanding. I thought we had our weak points at times, especially at depth. Last year, I thought we were a little bit better and built it and we showed it.

“This year, I feel like both the first and, potentially, second — we just call it 1a and 1b because we feel lie both groups are ones. Everybody knows if you step in, you’ve got to play at the same level. Whether you line up with the first group or the second group, you’re all starters. You have to manage your way and attack it like that.”

And they have. Some guys were limited by injury, but the others stepped up.

Getting them to return is easy, Moore said. Michigan linemen want to stick around and play for the program.

“I think just what we’ve built, the culture that’s in the room, they all want to be part of it,” Moore said. “They don’t really want to leave. That’s acredit to the players and what they’ve done, the standard they’re all holding themselves to.

“The guys see that. They know that if they go somewhere else, they might not be held to that same standard and they won’t feel the same way. Everybody loves winning championships; everybody loves beating those teams we know we gotta beat and they love being part of that. More importantly, I think it’s really what the guys have done as well as the culture within the room.”

Balas and Skene touch on that and much more in today’s podcast.

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