Will Michigan continue to rotate on the offensive line?
The Michigan running game made strides last week against a solid Rutgers team, but it still isn’t where it needs to be. Offensive coordinator/line coach Sherrone Moore calls it a “work in progress,” though he’s encouraged by what he’s seen lately. The Wolverines rushed for 201 yards in victory, and even though quarterback J.J. McCarthy accounted for over 50, senior Blake Corum racked up 97 yards in the win.
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Stanford transfer Myles Hinton started at right tackle again last week, but Michigan veteran Karsen Barnhart slid over there and Arizona State transfer LaDarius Henderson moved to left tackle at times. Henderson has continued to play well to earn more time, but he still hasn’t solidified himself a starter.
“[Hinton] had a little thing he’s working through. He came back in and is working through it, will practice today and be fine, but LD has just proved he’s such a good player,” Moore said. “He’s been so reliable. He’s just improved every week, so we had to give him the opportunity, and he did really well. So, we’ll continue to rotate those guys work those guys in, and it always helps to keep those guys fresh. When I played, we rotated like eight or nine guys. I think that’s really going to help. We’re going to need everybody. We’re going to need 10 guys to take us where we need to be.
“But practice reps, what you saw in practice, the confidence [Henderson] grew in practice … when he did get his opportunity in games, he flourished and did a great job. The eye in the sky never lies, as we say. We don’t try to predict where the depth chart’s going to go. We just let practice and games dictate it. He just did a really good job. Now we trust him in those opportunities, whatever it is, to put him in the game and be successful.”
The camaraderie and physicality took a big leap against Rutgers, the Michigan assistant continued, especially at the end of the game. The Wolverines got the ball back with just under 7 minutes to go and ran out the clock. They also had long, time-consuming drives throughout the game.
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“I see the guys, the glue starting to stick a little bit more,” Moore added. “Guys are starting to feel each other out. Really getting the inside three, you really kind of can see that meshing. But now the tackles, whatever combination the tackles are, you see those guys are kind of sticking together and feeling it out, as well. So, it looks like it’s coming together, and I thought this last game they played really, really well overall as a group. They played fundamentally sound in the run game, did a lot of really good things. There are always things to clean up, but those guys are really coming together.
“You see the physicality when you put on the film. Guys are finishing. You see people put other people on their back. You see the domination, the line surge up front, and then you see the continuity and communication, and you hear it when I talk to them. What I see on film is what I’m getting out of their mouth from the sideline and then when we get to the meeting.”
Overall, Moore said, he’s seeing the growth. It’s not right where it needs to be yet, but it’s getting closer.
“It’s taking steps every year. It always does, especially when you’ve got five guys working as one,” Moore said. “It takes some time to really hone in. But you can see the game experience in those guys playing together really coming together.”
