ANN ARBOR, Mich. — This is certainly not the timeline that Greg Crippen envisioned when he flipped from Notre Dame to Michigan football in March 2020.
The former Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy four-star center had likely envisioned that he would join his former high school quarterback in J.J. McCarthy, and after a year or so, he would be handing him the ball on every play. Crippen sat his first year behind team captain Andrew Vastardis, and though it looked like he could come in his sophomore year, the Wolverines brought in transfer Olu Oluwatimi to take over the role. It was a good move, given that Olu, a team captain, won the Rimington and Outland trophies.
But certainly, 2023 would be the year, right? Again, Michigan dipped into the transfer portal, with Drake Nugent, another former team captain, vying for the role in his first year in a winged helmet. The duo are battling for that starting center spot and it hasn’t yet been decided — or, at least it hasn’t been announced to the players.
As far as Crippen sees it, it’s a healthy competition, bolstered by the fact that the two are rooting for the other as they compete against each other.
“We’re both very competitive people. And we’re both great players. And we’re both going out there to try to be the best we can every day,” Crippen said. “We’re both very close off the field, too, and we talk a lot. And he’s a great guy.”
There’s no sour grapes for Crippen here. While this can’t have been the trajectory he envisioned with continuously arriving competition coming in from other schools, he was already well aware that Michigan is going to lure the best of the best.
If anything, it’s helped him dig deeper, because if he wants to earn the job, he really has to earn it — it’s not going to be given to him.
“Michigan is a very competitive place. And it’s the best school in the country and the world,” Crippen said. “And we’re gonna go out there, I’m gonna go out there and give it (everything I’ve got) because I’m a very competitive person. And just always preparing and always ready to give it everything I’ve got every play.”
Fans will get an opportunity to learn who the starting center is, at least for Week 1, when the Wolverines host East Carolina on Saturday for the 2023 season opener. Kick off will be at noon EDT and the game will be streamed live on Peacock.