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Michigan lost a lot of pieces at the end of the 2019 season. Out of all the pieces, the biggest one that was lost was the blow the offensive line took. Three of the four players that left were out of eligibility, while center Ceasar Ruiz declared early for the 2020 NFL Draft. With four starters now gone, it was almost all five as right tackle Jalen Mayfield opted out of the season, but he would opt back in and help out the Wolverines.
With Mayfield returning, that gives the offensive line a big boost as they face a lot of uncertainty with how they will perform this season. On the positive side, offensive linemen Andrew Stueber will return after missing all of last season with an injury. Stueber was competing with Mayfield for the starting right tackle job last year before he got hurt and with Mayfield playing well, Stueber will move to the right guard spot.
The other position that has some good news with it is at left tackle. Last year, starting left tackle Jon Runyan Jr. was injured and missed the first two games leaving Ryan Hayes to take over for him. Hayes performed well and looks like he should be the starting left tackle this season.
So now with three of the five starters having experience, the left guard and center spot isn’t as clear as the others. The center position seems to have Andrew Vastardis all over it, but anything can happen in less than two weeks. At left guard, that is a battle between Chuck Filiaga and Trevor Keegan with possibly Nolan Rumler in the mix as well.
Keegan and Rumler have yet to play in a game, while Filiaga has played on special teams and in games where the Wolverines brought in the backups. Those two spots are going to be the biggest question marks of them all out of the five on this offensive line.
The offensive line is going to be what makes or breaks this offense this season. The running back room is loaded and being able to not help create the space for these running backs to showcase what they can do could be just a waste of the talent in the backfield. With quarterback Joe Milton being the starter, having to run for his life when pressure consistently hits him is going to make his first year one to forget.
Milton might need time in the pocket for his wide receivers to get open. The positive side is Milton’s arm strength is good enough that he doesn’t need the extra time to wind up when throwing it deeper downfield. He wouldn’t complain though if he has the extra time to make sure his throw is as best as it can be.
This offensive line is going to have a lot of pressure on them, but with the way the offensive line coach Ed Warinner has been at Michigan, they should be more than ready for when the play Minnesota on Oct. 24. Offensive coordinator Josh Gattis will have a second year to showcase his speed in space offense and it should be more relevant this year than last year.
The only way that it has a chance to improve though is if the offensive line allows it to happen. They don’t need to be the top offensive line in the country, but if they can do just as well as the group did last season, they shouldn’t have an issue helping the team put up points and be more effective than last season. If the offensive line isn’t able to step up, then the offense could take a step back despite having weapons all over the field.
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