ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Every team has its quirks, the things it does behind closed doors that may seem a little unconventional to fans. It could be a tradition, the way the personalities operate in the locker room, or — if your Michigan football — it’s having a separate team within the team.
Before the Ohio State game in 2022, a couple of Michigan offensive linemen were hurling the ball downfield, playing catch, but it wasn’t quite as innocent as it appeared. It was essentially a practice because the offensive line has their own 7-on-7 football teams. As they prepared for the Buckeyes, those who participated quipped about their prowess passing downfield, noting they have some experience. Perhaps it wasn’t quite as known that they’re quite serious about said experience.
This year, the teams are captained by guards Trevor Keegan and Zak Zinter, and like their broader team, they’ve played four games against each other. But offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore has had to establish some ground rules, because the level of seriousness in their Friday scrimmages could have been somewhat catastrophic.
“It started in 2021, when I first started coaching the O-line,” Moore said. “And just came out and one day they were throwing the ball around, and then they just wanted to play 7-on-7. And like you see them, they’re huge, they’re children! They’re literally kids.
“And they rave about these games on Fridays. And I had to temper down and make rules and change rules. Because I mean, it got out to — I mean, the first day, Myles Hinton’s out there, he’s diving on the ground. So there’s a no diving rule, jumping rule now, you can’t jump out the cylinder, you can’t go above 75% of the speed. But it’s an awesome deal, just let’s their minds go be free, have fun, before we get to focus on a Friday. So we do that every Friday. They enjoy it. They love it and I can’t take it away. So they do a really good job with us.”
So who is the best player? Which team is getting the better of the other?
One of those aforementioned players who was proud of their ability to throw downfield is now gone, and he was apparently their best player, Moore says. But, at the moment, it’s a somewhat lopsided affair, with Keegan’s team getting the better of Zinter’s thus far.
“I mean, probably the best player overall in the past few years has been Ryan Hayes,” Moore said. “Ryan Hayes was elite. Last year, no one could cover him, he won MVP.
“This year, it’s been a back-and-forth battle, team Keegan is up to two-to-one right now. against team Zinter. So those are the two teams. So we’ll see what happens this week. Actually, it’s three-to-one. So team Zinter’s gotta go a little bit to get this thing going.”
Keegan is the quarterback for his squad, while tackle Karsen Barnhart is the QB for Zinter’s team.