ANN ARBOR, Mich. — While the Michigan football offensive line has struggled through parts of the year, it finally looked more like a vintage Wolverines unit up front last week against MSU. And though there have been issues figuring out both tackle positions as they’ve dealt with new starters and injuries, one thing is for certain — the future at the position will be bright.
Michigan has two young tackles who figure to play sooner than later given their talent. Though it usually takes a few years for offensive linemen to acclimate, offensive line coach Grant Newsome — who played early, himself — has liked the ascent of former four-stars Blake Frazier and Andrew Sprague — who he confirms have both been playing outside rather than inside.
“Both of those guys have been working at tackle. And both have been up with (the upperclassmen),” Newsome said. “They’ve been pushing those guys to be in the two-deep. And we think both are going to have very bright futures.”
But why have they both been able to progress?
According to Newsome, each has had his own learning curve, of course. Frazier was an early enrollee, so he got a bit of a lay of the land earlier than Sprague. For Sprague, it wasn’t just a late acclimation process as much as it was also battling through injuries he sustained previously.
But Newsome sees both right there, either in or just outside the two-deep along the offensive line — a great feat for each player, given how young they are.
“I think the cool thing with both those guys is how they’ve put in the work physically and mentally,” Newsome said. “Both have learned and kind of attacked the playbook, especially for Sprague, who was not here in the spring. And then both were battling through things in their own way. Blake was a guy who was lighter out of high school. So for him to come in and attack the weight room, attack with Abigail and her staff, and they’ve done an incredible job with him, the nutritional piece, to get himself up to a point where he now he’s weighing enough and he’s got enough strength that he can compete.
“And for Sprague, he was out battling a knee injury coming out of high school. For him to get back healthy, and it was midway through fall camp when he was able to start doing team reps, so the fact he’s able to put himself in the fringe two-deep already is a really, really good sign. So we’re excited about both their futures.”
