ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan football’s offensive line won the Joe Moore Award last season, given to the best offensive line in football. While three of the five starters from that unit are back, and it’s added Rimington Award finalist Olu Oluwatimi to the ranks, it hasn’t been quite as dominant as last year’s unit.
However, there are no concerns inside Schembechler Hall.
Senior left tackle Ryan Hayes made his season debut on Saturday night’s game against Hawaii, after having missed Week 1’s contest vs. Colorado State due to an injury, and when it comes to assessing how the O-line has performed through two games, he notes that, yes, it hasn’t been consistent at this point, but he has no doubt that it will round into form as the season wears on.
“I think we’ve done some good stuff so far, but obviously, the first two games are always just — there’s always gonna be stuff to clean up,” Hayes said. “So we’re obviously not playing our best right now. We’re not playing our worst. So, I think every game, we’re going to take steps from where we want to be by the end of the season.”
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One of the things, he notes, about offensive line play is the unit getting comfortable with each other. Even with two new pieces, it requires something of a reset in terms of familiarity. There have been some lapses — Trente Jones struggled a little in Week 1, while Zak Zinter whiffed on a block, leading to a sack, in Week 2.
For Hayes, it’s all about the unit getting used to going from practice into the games. The shuffling of the deck hasn’t helped, as player injuries have hampered the line from getting settled in. But also getting used to playing against unfamiliar opponents after months of practicing against the Michigan defense will take a few weeks, he says.
“Olu’s been great, too, but it’s just figuring out you’re next to him again, or playing next to him, players — Trevor, and Gio has been in there a little bit, Trente’s a new piece,” Hayes said. “So it’s just everybody figuring out these first three games, how to really jell together, make the right calls, know what each other’s doing. I think we’re on our way to do that.”
“Every season, the first few games are figuring each other out,” Hayes continued. “Because it’s one thing to do it in practice, but another thing is doing it on game day. So we haven’t really talked about our opponents at all. It’s just the way it goes these first couple games, I think.”
Michigan’s had a weak nonconference slate thus far, and it will finish out with another lowly thought-of opponent in Connecticut. While the Wolverines’ Week 4 opponent, Maryland, hasn’t exactly had a stellar defense in recent years, with the Terrapins coming up, then Iowa, Indiana, Penn State, and Michigan State, Hayes says that it’s critical that he and his teammates prepare as if they’re playing the Buckeyes — even if it is a subpar UConn team.
“We strive to be perfect every game, but these first games, just building on each other, ” Hayes said. “We’ve got to take practice like we’re playing Ohio State at the end of the year, every week like that. So if we don’t do that, we’re not going to get better every week. So, it’s just keeping that same mentality, that we have to get this much better each week if we want to be where you want to be at the end of the season. And we want to strive for perfection in the games, obviously.”
Michigan and UConn kick off on Saturday at noon EDT. The game will be nationally broadcast on ABC.
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