2 Michigan Offensive Linemen Named Top 10 Returners for 2026 Season

Although Michigan lost Greg Crippen and Giovanni El-Hadi from its offensive line, the Wolverines are expected to have a very, very good line in 2026. Kyle Whittingham not only went out and landed one of the most respected offensive line coaches in the country, bringing Jim Harding over from Utah, but the Wolverines were able to retain most of their linemen from last season.

Michigan did lose former five-star Ty Haywood to the transfer portal, but the Wolverines were able to keep both Andrew Sprague and Jake Guarnera — both originally opted to enter the portal —, along with Evan Link, Blake Frazier, and Andrew Babalola, among others.

After winning the Joe Moore Award in back-to-back years, Michigan's line play took some bumps and bruises the past couple of seasons. But now that those young lineman have their battle scars, Michigan will feature an experienced line in 2026, and one that will be coached up.

Recently, Pro Football Focus ranked the top returning linemen, and two Wolverines were among them.

Among the top-ranked guards, Jake Guarnera was listed at No. 7. The only caveat there is that Guarnera is likely going to be Michigan's starting center this year. But since he played guard last year, PFF is still listing him as a guard entering 2026.

"Guarnera became the Wolverines’ starting right guard as a sophomore after playing just one offensive snap during his true freshman campaign. Despite his lack of experience, the Florida native more than held his own there.

"Guarnera was one of the 40 most valuable guards in the nation according to PFF’s WAA metric, while his 70.6 PFF run-blocking grade was 11th in the Big Ten. There’s still some work to be done in pass protection (66.0 pass-blocking grade), but he’s a powerful player who’s just getting started."

Andrew Sprague also getting notice

But Guarnera isn't the only young lineman who is getting noticed. After starting at right tackle for Michigan last year, Sprague enters 2026 as the No. 9 returning offensive tackle in the country, per PFF.

"Sprague became Michigan’s starting right tackle as a redshirt freshman and showed why he was a top-10 offensive tackle recruit in the 2024 class.

"He posted 70.0-plus grades as both a pass blocker and run blocker, one of only five Big Ten tackles to do so. Sprague also only gave up one sack across 383 career pass-blocking snaps and was one of the 30 most valuable tackles in the country according to our WAA metric."

Both Sprague and Guarnera are redshirt sophomores entering 2026, but after playing all the games for the Maize and Blue in 2025, there are big expectations for both players this year. Add in Blake Frazie and Evan Link — both have started games for the Wolverines — and Michigan should have one of the top starting units in college football.