Drake Nugent Among The Top Centers In The Nation

The back-to-back Michigan Joe Moore Award-winning offensive line hasn't had a shortage of talented centers.

In 2021, the first year the Wolverines won the award, Michigan had Andrew Vastardis at center. Vastardis was a workhorse. He wasn't highly ranked nor sought after. He had to work to become the starting center and he excelled.

The next season, in 2022, Michigan went out and brought in Olu Oluwatimi from Virginia via the transfer portal. Not only did Oluwatimi help lead the Wolverines to another Joe Moore Award, but he was the Outland Trophy winner, the Rimington Award winner, and a consensus All-American.

So what did Michigan do to shore up the line heading into 2023?

Jim Harbaugh dipped back into the transfer portal and brought in Stanford transfer Drake Nugent. The former Stanford center played on a poor team, but he was still a top transfer target and Michigan landed him.

Not only did Nugent go out and win the starting center job on arguably the best offensive line in the nation, but through 10 games he is the second-ranked Power Five center according to Pro Football Focus.

Highest graded Centers this season💪 pic.twitter.com/kYNLYsPQgC
— PFF College (@PFF_College) November 16, 2023

Looking into more in-depth numbers, according to PFF, Nugent hasn't allowed a sack all season. He has only allowed four pressures in 540 snaps and one penalty has been called on Nugent this season.

Michigan has had plenty of solid centers, and Nugent is the next great Wolverines' center to play in Ann Arbor.