Three In A Row?
Michigan is well equipped to defend its Big Ten title in 2023 and the offensive line is a major reason why. Sherrone Moore's unit has won the Joe Moore Award two years in a row and has a very good shot at making it a three-peat. Many analysts, including Grant Hughes from the national desk at 247 Sports, sees Michigan as the best offensive line in the entire country.
There's no doubt that U-M boasts the best guard duo in the nation in Trevor Keegan and Zak Zinter. Keegan and Zinter are both first team All-Big Ten selections and have more than 50 combined starts between them. At 305 and 315 pounds respectively, Keegan and Zinter are poised and ready to lead U-M's offensive line from the middle.
Between Keegan and Zinter — literally — there is a bit of a question mark as Moore looks to replace last year's Rimington Award winnner, Olu Oluwatimi. But, the solution is likely an easy one as Stanford transfer Drake Nugent fits perfectly into the void. The 6-1, 300-pounder started 24 games for the Cardinal and t was a two-time All-Pac-12 honorable mention. He might be quite as big as Oluwatimi, but he should be just as solid, especially with Keegan and Zinter flanking him.
At tackle, there is a bit more to figure out. Moore has several players to choose from, including last year's starters at right tackle in Trente Jones and Karsen Barnhart. Jones started six games at right tackle before giving way to Barnhart. The Paw Paw native started nine games last year (8 at right tackle, 1 at left tackle) showing that he can get it done on both sides of the line. Throw in incredibly impressive transfers La'Darius Jefferson from Arizona State and Myles Hinton from Stanford and you have four able and experienced bodies to fill two spots.
Beyond them, there are also a few younger players looking to steal a tackle spot in Jeff Persi, who did start one game at left tackle last year in Ryan Hayes' absence, Tristan Bounds and Andrew Gentry. Giovanni El-Hadi is another player who can play guard and maybe tackle in an extreme pinch.
To put it simply, Michigan is stacked along the offensive line. Whichever five end up starting for Sherrone Moore, they will have a chance to bring home the Joe Moore Award for a third straight season.
