Michigan football offensive line left off top 10 list

PFF named its top 10 offensive lines heading into the college football season, with the Wolverines being left off

Nov 23, 2024; Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; Michigan Wolverines offensive lineman Greg Crippen (51) blocks against the Northwestern Wildcats at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

Over the past several seasons, Michigan's football program has been known for its offensive line units being amongst the nation's best.

The proof was especially in the pudding in 2021 and 2022 as the Wolverines offensive line were back to back winners of the Joe Moore Award, which is given to college football's top offensive line unit in the nation on an annual basis.

In 2023, when Michigan won the national championship, the offensive line was again a finalist to win the award. Still, it was the Washington Huskies who came away winners of the award that season, even though Michigan showed it had a better unit based on the head-to-head performance in the national title game.

Last season's unit was a constant work in progress, with the rotating of centers Greg Crippen and Dominick Giudice, along with some overall inexperience that forced Sherrone Moore and Grant Newsome to perform more shuffling than they probably would have preferred.

However, by season's end, the unit was clicking pretty well despite the complete lack of a passing game and being forced to block against heavy boxes due to teams playing the run.

Heading into the 2025 season, while the unit has clear potential, the position group will have to answer questions and prove it can get back to being back to one of the elite units in college football.

While the Wolverines will return Crippen, tackle Evan Link and guard Giovanni El-Hadi, who all played key roles on last year's team, they also lose some experience with tackle Myles Hinton and guard Josh Priebe having departed.

Guys like redshirt sophomore Nathan Efobi and redshirt freshmen Andrew Sprague will be looked at to step up and fill bigger roles this season, while the coaching staff will also potentially turn to players such as Andrew Babalola, Jake Guarnera and Brady Norton to fill roles.

Due to the unanswered questions at the position group, Pro Football Focus left the Wolverines off its top 10 offensive lines heading into the 2025 season.

The list includes:

1. Alabama

2. Utah

3. Texas A&M

4. Florida

5. Oregon

6. Iowa

7. Auburn

8. Miami (FL)

9. Notre Dame

10. Clemson

If Michigan does hope to compete toward the top of the Big Ten and get back to the College Football Playoff, the offensive line will need to step up in a big way in order for the Wolverines to have the on field success they hope for.

Michigan offensive line coach Grant Newsome talks to Blue Team | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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