Jim Harbaugh talks Michigan football offense, defensive line depth

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — What a difference a few years make. 2017 seems like a distant past now, when the Wolverines had some promise on the offensive line, but it quickly became clear that it wasn’t all coming together. It took until the 2018 Big Ten season for the promise that Jim Harbaugh would strengthen the offensive line as the solid part of the team to finally materialize.

And then to this moment? Well, it has found the accessories.

For the second year in a row, Michigan football has taken home the Joe Moore Award, which is given to the top offensive line in the country. This is the first time in the history of the award that one school has earned it twice in consecutive years. The Maize and Blue certainly hope to make it three straight years, which may seem unlikely, but considering Ann Arbor has six returning players with starting experience and several transfers coming in with starting experience as well. it will be released this spring — well, narrowing things down to five starters is going to be something of a challenge, head coach Jim Harbaugh says.

“That’s a good problem to have, right? How hard is it to get five starters? It’s probably pretty hard. Like it was last year. We had seven, eight guys that were starters,” Harbaugh said. “If you look at it now: Karsen Barnhart, Trevor Keegan, Greg Crippen, Gio, Trente, Zak Zinter, Jeff Persi. I consider them all starters and LaDarius Henderson, Drake Nugent, Myles Hinton – all capable. Andrew Gentry is going to be really good. Reece Atteberry is really good, Dom Giudice has come in, he’s really good – defensively. And three really good freshmen coming up.

“But just keep attacking and everybody pays the price. As long as we do that, as long as everybody pays the price. Everybody does it, then they and everybody can grow to their potential. The only thing to avoid is that good players are so a lot that others think they can give half their effort and still reap the benefits of success, but it just never works that way. Everyone has to pay a price to win. If not, everyone pays a price to lose. Nothing comes cheap. (Not) cheap wins for the team or anyone in it.”

Harbaugh couldn’t talk about just the offensive line without mentioning how good he feels about the defensive front on the other side of the ball.

The defensive line doesn’t have quite the same depth as its offensive counterpart and also lost Mazi Smith — the tip of the spear — to the NFL this offseason. However, Harbaugh remains excited about the depth in the middle of the frontcourt, citing three players who are poised for breakout seasons in 2023.

“I’m very excited about the offensive line. I’ve said the same thing about the defense, Harbaugh said. “Kenneth Grant, Mason Graham, Kris Jenkins — possibly our best player on defense. He’s going to be really good. Rayshaun Benny is really, really coming. And then we added Josaiah Stewart, T.J. Guyn — someone with potential to do well, Cam Goode as well. Alessandro Lorenzetti moved from offensive line to defensive line. Ike Iwunnah and now a whole bunch of incoming freshmen. Big guys that have played nose tackle and tight end that we’re really excited about.

“So just — we talked about the lines, the front line, the offensive lines and the defensive lines, where does it go? If guys really work hard, if they do everything they can to maximize their potential, we’re going to be in good shape.

Unlike some relatively recent years, Michigan football appears to be in very good position, not only along the line, but in nearly every ranking group. The Wolverines have the fifth-most returning production in college football, including at the most important position: quarterback. As long as the team stays relatively healthy, the sky’s the limit for the Maize and Blue in 2023.