Michigan Football Sleepers For 2023: Offensive Line

Michigan is pretty much set at every position on the field, but there's always potential for someone to step up in a major way.
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Michigan has stacked up two incredible seasons in a row and is riding as high as ever under Jim Harbaugh. In fact, the Wolverines are returning 81% of its production from last year's team, which included a win over Ohio State, a Big Ten title and a second straight appearance in the College Football Playoff. That production mark is good for 5th in the entire country and 1st in the Big Ten. Because of that, there aren't many question marks on the roster.

In fact, most positions are completely solidified — quarterback and running back being two of them. Wide receiver is experienced and quite deep, although Michigan's offense has limited production there a bit, and tight end is new yet solid with rising sophomore Colston Loveland and Indiana transfer AJ Barner holding things down. Along the offensive line, Michigan is as deep as any program in the country. In fact, it doesn't really matter who Sherrone Moore decides to start; several very reliable and experienced offensive linemen are going to be watching from the sidelines this fall. Left guard, center and right guard are as solid as can be with Trevor Keegan, likely Stanford transfer Drake Nugent and Zak Zinter forming a formidable interior. There will be battles at both tackle spots and that's where my sleeper comes from.

Last year, Trente Jones and Karsen Barnhart split starts at right tackle, which likely means they'll battle it out for that spot again. Throw in Stanford transfer Myles Hinton and potential contributor Andrew Gentry, and you have four big boys competing hard for that spot. On the left side, Arizona State transfer LaDarius Henderson might be the odds-on favorite to win the job, but my sleeper pick to be the guy at left tackle is Jeffrey Persi. At 6-8, 309 pounds, Persi is prototypically built to play left tackle and has experience at the position. He played in five games last year and started one in Ryan Hayes' absence. 

jeff persi

It's going to be really, really interesting to see who ends up starting along the offensive line. Barnhart has also started once at left tackle, making him a potential player at that position as well. Throw in a versatile guy like Giovanni El-Hadi, who has started at left guard, Keegan, who has bumped out to left tackle before, and a riser like Tristan Bounds at 6-8, 311 pounds, and there's an embarrassment of riches for Moore to choose from.


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