Michigan OC Kirk Campbell on the Wolverines' O-line: 'One guy has gotta step up'

Michigan will need to add some valuable depth to arguably its most important position

Apr 1, 2023; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Michigan Wolverines offensive lineman Greg Crippen (51) prepares to snap during the Spring Game at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports / Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

The Wolverines lost every single starting offensive lineman from their 2023 national championship team. Michigan also lost versatile sixth-man Trente Jones who started plenty of games for the maize and blue. But the thing about Michigan is that it rotated plenty of guys and got its backups valuable playing time throughout the past couple of seasons.

Entering 2024, every projected starter has either started football games for Michigan or has enough experience that fans can be confident in their playing abilities. The Wolverines return Myles Hinton who began the season as a starter in 2023, and Michigan went out and grabbed All-Big Ten guard Josh Priebe from Northwestern.

But even with returning several linemen with major experience, the Wolverines need to see more from that unit when fall camp opens on Wednesday. Speaking with the media on Tuesday, offensive coordinator Kirk Campbell said he needs at least one more player to step up in that position group. Injuries are a part of the game and when, or if, those occur he needs players ready to step in a contribute.

"The depth on the offensive line is something we were cognizant of building in the spring and in the summer," Campbell said. "One guy has gotta step up there. Last year we were probably nine deep, 10 deep. If we can get to eight deep, I think we're probably around seven right now. If we can get to eight or nine deep, we'll feel really good about that. Injuries are gonna happen. You look back to the last couple of years, Trevor Keegan missed a bunch of games, Karsen [Barnhart] did, Jeff Persi had to start a game against Rutgers. If we can continue to develop that and find another guy, we'll be really confident. Coming out of spring, we did develop it and Coach [Grant] Newsome has done a great job with developing some of the younger guys but we'll need guys to step up, that's just the reality of it.

Michigan offensive lineman Myles Hinton (78) warms up before the Indiana game at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

During Big Ten Media Days, head coach Sherrone Moore talked about the offensive line depth. Listening to him, you can figuratively pencil in three starters on the line as of now: Myles Hinton at left tackle, Josh Priebe at left guard, and Giovanni El-Hadi at right guard. But there are a couple of position battles to watch this fall at center and right tackle.

"[Greg Crippen] and Raheem Anderson have a great battle going on right now, super excited to see who wins it," Sherrone Moore said on the center battle during Big Ten Media Days. "Both of those guys have been waiting in the wings, they've been around really good players. Andrew Vastardis, who started off when they were freshmen, Olu Oluwatimi who won the Rimington and Outland, and Drake Nugent who was an All-American. It's not like they haven't been around players who were pretty good, so those guys have really sat back in the shadows. And with the world of the transfer portal and the era for them not to leave tells you the dedication and love they have for Michigan. They both deserve the right to go get this job. They've been awesome. Excited to see what happens."

"The right tackle, we've got Jeff Persi and Andrew Gentry, both those guys who have played a lot of football. Jeff Persi started a game for us two years ago. Andrew has played a lot of football. Excited to see what happens."

Michigan is hoping guys like Tristan Bounds, Nathan Efobi, Connor Jones, or Dominick Giudice will step up this fall.

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