Michael Cohen
College Football and College Basketball Writer
Tucked away near the end of his lengthy answer to a question regarding early standouts during fall camp, Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore tossed a bone to the newly constructed brain trust overseeing the offensive line, a position group that became the bedrock of the Wolverines’ renaissance during its final few seasons under Jim Harbaugh, whose run was punctuated with the 2023 national title.
Moore began by shouting out second-year offensive line coach Grant Newsome, his longtime protégé as a student-assistant, graduate assistant and leader of the tight ends room during a six-year period that began in 2016 when Newsome, a once-promising Michigan offensive tackle, medically retired after badly damaging his right leg. Newsome was the logical choice to take over the offensive line once Moore assumed control of the program after Harbaugh bolted to the NFL. At the time, Newsome’s promotion was viewed as nothing more than the next step in his meteoric rise through the coaching profession, a trajectory lauded time and again by Harbaugh in the preceding years.
From there, Moore continued his ode to offensive line tutelage by recognizing everyone else who’d played a role in what he described as widespread improvement at that position since the end of last season, an 8-5 campaign in which late victories over Ohio State and Alabama salvaged an otherwise forgettable year. He recognized Nick Gilbert, an assistant offensive line coach entering his second season in that particular role. He mentioned John Morookian, another assistant offensive line coach who is back in Ann Arbor after two years as a position coach at Charlotte. And he referenced Juan Castillo, the senior assistant offensive line coach who spent 2024 coaching the offensive line at UCLA and has nearly three decades of NFL experience on his résumé, not to mention one season as an analyst for Harbaugh at Michigan.
“They’ve invested a lot of time in that group to be really good,” Moore said during a news conference on Aug. 12. “And they know the vision. They know what I want in that O-line. And they know how we should run it as an offensive line. They’ve imprinted [what I want] in that group, and so they’ve turn into nearer this offseason. They’ve labored actually, actually onerous.”
What Moore didn’t say, maybe as a result of it was equal elements implied and understood, was that the rationale Michigan added two extra assistant coaches to its offensive line room, and why everybody related to that place has needed to work so onerous, is as a result of the on-field product final fall got here up in need of this system’s customary.
The Wolverines completed tied for 73rd nationally in dashing at 157.2 yards per recreation, their lowest common for a full season since 2019. They completed tied for fifty fifth in tackles for loss allowed with 66, a rise of 18 from the 12 months prior and almost double what Michigan yielded in 2021, when its miniscule tally of 34 was the bottom within the nation. Their common of seven.7 quarterback pressures per recreation surrendered was the group’s highest mark since permitting 8.3 per recreation in 2021. All informed, the unsavory efficiency compelled Newsome, who turned 28 earlier this 12 months, to confront what was arguably his first actual second of adversity since getting into the teaching career.
Such a evident want for enchancment alongside the offensive line would have existed no matter whom the Wolverines trot out at quarterback this fall following the revolving-door they endured final season. However the arrival of five-star phenom Bryce Underwood, the No. 1 total prospect within the nation, and his seemingly impending choice as Michigan’s starter, has solely intensified the microscope hovering over Newsome this fall, given the significance of such a well-compensated asset. And when this system’s different marquee freshman — five-star offensive sort out Andrew Babalola, a participant Moore mentioned was neck and neck within the competitors to begin at left sort out — suffered what many have reported to be a season-ending knee damage on Aug. 18, the stress heaped on Newsome and his cadre of assistants is now compounding.
“We notice that we weren’t ok final 12 months as a crew,” Newsome mentioned in a information convention on Aug. 6. “And as an offensive line, it’s important to lead the crew. That’s the expectation right here. That’s the way in which it’s been right here. Each nice Michigan crew, the offensive line has led the crew. That’s the way it needs to be. And so [it’s about] embracing that. You possibly can view it as a problem and type of shrink back from it, or you’ll be able to view it as a possibility.”
Grant Newsome throughout the third quarter of the Michigan soccer spring recreation. (Photograph by Jaime Crawford/Getty Photographs)
Michigan’s offensive line brings again three starters in heart Greg Crippen, guard Giovanni El-Hadi and offensive sort out Evan Hyperlink, although all of these returns include asterisks. Crippen, now a graduate scholar, cut up snaps with fellow heart Dominick Giudice for a lot of final season earlier than the latter transferred to Missouri over the winter. El-Hadi and Hyperlink, in the meantime, are each flipping from the best aspect of the road to the left with new, inexperienced faces nonetheless battling to fill their outdated spots. Moore mentioned sophomore Andrew Sprague, who logged simply 73 snaps in 2024, almost all of which got here within the ReliaQuest Bowl towards Alabama, is predicted to emerge at proper sort out, whereas a four-man competitors continues to unspool at proper guard.
The world of biggest concern is left sort out, the place Hyperlink had been contending with a reliable surge from Babalola, the Wolverines’ highest-ranked offensive line signee in class historical past. Hyperlink, who was a first-time starter final fall, had 30 of the crew’s quarterback pressures charged to him in a marketing campaign when no different Michigan participant exceeded 10, based on Professional Soccer Focus. The one Large Ten offensive tackles to permit extra pressures than Hyperlink have been Alan Herron of Maryland (38) and Bryce Benhart of Nebraska (31). Hyperlink’s pass-blocking grade of 38 ranked 166th out of 171 offensive tackles who logged not less than 700 snaps final season — a scathing indictment it doesn’t matter what folks consider that individual metric.
Although Newsome and Moore have been staunch of their protection of Hyperlink because the finish of final season — each coaches mentioned his confidence and efficiency have vastly improved — there’s little doubt that Babalola’s presence eased their considerations previous to the damage. A local of Overland Park, Kansas, the place he was the state’s highest-rated prospect in additional than 15 years, Babalola arrived at Michigan because the No. 16 total recruit and No. 3 offensive sort out within the nation. He bulked his 6-foot-6 body as much as 315 kilos by working with the Wolverines’ power and conditioning employees and nutritionists from January via the beginning of fall camp.
Gamers of the Michigan Maize crew lineup towards gamers of the Michigan Blue crew throughout the first half of the Michigan Maize vs Blue Spring Soccer Recreation. (Photograph by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Photographs)
“He’s an extremely good man,” Newsome mentioned of Babalola. “Not simply school-wise, however soccer IQ-wise. It looks like [those traits] would go hand in hand — however undoubtedly not so. He’s 10-times smarter than I used to be soccer IQ-wise, particularly early in his profession. And it’s a credit score to him, how a lot he cares about it, how a lot he invests in it. However that’s considered one of his greatest attributes, clearly, along with being very bodily gifted.”
For Newsome, who will earn $600,000 this season, touchdown Babalola gave him a crown jewel for an already sturdy recruiting profile. He introduced three blue-chip tight ends to Michigan throughout his two seasons teaching that place from 2022-23, headlined by Brady Prieskorn, the No. 130 total prospect within the 2024 class, and he paired Babalola with two extra high-level offensive tackles in his first cycle main the offensive line: Ty Haywood, the No. 39 total prospect and No. 6 offensive sort out within the nation; and Avery Gach, the No. 280 total prospect and No. 15 offensive sort out. Michigan’s 2026 recruiting class, which is ranked tenth nationally, already contains three extra four-star offensive linemen.
Such profitable participant acquisition is consistent with the rock-star-style descriptions Harbaugh lavished on Newsome throughout their time in Ann Arbor, even after Newsome obtained a one-game suspension for his alleged involvement in recruiting violations throughout the COVID-19 lifeless interval. Harbaugh marveled over Newsome’s work with tight ends Colston Loveland, AJ Barner and Luke Schoonmaker, all of whom have been chosen within the first 4 rounds of the final three NFL Drafts. He gushed about how Newsome would make an important President of america. And he consistently reminded reporters that Newsome turned down careers in finance and politics to pursue his soccer goals. To Harbaugh, there was nothing Newsome couldn’t do.
“He’s the tight ends coach now,” Harbaugh mentioned of Newsome on the “Inside Michigan Soccer” radio present in September 2023, “however [we are] already grooming him to be the offensive line coach. After which, as soon as he has perhaps a 12 months or two beneath his belt as offensive line coach, identical to Sherrone Moore, he’ll be the coordinator. At that time, once we can’t give him any extra money or any extra titles, someone will snatch him as much as be a head coach.
“Mark my phrases and mark them properly: That can occur.”
However first, earlier than any extra of Harbaugh’s prophecy can come true, Newsome must solidify his standing by fixing Michigan’s offensive line.
Michael Cohen covers faculty soccer and faculty basketball for FOX Sports activities. Observe him at @Michael_Cohen13.
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