Michigan had to replace six offensive linemen in 2024, and it was harder said than done. It wasn’t pretty, but the Wolverines put it together by the end of the season and are in a good spot heading into 2025:
There will always be high expectations for the Michigan Wolverines offensive line. Over the last four seasons, Michigan has produced six offensive linemen that were drafted to the NFL, the 2021 and 2022 lines became the first units to ever win the Joe Moore Award in consecutive seasons.
But after the 2023 season six offensive linemen left Ann Arbor, position coach Sherrone Moore was promoted to head coach, and tight ends coach Grant Newsome took over as the offensive line coach. Newsome certainly had his work cut out for him heading into the 2024 season, and it was a work in progress throughout the 13-game season.
Here is our 2024 offensive line review.
LT Myles Hinton
There was no question who would start at left tackle. The 6-foot-7, 342-pounder started his career at Stanford, but eventually transferred over to follow in his brother’s footsteps.
Hinton started 10 games, earning a 70.1 PFF grade by playing 578 snaps and allowing just 10 pressures. He routinely showed quick feet and improved his technique throughout the season, and he held his own against some of the nation’s best edge rushers in Oregon’s Jordan Burch and Ohio State’s J.T. Tuimoloau, who each has just one tackle for loss in their matchups.
With no more eligibility, Hinton declared for the draft and is currently projected as a late round pick.
RT Evan Link
Unlike on the left side, there was a tight position battle for the starting right tackle job between Evan Link and Andrew Gentry. While the media largely believed Gentry would win it, to many fans’ surprise, it was Link that convinced the coaches he was the best man for the gig.
Link did not see game action at all during his true freshman campaign in 2023, so the matchup against Fresno State were his first collegiate snaps. Opposing defenses quickly realized he had a steep learning curve, and they started taking advantage of that. While Jeff Persi, Hinton and Josh Priebe gave up 10 pressures each in 2024, Link gave up a team-high 27 pressures to earn a 51.2 PFF grade on 720 snaps.
It wasn’t the coming out party Link was hoping for, but he still displayed flashes of promise as a first-year starter, especially at the end of the year. He particularly excelled in pass blocking, earning an 85 grade or higher several times, and with a full offseason ahead, there is plenty of room to grow.
LG Josh Priebe
The Wolverines did not go to the transfer portal for many starters last offseason, but arguably one of the best pickups was Josh Priebe from Northwestern. The former Wildcat and Big Ten all third-teamer started 29 games in four seasons in Evanston and was much-needed reliability on the offensive line for Michigan.
Priebe started all 13 games in 2024, giving up 10 total pressures and securing a PFF grade of 62.4 on 803 snaps. Much like Hinton, opposing defenses started to stay away from the left side of the line and loaded up on the right side instead to find mismatches.
With no more eligibility, Priebe is currently projected as a late round draft pick.
RG Giovanni El-Hadi
Giovanni El-Hadi has been with the Wolverines for four seasons, but he patiently had to wait behind Zak Zinter. In his first year as a starter, El Hadi started all 13 games, securing the eighth-highest PFF grade on the team of 66.4 on 744 snaps. He developed an anchor that became very important in big matchups against Ohio State and Alabama.
El-Hadi is returning to Ann Arbor for a fifth season in 2025. With the growth and progress we have seen in one season, he could be a force on the interior offensive line next fall.
C Greg Crippen
If Link starting was a big surprise, talk about Newsome giving the starting center job to Dom Giudice. He started the first four games, but was largely ineffective. He earned a 53.3 PFF grade on 317 snaps, forcing Moore and Newsome to split the center snaps between him and Greg Crippen before Crippen earned every snap the rest of the way.
Crippen was more than serviceable in his eight starts this past year. Much like El-Hadi, Crippen also decided to return to Ann Arbor to give Michigan another returning starter along the line.
Future outlook
As it stands today, Crippen, El-Hadi and Link should have jobs locked down, while guys like Andrew Sprague, Nathan Efobi, Cal Poly transfer Brady Norton, Ferris State transfer Lawrence Hattar, and five-star freshman Andrew Babalola will compete for playing time.
The one to watch should be Sprague, who played a great game at right tackle against Alabama despite having just three appearances all season. He logged 67 snaps in his first career start and earned a 63.3 overall grade, the highest among Michigan’s offensive linemen in the game. Additionally, his 63.2 run blocking grade led the team and played a crucial role in running back Jordan Marshall’s 100-yard rushing performance.
With Sprague playing right, Link started at left tackle and delivered a solid performance and a team-high pass blocking grade of 87.2.
The offensive line heading into 2025 has a great mix of veteran leadership and young talent. It should be a fun offseason for this position group.