Sherrone Moore and Grant Newsome have been busy assembling the offensive line for 2025. One of the moves this offseason that may benefit the team the most is moving Giovanni El-Hadi from right guard back to his natural position of left guard:
When Sherrone Moore took the head coaching job at Michigan, he wanted to continue winning in the trenches. A strong offensive line equates to a strong offense, giving the quarterback time in the pocket to deliver accurate throws and giving running backs open holes to run through.
In his first season as head coach, however, the Michigan Wolverines had the 131st-ranked passing offense and the 113th-ranked scoring offense in 2024. This is not to say the season was a failure, but it is an area that can be improved in 2025, and Moore is already working on bolstering his front five.
This spring, Moore and offensive line coach Grant Newsome are trying to find the best five on the roster. Offensive linemen are versatile, and many can play multiple positions, giving the team the best chance at finding the best five. While Greg Crippen is locked in at center, Giovanni El-Hadi has position flexibility the coaching staff plans to utilize in 2025.
In 2024, El-Hadi had moved from left guard to right guard. El Hadi started all 13 games for the Wolverines, securing the eighth-highest PFF grade on the team of 66.4 on 744 snaps. It was a struggle at times, so El-Hadi is moving back to the left side in 2025, allowing him to be more comfortable and, hopefully, increase his level of play.
“Yeah, I’m playing left guard. Moving back to the left,” El-Hadi recently said. “It’s going good. I feel a little bit more natural on the left. I played my first two years on the left side. Last year, (Josh Priebe) came back. When Priebe came, they moved me to the right to change positions. Then I asked to go back to the left.
“To be good at something, I have to be consistent. I was pretty consistent on the left side. I did it for a lot of years. Before that, I only ever played right. When I came here, I played left. You kind of get used to it. It’s like second nature. That’s why I feel a little better on the left side.”
El-Hadi going back to left guard not only helps him personally, but it makes the entire offensive line better. With left guard being his more natural position, El-Hadi should be able to develop chemistry faster with whoever wins the starting left tackle job. It also helps he already has familiarity with Crippen at center.
Fighting for left tackle is Brady Norton, a Cal Poly transfer who joined the team this semester, and Evan Link, who started at right tackle in 2024 alongside El-Hadi but was also playing out of position.
Norton has quality experience, starting 11 games for the Mustangs last season. Meanwhile, Link held his own at left tackle against Alabama in the ReliaQuest Bowl and has more experience in the program. The good thing is that whoever starts at left tackle will be battle-tested, and both have El-Hadi’s stamp of approval.
“It’s really good,” El-Hadi said of the chemistry between him and the left tackles. “We got Evan, the transfer, Brady. He’s really good, too. You can feel the natural gelling, kind of like the end of last year, how we started gelling really well together. I think it’s gonna be really good. It’s gonna be a scary left side — scary O-line.”
A young player is starting to emerge, too
With the left side battling it out, that leaves Moore to find the best two guys for the right side. With El-Hadi and Link working on the left side, two spots have opened up for younger guys to step up.
One of those guys is Nathan Efobi, a 6-foot-3, 307-pounder who has patiently waited during his first two seasons in Ann Arbor. He appeared in six games in 2024, and he has taken advantage of every opportunity he has been given so far this offseason at right guard.
“(Efobi) looks really good,” El-Hadi said. “He’s understanding the game more. I think that’s the most important thing for all young players is to understand the game before you truly try to get better at the game. Yeah, you could be the strongest, you could have good feet, but if you don’t understand what you’re doing, you’re not gonna do it well. He’s understanding it. He’s a strong kid, and he’s getting it.”
Andrew Sprague seems locked in at right tackle as of now, but don’t underestimate true freshman Andrew Babalola. A former five-star recruit, Babalola is impressing coaches and players alike this spring and will get a fair shot as well.
No matter who wins the starting five jobs, the Wolverines have a plethora of options at all positions heading into 2025. Moving guys around gives them the best chance at throwing out the best starting five next season, but putting guys like El-Hadi and Link at their preferred positions will only make the overall play of the line better.