Evan Link had an up-and-down debut season at right tackle in 2024, but had a great performance at left tackle against Alabama in the bowl game. We detail Link’s outlook for the 2025 season:
Michigan has a reputation of offensive line dominance, and it will need to return to its 2021-23 heights to dominate at the national stage.
If this is to happen in 2025, redshirt sophomore Evan Link taking a huge step in his progression would certainly help achieve that.
The story so far
Link committed to the Wolverines in Oct. 2022 as a four-star recruit from Burke, Virginia, and Gonzaga College High School. He redshirted his freshman year, and despite not seeing game action, had a bevy of veterans to study under such as Zak Zinter, Trevor Keegan, Karsen Barnhart, Trente Jones, Drake Nugent, LaDarius Henderson and Myles Hinton.
While Link came to Ann Arbor as a left tackle, his best path to playing time was on the other side of the line. He initially beat out Andrew Gentry for the right tackle job and entered 2024 with high expectations as a redshirt freshman. However, despite showing flashes as a run blocker, Link struggled to hold up in pass protection and was eventually benched midseason.
Link finished the season with a 50.5 overall PFF grade , the lowest of any offensive player with at least 350 snaps (Link played 720). However, he was reinstated late in the season and had some of his best performances against Ohio State and Alabama, a potential sign of things to come and a crucial confidence booster.
Outlook for 2025
Link moved back to his natural position at left tackle this spring, and he can draw from his experiences for a more successful campaign.
“Offensive line at this university has such a high standard,” Link said this spring. “Those guys set it in ‘23, and then people have set it in countless generations before. And so a lot of us — what we’re trying to do right now in spring is just get back to that standard. There’s a certain mentality that comes with that, and it wasn’t really present last season just because we lost all those guys and nobody was really around anymore who had been there and done that. So I think for spring and summer, it’s really just going to be getting the mentality of the unit right. Just because as soon as we get that right, everybody’s out there ready to go kill.”
Five-star freshman Andrew Babalola could push Link for the starting job, and there are no guarantees on this revamped, deeper offensive line. But another season in the heart of battle should prove valuable for Link and the Wolverines.