Whether it is Bryce Underwood or Mikey Keene, veteran offensive lineman Greg Crippen will be snapping them the ball. Here’s what you need to know about Crippen heading into 2025:
There was a drop-off in a lot of areas last year for the Michigan Wolverines, something to be expected after a mass exodus of talent from the 2023 season to the NFL Draft . But one of the larger surprises was the offensive line, which took a significant amount of time to take shape. While it was expected the unit would need some work, it struggled for long portions of the season.
Luckily, the Wolverines return three starters from that line for 2025. Maybe the most important for the success of the team is fifth-year senior center Greg Crippen. With two new options at quarterback, Crippen’s continued development and play will be paramount to the team’s success.
The story so far
Crippen was a four-year varsity starter, finishing his high school career playing center at IMG Academy where he was teammates with J.J. McCarthy. He quickly rose to a four-star prospect in the 2021 class.
Since coming to Ann Arbor, he has been the face of what Michigan wants from its offensive line. Despite his prowess as a recruit, he waited his turn to become a starter and endured two different veteran centers being brought in from the transfer portal to improve the team, when he may have had a chance to start.
While playing time still happened — Crippen’s appeared in 27 career games — he didn’t get the chance to start until last year. Even then, he competed with Dom Guidice and lost the starting role to him to open the season. Sherrone Moore toggled between the two for weeks before Crippen became the clear answer for the final seven weeks of the season.
The unit’s best two games — at Ohio State and vs Alabama in the ReliaQuest Bowl — came with Crippen in the starting role.
Outlook for 2025
For the first and only time in his career, Crippen will head into the fall as the starting center. Moore mentioned in the spring that three guys were pretty much locked into starting jobs along the offensive line — Giovanni El Hadi (left guard), redshirt freshman Andrew Sprague (right tackle) and Crippen. It appears he will maintain his starting role and play a key piece in the effectiveness of the offense.
If this team is going to continue its momentum from the conclusion of 2024, Crippen and the offensive line needs to play like it did late in the year. Those kinds of performances are what will lead the way to Michigan being back in Big Ten contention once again.