UA-59049186-1 Michigan Football Preview 2015 - Offensive Line - Good if it Goes

Michigan Football Preview 2015 – Offensive Line

Projected starters: Mason Cole, Erik Magnuson, Graham Glasgow, Kyle Kalis, Ben Braden

Could make an impact: Patrick Kugler

Watch out for next year: Patrick Kugler, Logan Tuley-Tillman, Juwann Bushell-Beatty

Michigan’s offensive line was not good last year. There were a couple bright spots (Mason Cole’s play as a freshman, Graham Glasgow), but the line as a whole was not good. In fairness, a dropoff was expected, as Michigan had to replace Taylor Lewan and Michael Schofield last year. But it was a bigger dropoff than was expected.

This year, everybody’s a year older, and offensive line guru Tim Drevno is Michigan’s new offensive coordinator. With this being the case, there’s reason to believe the line can be pretty good this season.

Mason Cole started last year as a true freshman and was one of Michigan’s better linemen. That says something about both Cole and Michigan’s line last year. We’re not looking at the next Jake Long here, but Cole is a nice player. He saw a little bit of time at center in the spring, after Jack Miller left the program, but by the spring game, Cole was back at left tackle. Is this where he plays his entire career? I don’t know. But if it is, that’s totally fine.

Redshirt junior Erik Magnuson saw the field a blocking tight end last year, but seems to figure pretty heavily into Michigan’s offensive line plans now. He played right tackle in the spring game, with Ben Braden taking his spot at guard. If Magnuson ends up at right tackle in the fall though, my guess is that Graham Glasgow slides over to left guard and Patrick Kugler plays center.

Resdhirt senior Graham Glasgow was probably Michigan’s best offensive lineman last year and takes over for Jack Miller at center this year. (Unless, of course, the above scenario presents itself, but right now, I’m operating under the assumption that he ends up at center.) Glasgow was suspended in last year’s opener against Appalachian State for a DUI, and this spring violated his probation. Things have been taken care of there, but it’s something to watch out for. If Glasgow remains on the straight and narrow, Michigan’s got themselves one heck of an interior offensive lineman.

Last year, the light finally came on for Kyle Kalis, and he began to look like the guy Michigan thought they would have when he committed. Things should only get better this year with Drevno around. During the spring, Drevno said the redshirt junior had really improved. Kalis’ biggest problem was being overwhelmed from the neck up, so if the light has truly come on, he could be a star for the Wolverines.

Redshirt junior Ben Braden was awfully shaky and inconsistent last year, so it wouldn’t totally surprise me to see Magnuson at RT, Glasgow at LG, and Kugler at C. Harbaugh, and Hoke before him, tried moving Braden to guard. Both realized this was not a good idea. Brady Hoke was not good at realizing when something was not a good idea, and Al Borges, Michigan’s offensive coordinator at the time of the experiment, was doubly not good at this, considering that he attempted to turn Denard Freaking Robinson into a pro-style quarterback, so for them to realize that moving Braden to guard was not a good idea says a lot about how not good of an idea it is.

Redshirt sophomore center Patrick Kugler could certainly see the field this year. He’s only appeared in one game thus far at Michigan, last year’s opener against Appalachian State, but his ceiling appears quite high.

During the spring, there were reports that the light had come on with redshirt sophomore Logan Tuley-Tillman. During the spring game, the light looked sort of dim. It is worth noting that 1. The offense is usually ahead of the defense in the spring. 2. Michigan’s defense was miles ahead of their offense for all of 2014. And 3. Michigan is deeper on the defensive line than the offensive one, so the offensive lines in the spring game featured a few guys that don’t seem to have much of a chance of seeing the field this year. While Tuley-Tillman seems to have improved, he’s probably not ready to contribute just yet.

Redshirt freshman Juwann Bushell-Beatty has the size you look for in a left tackle, but needs to develop yet. He could be a factor next year.

Twitter: @KSchroeder2325

E-mail: schroeder.giig@gmail.com

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