Two Michigan football interior offensive linemen ranked in top 10
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When your football team has won the Joe Moore Award for having the nation’s most outstanding offensive line in back-to-back seasons — you can expect big things on a yearly basis.
The Wolverines return three starters from the 2022 season on the offensive line: Trevor Keegan, Zak Zinter and Karsen Barnhart. Add transfers Drake Nugent, Myles Hinton and La’Darius Henderson, the maize and blue have a real chance to contend for the award again in 2023.
Pro Football Focus is pretty high on Michigan in 2023, kind of like most sites around. PFF has switched focus to the offensive line for next season, and the analytic site ranked the top-10 returning interior linemen for 2023.
Michigan had two offensive linemen on the list. Guard Zak Zinter was ranked No. 3 and incoming transfer Drake Nugent was ranked No. 6.
The only other Big Ten player on the list was Ohio State‘s guard Donovan Jackson at No. 9.
Zak Zinter
Photo: Isaiah Hole
Trevor Keegan and Zak Zinter both informed the Michigan community they would return for the 2023 season. While Blake Corum was the biggest returnee, Zinter has a strong case to be the second biggest returning player for 2023.
Zinter helped anchor the offensive line in back-to-back seasons, and if Michigan has a chance to win the Joe Moore Award again next season, Zinter will be a key cog.
Here is what PFF had to say about the No. 3 returner on the interior line.
Zinter is one of Michigan’s three returning starters on the offensive line, which is the first two-time defending winner of the Joe Moore Award that is given to the nation’s best offensive line.
The junior was the second-most-valuable guard in the Power Five this season according to PFF’s wins above average metric. On 389 pass-blocking snaps, the right guard only surrendered nine pressures.
Drake Nugent
Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports
In 2021, Michigan had Andrew Vastardis at center, and last season, the Wolverines had Virginia transfer Olu Oluwatimi. The Wolverines didn’t miss a beat going from Vastardis to Oluwatimi. They probably got better.
Michigan has three returning linemen from last season, but one of the bigger talking points was who would start at center for the Wolverines in 2023. Greg Crippen and Raheem Anderson would love the opportunity, but Stanford transfer Drake Nugent will be tough to beat.
He started 24 games at center for Stanford.
Despite losing Outland Trophy winner Olusegun Oluwatimi, Michigan should still have elite play in the middle of its offensive line.
Nugent is the highest-ranked center on this list and is the most valuable returning one in the Power Five according to PFF’s wins above average metric. The Stanford transfer’s 84.1 run-blocking grade ranked third among all centers in the country this past season. Between Nugent creating holes in the middle and two top-10 running backs in Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards, the Wolverines’ ground game should once again be deadly next season.
