Latest on a top Michigan football position battle

With the 2023 season just two days away, there are still a number of unresolved Michigan football position battles being sorted through right now. One of these battles is at center, where junior Greg Crippen and Stanford transfer Drake Nugent are battling it out to replace Olu Oluwatimi, who became the most decorated lineman in program history last fall.

Latest on a top Michigan football position battle

Greg Crippen has some claim to the starting center role, but with the addition of Drake Nugent to the room over the long offseason, there appears to be no end in sight for this major Michigan football position battle. Jim Harbaugh has emphasized the ‘Michigan Method’ time and time again, and with no starter named yet, we could see this happening at center throughout the first few games of the season this year.

Greg Crippen pushing hard for the starting job

Now, for Michigan football as a whole, there is a very good problem at center — the issue is not that no one is standing out; it is that both Nugent and Crippen are playing at an incredibly high level right now. On top of that, these two fierce competitors are rooting for one another, so there should be no issues when a true starter is named for the coming season.

“We’re both very competitive people,” veteran Michigan football center Greg Crippen explained. “And we’re both great players. And we’re both going out there to try to be the best we can every day. We’re both very close off the field, too, and we talk a lot. And he’s a great guy … Michigan is a very competitive place. And it’s the best school in the country and the world. And we’re gonna go out there, I’m gonna go out there and give it (his all) because I’m a very competitive person. And just always preparing and always ready to give it everything I’ve got every play.”

Drake Nugent is “refreshed” and ready to compete

Drake Nugent, who was a top performer in the PAC-12 and a team captain at Stanford, also had a chance to chime in on this Michigan football position battle. According to Nugent, who went from one of the worst programs in the nation to one of the best, his new home is “refreshing.”

“Honestly, it’s kind of refreshing,” Drake Nugent explained. “(At) Stanford, we don’t really win very many games there. And I love those guys there. I was captain last year, which is great. But I just feel like that, personally, I needed a new change, just almost like a spark for my love for football again. Not to say I didn’t love it last year, but just gave me like that ‘no excuse,’ like, I came in with competition and stuff, I gotta be on myself every day. Where at Stanford, you can give yourself an excuse, even though I would say I didn’t — it’s there.”

These two Michigan football standout centers will continue to battle it out for the starting job throughout the final days of camp and likely into the first few games of the season. Regardless of who wins the position battle, the Wolverines are undoubtedly in good (and experienced) hands this year.

Thank you for reading Blue by Ninety. For more Michigan Athletics and Big Ten content from Blue by Ninety, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. You can also subscribe to our YouTube Channel. For feedback, questions, concerns, or to apply for a writing position, please email our Publisher at [email protected]. Also, be sure to check out our shop and our podcast, which is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all other streaming platforms. It is because of your support that we have become one of the fastest-growing and most influential Michigan media outlets there is!