Michigan football offensive line is addressing key issues

So far this year, the Michigan football offensive line has seen its ups and downs. This week, we spoke with center Drake Nugent — a transfer from Stanford — and offensive guard Trevor Keegan about how the O-line is handling its early-season issues. While the team is working hard to right the ship, as seen against Rutgers last Saturday, the Wolverines seem to be less concerned about some initial road bumps than many fans are.

Michigan football offensive line is addressing its issues

The Michigan football offensive line is known for being elite — over the past two seasons, it has won two straight Joe Moore Awards (given to the nation’s best OL annually) and more, becoming the first line to ever accomplish the feat.

Drake Nugent explains early woes

Still, with new transfers and some key departures, this year’s offensive line has been struggling to get off the ground. Despite this being the case, Michigan football is handling its business and continues to address its issues heading into Week 5.

“First few games, we struggled a little bit on the inside zone stuff, communication-wise, I kind of hit on that after one of the games — ECU,” center Drake Nugent explained. “But I think week by week we’ve gotten better, just communication-wise. There are obviously a few plays each game that you want back, but that’s part of the game; it’s part of football. But I think we’re on the right track.

“I mean, the more reps the better, obviously,” Nugent continued. “Kinda just get a feel for everything just communication-wise because obviously there’s some plays out there that like, you might not know what each other is doing but you got to like — there’s just like a little instinct that you’ve got to trust next to him like he’s gonna go still do it anyways, even though you guys may not have told each other the call or something like that. Maybe just something small like that. But just those kinds of plays where you’ve just always gotta be on the same page. Kind of like unspoken plays, I guess you could call them.”

Trevor Keegan says the Wolverines are close

Trevor Keegan, a team captain for Michigan football this year, also added that the offensive line wasn’t firing on all cylinders until mid-way through the 2022 season. So far, he says that there is a similar feeling in the room, and that the OL is close to clicking.

“I feel like the last two years — especially last year — I mean, we didn’t play too well the first five games,” Trevor Keegan explained. “We were like, ‘Yeah, there’s like no way we’re gonna win.’ We weren’t playing that well. Until the Penn State game and we’re like, ‘alright,’ and then we just kept rolling from there. So it’s gonna take a couple of weeks for us. I mean, we didn’t have a spring ball together but, I mean, once this thing gets rolling, we’re gonna be playing really well. When you have 9-10 in the box, it’s kind of hard to really break out the runs. So it’s gonna come soon, I can feel it.”

Michigan football ready for Week 5 at Nebraska

In two days, Michigan football will face Nebraska for its first road test of the 2023 season. There, the offensive line will look to build on its solid performance at Rutgers, carrying the Wolverines to a fifth-straight victory before heading to Minnesota in Week 6.

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 Cj@BluebyNinety.com. 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!