Michigan football's offensive line: Biggest mystery entering 2018

(Note: This is part four of a series reviewing Michigan’s 2017 position groups and looking ahead to 2018)

They insisted they were more athletic up front. And they might have been.

But when Michigan entered the 2017 season with three new starters on the offensive line and another playing out of position, things needed to be simple for everything to click.

Instead, the Wolverines chose the opposite. With Tim Drevno (a gap coach) and Greg Frey (a zone coach) splitting offensive line coaching duties, U-M looked like a choppy mixture of two different schemes for half the season.

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And even when one side was scrapped and momentum was generated, the discombobulation in pass protection became too much to overcome.

Michigan found no concrete answers to its near decade-long struggle along the offensive line in 2017. Hope? In spots. Results? Not quite.

It's been an era of inconsistency in large part due to constant schematic changes. Over the last eight seasons, U-M went from Rich Rodriguez's zone spread scheme to Al Borges' odd combination of everything to Doug Nussmeier's inside zone attack to Jim Harbaugh's gap-sound approach and, ultimately, back to another combination.

In 2016, Michigan's offensive line had its issues. But it did have an identity. There was no identity through the first half of 2017 and by the time the Wolverines realized what it might be, it was too late.

So, now what?

Offensive line

Who’s eligible to return: G Michael Onwenu (6-foot-3, 350 pounds), junior; G/C Cesar Ruiz (6-4, 316 pounds), sophomore; T James Hudson (6-5, 302 pounds), redshirt freshman; T/G Joel Honigford (6-6, 275 pounds), redshirt freshman; T/G Chuck Filiaga (6-6, 345 pounds), redshirt freshman; T Nolan Ulizio (6-5, 295 pounds), junior; T Andrew Stueber (6-7, 314 pounds), redshirt freshman; C/G Stephen Spanellis (6-5, 307 pounds), redshirt sophomore; G Ben Bredeson (6-5, 308 pounds), junior; T/G Jon Runyan Jr. (6-4, 298 pounds), junior; T Juwann Bushell-Beatty (6-6, 315 pounds), senior; T Grant Newsome (6-7, 314 pounds), redshirt sophomore.

Who’s gone: OT Mason Cole, C Patrick Kugler, T Ja'Raymond Hall.

Who's coming in: Jalen Mayfield (Grand Rapids Catholic Central; 6-5, 273 pounds); Ryan Hayes (Traverse City West; 6-7, 252 pounds).

2017 recap

Over the course of the first five games, Michigan continued to hammer zone run attempts without much success and also sacrificed constant pass protection holes as a result.

Ulizio was a first-time starter at right tackle and, with Newsome rehabbing a knee injury for the season, Cole went back to left tackle. In theory, that line is athletic enough to move and be successful enough to give U-M versatility between zone and gap. But it didn't work. Ulizio wasn't ready to protect the edge or be effective in the power game. Michigan then inserted Bushell-Beatty, an accomplished masher in the gap game who wasn't an upgrade in pass protection.

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After a nightmare of a game plan at Michigan State, Harbaugh and his offensive staff scrapped the mixture and relied on what worked: Power, counter, pin/pull, power pitch. This has been Harbaugh's offensive foundation since he started coaching in the mid 2000s. Attack one gap and move people off the line of scrimmage. Michigan, for its faults, was very good in this area after the midseason lineup tweak.

The Wolverines rushed for 1,397 yards and 19 touchdowns at 4.9 yards per carry over the final seven games of the regular season. Those aren't jaw-dropping numbers, but when you factor in the 18 sacks the group allowed during that span, the rushing numbers don't look so bad.

Still, consistency didn't exist. The group was above average at half its responsibilities and just plain bad at the other half.

Now, the bigger question.

2018 outlook

Drevno's gotten plenty of flack from U-M fans since he took the job. Part of that might be overlapped fan frustration, as the program hasn't had a consistent run of sound offensive lines since the Lloyd Carr era. Part of it is warranted.

But things have to start growing now.

It remains to be seen if Drevno will coach the entire line again (as he did from 2015-16) or if Harbaugh will make another staff change up front. Either way, Michigan has insisted the overall level of athleticism inside its offensive line position room is better than it was when Harbaugh got here. Now, it's time to prove it.

U-M returns sound building blocks in Ruiz, Onwenu and Bredeson. Ruiz can play guard and center, Bredeson can possibly play tackle and guard, but he has to improve. Spanellis has been molded into a center/guard. Right and left tackle are giant question marks. No one's sure if Newsome will be full-go when the season begins, or if he'll be the player he was before a 2016 knee dislocation. No answer at right tackle was good enough, frankly, which opens things up.

More: The future of U-M offensive line still a critical question

Michigan moved Hudson, who is a terrific athlete, from defensive line to tackle in camp. Stueber is a 6-foot-7, well-built lineman with solid footwork. If either of those two can make big freshman-to-sophomore jumps, U-M could be in business. Filiaga is huge, but I wonder if he fits better inside.

Michigan will potentially return 12 scholarship offensive lineman. If it can't find five quality starters from that bunch, then you're beyond the problematic stage. That'd be a nightmare.

Bottom line

Schematically, things have to be more organized. The constant back and forth between basic approach doesn't help anyone, especially a young group. Technique in pass protection, at every position, has to be addressed and taught harder.

It's real simple: If this line turns in another season like the one it just had in 2017, then the quarterback doesn't matter. This group had two quarterbacks sent to the hospital this season. That has to stop.

If more of the same continues, you'll be looking at another four to five loss season.

Harbaugh's offense can work in college. But it will be nothing but marginal until the offensive line becomes a strength for this football team.

Contact Nick Baumgardner: nbaumgardn@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @NickBaumgardner. Download our Wolverines Xtra app for free on Apple and Android devices!