Previously: The Story. Podcast 12.4A, 12.4B, 12.4C. Quarterback. Running Back. Wide Receiver. Tight End.

Depth Chart

LT	Yr.	LG	Yr.	C	Yr.	RG	Yr.	RT	Yr.
Ryan Hayes	So.*	Chuck Filiaga	Jr.*	Andrew Vastardis	Sr.*	Andrew Stueber	Jr.*	Jalen Mayfield	So.*
Trente Jones	Fr.*	Trevor Keegan	Fr.*	Zach Carpenter	Fr.*	Zak Zinter	Fr.	Karsen Barnhart	Fr.*
Jeffrey Persi	Fr.	Jack Stewart	Fr.*	Reece Atteberry	Fr.	Nolan Rumler	Fr.*	Joel Honigford	Jr.*

The reader probably does not have to be reminded that the previous two times Michigan has lost a Rimington-quality center to the NFL the subsequent season was a disaster. David Molk graduates; Michigan flops Elliott Mealer and Patrick Barnum the week before the season. Denard is murdered most foul. Mason Cole graduates; Patrick Kugler steps in. Wilton Speight and Brandon Peters are murdered most foul. John O'Korn starts the Ohio State game.

You're probably thinking "let's not do that again," and hoo boy you've never been more correct about anything in your life. Let's not do that again. Please, please, please. Oh cruel and malevolent gods of the universe, surely we have suffered enough.

CRUEL AND MALEVOLENT GODS OF THE UNIVERSE: no

what?

CAMGOTU: no one has ever suffered enough

maybe you could balance out the suffering some

CAMGOTU: get bent nimrod, ger berks

is that… go bucks?

CAMGOTU: ger berks

goddammit

Anyway, if there is a weapon in Michigan's arsenal that can possibly mitigate the fact that Cthulhu is real and wears an Andy Katzenmoyer jersey to formal events, it's Ed Warinner. Warinner instantly repaired Michigan's disastrous blitz pickup schemes under Tim Drevno, orchestrated the bar-none best-organized Michigan OL your author has ever charted, and is an advocate of making things easy to pick up. This press conference quote from shortly after his hire still stands out:

I just want to understand, ‘simplify,’ a little bit more. I mean, the guys have been talking about it since you got here. And you’re saying, offensive line is complicated. In your mind, what does simplify mean? The scheme’s not simple?

“Well just how you present it. Like, there’s a lot of things that can happen on every play. And nobody knows what, before the play starts, what of those are gonna happen. And realistically, I know there’s six things that could happen. If I give all six of those scenarios to a player, then he won’t play very fast. So I have to simplify that — what are the two most likely things to happen on this play, in this situation. And it’s A or B, and react to one of those two. And if he’s right 80 percent of the time, we win. Cause if the line grades out at 80 percent, we’re gonna win.

A quote from Chris Evans after Warinner arrived and Cesar Ruiz ascended to the throne sums it up:

“How it was last year, it’s like, no matter what, if he comes, you gotta block him,” Evans explained. “Now Cesar’s in there and he can adjust it and you can go at it like that."

Maybe. Maybe one goddamn time.

[After THE JUMP: one time!]

CENTER

RATING: ONE TIME PLEASE JUST ONE TIME

I need a Glasgow to adopt this man as soon as possible [Patrick Barron]

Anyway, fifth-year senior and former walk-on ANDREW VASTARDIS is set to start at center. Josh Gattis was explicit in a press availability a couple of weeks ago, talking about Vastardis first and foremost as "our centerpiece":

First and foremost, a guy that I think has done an exceptional job leading our offensive line unit is Andrew Vastardis. He’s a fifth-year player who started off as a walk-on. I can’t say enough great things about him.

That's not an ongoing competition. Vastardis is the guy.

How should you feel about this? I don't know. Decently? To have faith in a new starter, sight unseen, you want three different things:

1. reasonable competition overcome
2. a hammerlock on the job
3. praise from before he was needed

Vastardis does a pretty good job of checking all those boxes.

#1: The guy who did this decided he didn't have enough of a shot at the job to stick around for his fifth year:

The definition of playing until the whistle blows pic.twitter.com/qZV7OBQKLe

— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) October 27, 2019

You can write that off as one play but Stephen Spanellis got a bit of run as a blocking TE and at center over the course of his career. He started and graded out okay in the bowl game against South Carolina a couple years back. He was reputed to be in a close battle with Mike Onwenu right before Onwenu crushed MGoBlog and PFF grading. I don't think passing him is nothing, especially since it doesn't seem like it was close.

Vastardis also fended off Zach Carpenter, who's been gathering the kind of talk that is usually indicative of a future long-term starter. Not just yet.

#2: See above. Another point in his favor: he was the guy who came in during the Michigan State game when Ruiz got dinged. He got five snaps, and it was fine.

#3: Vastardis started drawing a little buzz in spring practice three years ago. Lorenz (and Ace):

Ace Anbender at MGoBlog picked out former PWO Andrew Vastardis as a guy who stood out today and I'm inclined to agree. Vastardis was one of three or four PWOs last cycle the staff believed would, not could, be a difference maker sooner rather than later.

He's been on scholarship for a couple years and after Stueber's injury last year Vastardis popped up again:

With (Andrew) Vastardis playing so well at guard/center, we felt very comfortable having Andrew Vastardis as a right guard and then bumping Joel out.

This isn't a guy who popped up out of nowhere. He's been on the radar for a while.

And he wasn't languishing behind questionable starters. Michigan just sent three guys to the NFL. The last time Michigan stuck in a fifth-year center who hadn't seen the field much it was Patrick Kugler. There there were warning signs. He was a redshirt junior the year Grant Newsome got hurt. Michigan had Cole at center and elected not to flip him outside; instead they had a one-game experiment with Juwann Bushell-Beatty before swapping Ben Braden out to tackle and bringing in a true freshman Ben Bredeson. When you're a fourth-year player and the solution to an injury on the line involves bringing in a true freshman instead of you, it's time to worry.

Vastardis doesn't have that problem. Also he's got this quote going for him:

"Very smart, loves meat, likes football – a lot!" -Jim Harbaugh on Andrew Vastardis

FYI, I would like this quote put on my tombstone when my time comes.

— Zach Shaw (@_ZachShaw) October 19, 2020

I think this might be the one time. There's a big range here. But Vastardis grabbing the job immediately and not relinquishing it even when there are six viable OL is good. Warinner is good. Vastardis getting in against Raequan Williams last year and doing okay is good. I think it'll be okay.

BACKUPS

Redshirt freshman ZACH CARPENTER [recruiting profile] is the #2. For much of last year he was being hyped as Ruiz's heir apparent, and it seems like he was in a legitimate position battle for a while. Or at least a bit. Gattis told the press he was providing "some competition" for Vastardis.

Like a few other guys on the roster, it's a little odd that he was generating more talk last year than he has so far this year. Maybe it's a COVID thing. Still, seeing him on the field would likely be okay. Carpenter entered with a ton of experience: his grandfather is an OL coach in the CFL, he started for four years, and he spent much of his senior year at center.

Weight might be some concern. Carpenter is a big, thick guy who had pass protection as an Area For Improvemnt and he's added nine pounds to hit 329. Centers tend to be smaller and more agile. Carpenter is in a different class of road-grader.

True freshman REECE ATTEBERRY [recruiting profile] is third on the depth chart. As a recruit, Atteberry was reputed to be a guy who could play anywhere across the line; Gattis explicitly referenced him as a center. Atteberry did play the spot as a junior and was momentarily a highly-rated gentleman there, but slid to high three-star range by the end of his recruitment. There's been some talk he's been running with the second team. I'd imagine that's inevitable when you've got three guys and don't know if you should read anything into that.

GUARD: THEY ALSO ENJOY MEAT

RATING: 3

Do you miss Mike Onwenu? Is the lack of a giant grape Stay-Puft Marshmallow man getting you down? Well, I have good news. CHUCK FILIAGA's victory on the left means Michigan is going to be fielding not one but two absolutely giant people at guard. Neither will be Onwenu, currently grading out as the best rookie in the NFL, but together they might provide a reasonable facsimile. More about Filiaga later, because his compatriot is the more established guy.

large, stable [Patrick Barron]

Michigan has a couple starts here in the form of ANDREW STUEBER, who got thrown in the deep end as a redshirt  freshman. His first start: Ohio State. His second: Florida. He also got extended playing time against MSU, with Kenny Willekes, and Indiana. Have fun storming the castle! Also Indiana.

He acquitted himself well despite the context. I'd already written Stueber up by the time Harbaugh announced he was out for the year and not much has changed since, so here it is:

------------------------------------------------

Stueber acquitted himself well in that context, grading out with +19.5 and –12.5 on the ground; that's a 61%, slightly below our desired 2:1 ratio. For a redshirt freshman thrown in at the deep end that's a good start. He did take some Ls in pass protection, with a total of 12 pass pro minuses in his ~3 games worth of snaps. That'll happen against the murder's row above.

Stueber showed a potentially excellent combination of power and smarts in his cameo. He helped seal the MSU game by doing some work against Raequan Williams:

RT #71

This was similarly mansome at the tail end of that game (although the opponent here is 250-pound redshirt freshman DE Jack Camper, not one of the best DTs in the country):

RT #71

When Bushell-Beatty went out of the Indiana game, Stueber came in again. He immediately displayed an ability to read defenses and adjust; here he posts up on a DE and then shoves him out of the way when IU's LB reveals they're exchanging:

RT #71

Stueber keeps his feet moving, finishes his blocks, and has the nastiness everyone except me places a giant premium on:

I place a moderate-to-low premium on nastiness, but it's nice to have. After the Indiana game I was ready to declare him Just Fine:

If Andrew Stueber's the right tackle next year it'll be fine. He did not look out of place. He flashed some advanced understanding and the proverbial nasty streak. Still a long way to go; by midseason 2019 I'd be he's just another mean ol' Michigan OL.

Events since are generally positive for Stueber, who everyone talks about as a player, but reading between the tea leaves may indicate a slightly lower than ideal ceiling. Webb's asserted a couple times that Stueber was "more steady" during spring, and then there's all the stuff above about Mayfield being explosive, mobile, athletic, etc. This is in contrast to someone: Stueber. He's clearly going to be a player and probably a long-term starter, but he might be the right tackle while Mayfield plays on the left. He might even bump inside if one of the other tackles—Hayes, probably—blows up next year. Webb broached that, asserting that Stueber is "he’s nothing if not consistent in his preparation and is said to be very assignment sound".

----------------------------------------

Being neck-and-neck with Mayfield for a starting job sounds even better now, and moving him inside mitigates the issues last year's preview squinted at. Stueber, like Vastardis, has been locked in at his spot for as long as 2020 depth charts have existed. Two years on from his debut he should be significantly improved, which means he'll step in as a plus run blocker even against the upper end of the schedule. Pass protection is more of a question. Unless that comes in at the bottom of expectations he should be one of the better guards in the league.

he's down in there somewhere and will emerge [Patrick Barron]

The other guard spot was the subject of the solitary Bonafide Position Battle on the line this year. Until a few weeks ago pretty much everyone expected it would be redshirt freshman KARSEN BARNHART, who's been the subject of more insider acclamation than anyone else in his six-man recruiting class. Then Mayfield left temporarily, Barnhart got kicked out to tackle, and CHUCK FILIAGA [recruiting profile] asserted himself in the interior.

We don't really have any details about how or why. Filiaga has consistently been mentioned as one of Michigan's top 7-8 linemen whenever a coach or player has been asked to run down contenders on the OL. In mid-September Webb noted that Filiaga was "making significant strides in the last month-plus," with Barnhart kicked out to tackle, and that the picture at guard was so good that Michigan felt they could leave Barnhart at tackle.

We did have one Harbaugh quote that hinted at physical progress:

The sixth guy Harbaugh mentioned was Chuck Filiaga, who had "a tremendous fall camp," is looking strong and more athletic.

Other than that we're in the dark about what exactly he's done to secure the starting spot.

We can certainly guess. Filiaga came in as a tackle who might have to move inside because he was enormous, and also because his run blocking was impressive. From his recruiting profile, one more time:

"…great strength and close-quarters power as a drive-blocker. … high motor and finishe[s] blocks with tenacity."

"plays with a chip on his shoulder and has the size and dominant nature to enforce his will … massive right now … still has a very high upside frame ... punishing blocker who plays through the whistle with a noticeable mean streak. "

"pancake machine … powerful player … good feet and a finisher’s mentality. … brings the toughness Harbaugh and his staff covet … I could also see Filiaga being a road-grader on the interior"

With no spring and this year's paucity of insider takes that's all we've got.

Chances are Filiaga is good. He's massive; he beat out several guys for the last slot on the line; he's a fourth-year player with considerable recruiting pedigree, and as with Vastardis there's no shame in not breaking through yet. The only thing you might like to see is Filiaga taking a quicker hold of the job, but since Barnhart's getting talked up so much it's understandable that it might have taken a minute to separate.

Could be good, could be bad, but if this is the shakiest spot on the line Michigan it'll still be pretty okay, and they will run screaming to the bank to cash that check.

BACKUPS

BARNHART is the top backup everywhere except center. Since it seems like his long-term future is at tackle he's addressed more thoroughly there.

Things get murky after that. There are plenty of options; it's unclear what order they're in. TREVOR KEEGAN, also addressed as a tackle, may be next in line based on one snapshot of the two deep a month ago.

The guy creating the most buzz is actually true freshman ZAK ZINTER [recruiting profile]. He drew a mention from Hayes; he's received a twitter shout-out from Warinner; he's the standout from this year's phonebooks. Zinter was listed at 300 for the duration of his high school career. Everyone knew that was a fiction but the extent of it wasn't known until the phonebooks revealed he is 334 pounds.

Per Webb he showed up on campus this winter a little lighter—325—and put up a 5.1 40, 4.5 shuttle, 30 inch vert, and 31 combine bench reps. If those numbers are anywhere near accurate that is eyepopping. Zinter is reputed to beat NFL combine averages for guards in every one of the above tests. This is what happened when he went to Penn State's camp, according to his father:

[James Franklin] pulled out a sheet of all Zak's metrics that day from the combine... his 40, his bench press, and all that kind of good stuff. And he said, 'if I match up these metrics against our team here today... like my guys actually playing in a Penn State uniform... he'd be right up there with the best we have and he still has two years left of high school.’

New England Recruiting Blindness Syndrome (NERBS!) may have held Zinter's rating back. Webb reports that "excitement is palpable" about Zinter long term. Brice Marich reports that he's been told he "will have an impact tis year" and that there are many "raving reviews" about him. Lorenz has reports that Michigan "believes they have another potential 'total package'".

With Zinter sucking up a lot of interior OL oxygen, it's been radio silence for redshirt freshmen NOLAN RUMLER [recruiting profile] and JACK STEWART [recruiting profile]. That's expected for the latter since he came out of New England as a guy to check on in a few years. Rumler, on the other hand, is a massively experienced two-time captain with 58 high school starts. He was expected to provide immediate competition. Last year Rivals was asserting that Rumler "will be in the two deep" and 24/7 pegged him as "an early favorite to take one of the guard spots next year."

That has not transpired, with Rumler omitted from discussion of the two-deep. He hasn't been tagged in a 24/7 article since April and hasn't shown up on MGoBlog since last year's OL preview. For Michigan this is excellent. Few Michigan lines over the last 15 years would be in a position to not even mention a guy like Rumler. For Rumler himself it's a tad concerning. Filled-out, massively experienced OL should be drawing at least a little talk in year two.

Maybe he's been hurt or otherwise unavailable. Either way he looks set to wait.

our photographers are comprehensive [Bryan Fuller]

Finally, redshirt sophomore GRIFFIN KORICAN is a walk-on of note. We have a picture and everything. Michigan was interested enough to go after a kid in Washington who had already committed to Oregon State as a PWO, and there are some signs that may pay off down the road. Korican has popped up on Warinner's twitter feed as an OL of the day more than once, and he got on the field against MTSU and Rutgers.

Before the redshirt rule got changed you could chalk his playing time up to a desire to preserve years of eligibility for freshmen. Now that is an indicator that Korican was at least temporarily ahead of a couple of scholarship players. The Warinner tweets suggest he's still in the game, as does this Harbaugh statement from last spring:

…having a really good spring. Really happy with him.

At 6'6" 320, size will not be an issue.