2015 Season Countdown: #4 Graham Glasgow

2015 Season Countdown: #4 Graham Glasgow


August 30, 2015

Graham Glasgow

Name: Graham Glasgow
Height: 6’6″
Weight: 303 lbs.
High school: Aurora (IL) Marmion Academy
Position: Center
Class: Fifth year senior
Jersey number: #61
Last year: I ranked Glasgow #3 and said he would be the starting right guard to begin the season. He started eleven games at left guard.

Entering last season, the offensive line was in quite a bit of flux. Glasgow was coming off a 2013 season in which he had started nine games at center, replacing a benched Jack Miller. Kyle Kalis was coming off of a back injury. Erik Magnuson, Kyle Bosch, and others were vying for playing time on the interior. To add to the confusion, Glasgow had to serve a one-game suspension to begin the year for an alcohol-related offense. Miller was inserted back into the lineup at center and held the job for the entire year, Glasgow played left guard after his suspension, and the combination of Erik Magnuson and Kyle Kalis held down the right guard spot. Glasgow was expected to Michigan’s best and most consistent lineman, and that turned out to be the case whenever he wasn’t suspended.

He got into more trouble this off-season. Jim Harbaugh implemented some sort of undisclosed discipline, but he wanted a clean slate and said that Glasgow had paid his penance. Presumably, no suspension is forthcoming, so I expect Glasgow to play center now that Jack Miller has departed. The only other reasonably viable option is Patrick Kugler, who was seen on crutches at Michigan’s open-to-students-only practice. When Glasgow played center in 2013, his first several games were marred by bad center/quarterback exchanges, but he got them fixed after the first four games or so and hopefully will not continue to have issues. He is large for a center at 6’6″, but he bends pretty well and does a good job of maintaining leverage on defensive tackles. Based on his talent and the fact that offensive linemen seem to garner respect for playing a lot over their careers, Glasgow could be in line for some all-conference accolades at the end of the season.

Prediction: Starting center; Second Team All-Big Ten

5 comments

  1. Comments: 142
    Joined: 8/12/2015
    coachernie
    Aug 30, 2015 at 9:20 AM

    He needs to keep his nose clean…. ALL YEAR!! We need him and the entire O Line to come through, finally! They’re Upperclassmen, sitting at the Big Boys table now.
    Coach is going with the old Bo stand-by of winning the Rushing war and Time of Possession. Will be like stepping back into the 70’s.
    Im OK with that if our O Line holds up their end… and we ground out low scoring game Victories!!!
    Time will tell.

    • Comments: 522
      Joined: 8/12/2015
      DonAZ
      Aug 30, 2015 at 12:45 PM

      I suspect it’ll be along the lines of controlling the line of scrimmage and having a credible, effective running game … but I suspect it’ll be a far cry from the early Bo days.

      I do have a feeling the offensive line will be effective and competent this year. Perhaps not road-grader dominant, but good enough to provide the QB some time, and good enough to provide the RBs some room.

  2. Comments: 1364
    Joined: 8/11/2015
    WindyCityBlue
    Aug 30, 2015 at 4:32 PM

    2nd team all-conference is probably a bit optimistic for a guy who’s only been a journeyman up until now. Dan Voltz, Billy Price, Jack Allen and Robert Kugler are probably all better, and Austin Blythe, too, though he could end up playing guard. From the standpoint of this team, though, given how little we have behind him, he’s an important enough piece to rank this high, but I doubt he’ll be a star.

    • Comments: 6285
      Joined: 8/11/2015
      Lanknows
      Aug 30, 2015 at 6:29 PM

      hmmm…you’re probably right about Voltz, Allen and Kugler. That’s probably too many experienced vets with a bunch of accolades for Glasgow to pass over. Unless there are injuries or position flips, those guys will stay ahead.

      That said, I think accolades aren’t always about who is better. Often they are about who ‘leads’ a strong unit and who has been starting for a long time.

  3. Comments: 6285
    Joined: 8/11/2015
    Lanknows
    Aug 30, 2015 at 6:24 PM

    Whose long-term absence would derail the season? IMO, there’s only two guys who that applies to: Rudock and Glasgow.

    Agree with the all-conference potential. I rank him a bit higher than this (#2 overall) but it depends a little bit on if you think Kugler is ready or not.

    Everything this offense is trying to do hinges on the OL.

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