Name: Zach Carpenter
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 329 lbs.
High school: Cincinnati (OH) Moeller
Position: Offensive guard
Class: Redshirt reshman
Jersey number: #58
Last year: I ranked Carpenter #86 and said he would redshirt (LINK). He redshirted.
TTB Rating: 73
When Carpentered entered college, most assumed he would end up playing offensive guard. Not only was he ranked as a guard, but Michigan had highly touted interior lineman Nolan Rumler in the 2019 class, and Rumler was reportedly likely to transition to center. Anyway, Carpenter had two seniors starting at guard and a future 1st rounder starting at center ahead of him, so he wasn’t needed last year.
Fast forward one season, and all those guys are gone. Carpenter and Karsen Barnhart earned a ton of buzz last year, and the conclusion going into the spring was that Carpenter had the inside track on the center gig. The stiffest competition was thought to be coming from walk-on Andrew Vastardis.
The most recent rumors suggest that Vastardis has been getting first team reps at center, partly because Carpenter has been missing from practice due to health issues. Center is a key position, so I have Carpenter ranked here at #21, but Vastardis or Rumler could be the man if/when there’s a season.
Prediction: Starting center
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The starting center is more important than either of the top RBs in the rotation. He plays every down, he is integral to pass protection and run blocking.
Furthermore, Michigan’s offensive success has corresponded very strongly to having quality centers like Molk, Ruiz, and Cole. 2017 was mostly about QB but we can’t ignore that Kugler at center was a major issue. The falloff during Hoke era 2012 to 2014 they were shuffling through guys which sometimes worked (Glasgow) and other times didn’t (Miller).
Rumler just isn’t generating the buzz and if he’s starting we’re probably in trouble. I like that Vastardis is on the team and a high performing walk-on is great, but the ceiling on the team is a lot higher if Carpenter is breaking through and on an NFL track. Same logic that was given for Jeter last year’s countdown applies here — What happens at OC can define the season. Carpenter might not be the guy but if Michigan wants to compete for the Big Ten title he probably needs to be the guy.
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