Mason Cole
Projected starters: LT Grant Newsome (So.), LG Ben Braden (RS Sr.), C Mason Cole (Jr.), RG Kyle Kalis (RS Sr.), RT Erik Magnuson (RS Sr.). Newsome was the sixth lineman by the end of the season. Jim Harbaugh said recently that Cole would start getting snaps at center as soon as spring practices starts, those two developments seem to be related. Braden, Kalis, and Magnuson all started at those respective positions for the entirety of 2015.
Hit the jump for the rest of the offensive line preview.
Departures: Graham Glasgow, the starting center last season, is at the NFL Combine this week trying to get a high grade for the draft. Jim Harbaugh has said he could be a 1st round talent, although it’s more likely he’s a mid-round pick. Tom Strobel spent some time as an extra lineman last season before switching to defensive tackle full-time; he has announced that he’s transferring to Ohio University as a grad transfer for the upcoming season. Meanwhile, would-be fifth year senior Blake Bars is rumored to be turning down his fifth year to pursue other opportunities. He did not play at all last season and was injured for much of it. Bars had practiced at center, guard, and tackle at various times in his career.
Backup battle: The two guys closest to playing time are redshirt junior center Patrick Kugler and redshirt junior offensive guard David Dawson. Kugler has at least a fighter’s chance to win the center gig, since he’s been playing there for his entire college career. Dawson has been the primary backup at offensive guard for the past couple seasons, but he has struggled mightily when he’s been out there. If injuries force a backup to play, it will likely be one of those two guys, with some possible reshuffling of positions if necessary. Redshirt sophomore Juwann Bushell-Beatty, redshirt freshman Jon Runyan Jr., and redshirt freshman Nolan Ulizio have all practiced at guard and tackle, but I would expect someone like Cole or Braden to bump out to tackle before those guys factor into the equation.
#1 thing to watch: Rumors from various places suggested early in the off-season that Kalis might not be asked back for his fifth year. Michigan was in hot pursuit of Texas grad transfer lineman Jake Raulerson, who ended up choosing UCLA. Kalis underperformed last season and was the weakest link on the line, in some people’s eyes. If Raulerson had chosen Michigan, the coaching staff may have suggested that Kalis could find a better home. Now there do not seem to be many grad transfer options on the table, so Kalis should be able to stay and have the inside track on the right guard job. However, if there are any lingering ill feelings, a departure could leave a giant void at right guard, forcing someone into action who’s not ready to play. Will Kalis be spurred on to improvement, will he remain and stagnate, or will he go somewhere else for a fresh start?
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I’m usually not a “burned red-shirt” guy but I have to admit to some disappointment that Newsome got in for only the last few games of the year. I get that it was valuable to get his feet wet and it should help him be a better player in 2016, but the benefits seem marginal compared to giving up the potential for the 5th year for an OLmen.
I can’t tell if Kugler is actually competing for playing time or not. Obviously it would be great if he was, but circumstances haven’t told us too much one way or the other. The recruitment of Raulerson is pretty troubling though, as is the rumored push to get Bars to play his 5th year. That tells me Kugler isn’t likely to be a desirable starter.
I’m not buying the Kalis stuff. Sounds like a motivational thing. The OL was bad at run-blocking last year but made tremendous strides in pass protection.
I think that, for now, it’s a 5-person OL with Dawson the first backup in across 80% of the line, unless it’s OC where Kugler would play out of necessity. Hopefully one of the youngsters steps up though. At this point 2017 looks very worrying on the OL, but things could change a lot depending on what happens in 2016.
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No matter how you hash it out, the Oline projects as one of our biggest weaknesses for this year. We have three mediocre guys as our best possible starters in 2016, new guys at the other two starting positions, and primary backups who have shown no promise at all. They simply cannot give us an effective running game against a quality defense with the talent they have. And if you want to look ahead, 2017 will likely be worse. It’s still going to be at least 2018 or 2019 before we have an offensive line good enough to win championships.
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I agree with you when you say that OL is “one of” our biggest weaknesses, but returning three fifth-year seniors is a pretty good start. I think we’re in pretty decent shape if that’s our biggest concern. We lost a lot more experience at linebacker, so I think that’s the most critical position going into 2016. Outside of Ben Gedeon, we have no clue how any of those guys is going to look.
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Well, our Oline situation could certainly be worse on paper (and has been, frankly), but our three 5th year seniors (and our two 4th year juniors) are all pretty mediocre players who are probably already at or very close to their ceiling. Projecting a significant improvement from a decent, but far from great Oline in 2015 isn’t really realistic. LB is a concern, too, as is RB, but it’s far more likely that less experienced players at those positions can come right in and make an impact. At RB, we really only need one guy to step up (a la Mike Hart) in order to really elevate our running game. On the Oline, we’re not likely to be at a championship level until Kalis, Braden and Magnuson are all gone and their replacements up to speed (assuming they develop that well), and given our roster hole at Oline, that’ll be 2018 at the earliest.
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