The Fence the Mitten Project: Offensive Line

Continuing the project of what the team would have looked like in 2019 if the Wolverines kept every in-state top-25 kid in the maize and blue. I have already covered QB (LINK), RB (LINK), WR (LINK), and TE (LINK).

2019 DEPTH CHART

1. ^^Kyonta Stallworth (RS Sr.): 4-star, #8 OG, #179 overall
2. #David Moorman (RS Sr.): 3-star, #40 OT, #402 overall
3. #Joshua Alabi (RS Sr.): 3-star, #30 SDE, #555 overall
4. ^^Wes French (RS Sr.): 3-star, #117 OT
5. Matt Skibinski (RS Sr.): 3-star, #148 OT
6. #*Michael Onwenu (RS Jr.): 4-star, #4 OG, #87 overall
7. **Michael Jordan (RS Jr.): 4-star, #14 OT, #130 overall
8. #Alaric Jackson (RS Jr.): 3-star, #57 OT, #631 overall
9. Cameron Kolwich (RS Jr.): 3-star, #36 OG, #766 overall
10. #*^Ja’Raymond Hall (RS So.): 4-star, #30 OT, #301 overall
11. #Jordan Reid (RS So.): 3-star, #21 OG, #370 overall
12. Mustafa Khaleefah (RS So.): 3-star, #78 OT, #833 overall
13. Robert Hudson (RS So.): 3-star, #90 OT
14. Marquan McCall (RS Fr.): 4-star, #6 OG, #194 overall
15. #*Jalen Mayfield (RS Fr.): 4-star, #16 OT, #268 overall
16. #*Ryan Hayes (RS Fr.): 4-star, #23 OT, #335 overall
17. Tyrone Sampson, Jr. (RS Fr.): 4-star, #7 C, #346 overall
18. Antwan Reed (RS Fr.): 3-star, #30 OT, #425 overall
19. Dimitri Douglas (RS Fr.): 3-star, #51 OT, #657 overall
20. Michael Furtney (RS Fr.): 3-star, #61 OT, #789 overall
21. Logan Brown (Fr.): 5-star, #4 OT, #17 overall
22. Devontae Dobbs (Fr.): 4-star, #1 OG, #51 overall
23. Anthony Bradford (Fr.): 4-star, #13 OG, #206 overall
24. Karsen Barnhart (Fr.): 4-star, #16 OG, #266 overall
25. Spencer Brown (Fr.): 3-star, #40 OT, #528 overall

#Offered by Michigan
*Signed with Michigan initially
**Left school early for the NFL
^Retired or transferred prior to 2019
^^Changed positions to DT

HOW DID THESE REAL-LIFE PLAYERS FARE IN 2019?

Fifth year senior David Moorman (Wisconsin) started seven games at left guard and one at right tackle. Joshua Alabi (Ohio State) started two games. Matt Skibinski (Miami-OH) started twelve games at right tackle. Senior Michael Onwenu (Michigan) started every game and was named 3rd Team All-Big Ten. Redshirt junior Alaric Jackson (Iowa) started ten games and was named 2nd Team All-Big Ten before leaving a year early for the 2020 NFL Draft. Redshirt sophomore Cameron Kolwich (Northwestern) played in six games as a backup. Jordan Reid (Michigan State) started every game at right tackle and was named the team’s best lineman. Mustafa Khaleefah (Michigan State) played in five games. Robert Hudson (Iowa State) played in all thirteen games, mostly on special teams. Redshirt freshman Jalen Mayfield (Michigan) started all thirteen games and was named Honorable Mention All-Big Ten, while teammate Ryan Hayes started two games and played in twelve. Tyrone Sampson, Jr. (Fresno State) started three games. Dimitri Douglas (Michigan State) did not play at all and is transferring to Eastern Michigan. Michael Furtney (Wisconsin) played as a backup in all thirteen games, while freshman teammate Logan Brown redshirted. Freshman Devontae Dobbs (Michigan State) started one game and played in four total. Anthony Bradford (LSU) redshirted but still won a national championship. Karsen Barnhart (Michigan) and Spencer Brown (Michigan State) redshirted.

THE HYPOTHETICAL 2019 MICHIGAN TEAM

This is actually a pretty solid unit. With a large number of linemen still on the roster – 19! – the Hypothetical Wolverines have a solid two-deep with perhaps a question mark at center, where someone might have to bite the bullet and switch positions:

LT: Alaric Jackson, Joshua Alabi
LG: David Moorman, Karsen Barnhart
C: Tyrone Sampson Jr., Michael Furtney
RG: Michael Onwenu, Jordan Reid
RT: Jalen Mayfield, Matt Skibinski

The squad is good on the edges, decent at guard, and the center position is iffy, but the program can make it work. With experienced veterans like Alabi and Reid to use as chess pieces, Coach Warinner finds an effective enough combination for this to be the strength of the offense. It will be important to rely on the run game with a questionable quarterback (Theo Day) and a skill group lacking in explosive ability (RB Elijah Collins, TE Tony Poljan, WR Donovan Peoples-Jones, WR Cody White, and WR Dez Fitzpatrick).

CONCLUSION

If Michigan were able to lock down the State of Michigan on the offensive line, I believe they would have enough talent to make it work. It’s noteworthy, in my opinion, that out of the 19 linemen above, not one was a 1st team all-conference player; Michael Jordan (Ohio State) was the only first teamer, period, while Jackson and Onwenu were 2nd and 3rd team. Keep in mind that the two-deep above doesn’t even include two 5-star freshmen in Logan Brown and Devontae Dobbs, both of whom redshirted. The numbers suggest that Michigan would take, on average, five linemen per year, which is somewhat realistic; the unrealistic part is the attrition rate, which would probably be higher. Out of 25 linemen signed over five classes, it’s hard to believe 19 of them would still be with the team without choosing to leave or being, um, shown the door.

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