8 thoughts on Michigan’s 8 scholarship IOL entering the summer

The Michigan Wolverines are firmly out of the spring ball phase of building and into an evaluation period and summer workouts. Head coach Sherrone Moore got to see what his first team in Ann Arbor could look like, and now a foundation is set ahead of fall camp.

Michigan’s offensive identity is still to be determined, but the offensive line is going to be at the forefront of the efforts. When you have players like Zak Zinter and Trevor Keegan moving on from the interior, there are going to be natural questions.

With that in mind, here are thoughts on each scholarship interior lineman entering the summer and where they might factor into the short and long-term vision of the program.

Graduate Josh Priebe

Another plug-and-play offensive lineman out of the transfer portal, Josh Priebe comes over from Northwestern after being named a team captain as a senior and making 29 career starts, primarily at left guard. It seems likely that Michigan will play him there, and he is basically a shoo-in to be one of their best five.

Among his highlights last season included allowing zero pressures on 46 pass-blocking snaps in the season opener against Rutgers and following up with a performance against Minnesota with no pressures in 61 dropbacks. Barring injury, he will be an opening-day starter for the Wolverines.

Senior Raheem Anderson

Raheem Anderson is a name that has fluctuated in and out of the mix when discussing standout players behind the scenes. He has appeared in six games in three seasons in Ann Arbor, but some of that has to do with what has been ahead of him on the depth chart. Now, he enters an offseason where, while having some work to do, he could compete with Greg Crippen for the starting center job.

Anderson has a great shot at cracking the two deep and also has the ability to play guard, so there is some positional versatility here.

Senior Greg Crippen

Michigan has been waiting for the light to pop on for Crippen, and they gave him some time to figure it out over the last two years by bringing in transfers at center in Olu Oluwatimi and Drake Nugent. Not only did they hold down the fort, they were also nationally recognized for their play and set a standard for what is to be expected at the position.

Crippen was one of the beneficiaries of a light early-season schedule last year, which allowed the second-team offensive line to get a ton of reps late in games. Michigan punted on hitting the transfer portal for a center again, so the job is his to lose. As we said above, he will have some competition there. But it looks like we are finally going to get an extended look at what he can do on the first team.

Senior Giovanni El-Hadi

Giovanni El-Hadi would have been a starter on last year’s team if one of Keegan or Zinter left for the NFL. It turns out that they both came back, which put El-Hadi on ice one more year. He is a mortal lock to be one in the starting lineup and likely flips over to the right side with Priebe playing left guard.

El-Hadi has 30 games of experience with 20 on the offensive line with 3 starts, all made during the 2022 campaign. His early film suggests he might be slightly ahead as a pass blocker than a run blocker, but he should be a well-rounded guard for this team and has all-conference upside.

Senior Dominick Giudice

The former defensive lineman made the switch to the other side of the ball in 2022 and now firmly has a home on the offensive line. It is hard to imagine him as anything more than a reserve at this point.

Sophomore Nathan Efobi

Nathan Efobi did not see game action last season, but has a chance to earn a spot on the two-deep if he can continue to make physical strides and add more to his game. He brings good length and athleticism to the interior of the offensive line, but is still raw and will need some more time to develop.

Freshman Jake Guarnera

Jake Guarnera is a developmental center prospect who enters the program this summer. One of is calling cards coming out of high school was his movement schools and he seems to have a high floor overall. The biggest push he can make this season is the work he does with Justin Tress, and depending on how he hits the ground running he could factor into the backup center competition.

Freshman Luke Hamilton

To sum up what Hamilton brings, our Zach Libby put it best last spring: “Hamilton is a prototypical hard-nosed and punishing blocker in the run game who will fit in perfectly” at Michigan. Standing at 6-5, 290, Hamilton could be a player that sets himself up for a larger role in 2025 with a good first year of physical development. He will enroll this summer.

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