Last season, Michigan football had a bit of a patchwork offensive line. Though it had started the season with a lot of promise, the line looked significantly different by the year’s end.
And it had improved greatly with an unexpected cast of characters.
The Wolverines started the year with left tackle Evan Link, left guard Giovanni El-Hadi, center Greg Crippen, right guard Brady Norton, and right tackle Andrew Sprague. However, due to injuries, we also saw several players emerge as starters within the season itself. Blake Frazier became the starting left tackle. Jake Guarnera became the starting right guard. We saw Nathan Efobi also get some run for a few weeks. Now, all but two of the aforementioned players (El-Hadi and Crippen) return, allowing for some of those players who had emerged to continue their upward trajectory.
Guarnera is perhaps the linchpin of the group. He’ll move even further inside to the center position. He spoke to Jon Jansen on the In the Trenches podcast and shared his progress and why he likes playing center over guard.
“Just from what I learned my first year and then being able to work in the offseason and just technique-wise at center and then working with Coach Harding to identify, like he calls them keys to the castle, kind of what the defense is doing to be able to use that to your advantage is something that has helped me out,” Guarnera said. “I noticed that last year, moving to guard, it’s kind of like you can’t see the whole picture, but once you’re at center, you’re up on the ball, you’re able to see the whole defense. So I actually like being at that center spot, being able to see the field a lot more.”
By playing center, Guarnera has a lot more responsibility than he had previously. The position is the de facto leader of the O-line, and that took some getting used to for the third-year lineman out of Florida.
So, he’s spent a bit of time this offseason acclimating to his new role, not just from a technique and fundamentals standpoint, but also from a leadership one.
“I don’t think, naturally, I don’t see myself as a vocal guy, but just being able to like work on it throughout the spring and just making myself uncomfortable has been something that’s helped me start being more of a vocal leader rather than just someone that comes in and works every day and just puts his head down,” Guarnera said. “I knew a lot of things that I needed to fix. And also, I spent time like when I was getting, I guess, recruited back here by Coach Harding, talking about things I need to work on and how he would be able to help me improve those things. So I’ve just been like focusing on one thing each practice that I need to work on, or I want to perfect, and being able to do that and emphasize that one practice will help me get better for the next.”
Even still, he is working on his fundamentals, knowing there are areas where he can improve. He told Jansen what has been on his list as Jim Harding works to improve him as a player in the middle of the OL.
“Outside zone, footwork, just being able to gain ground with my first step, and then hands and pass pros, something that I’m emphasizing.”
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Jake Guarnera steps up as Michigan offensive leader
Reporting by Isaiah Hole, Wolverines Wire / Wolverines Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
