Michigan Football: Ed Warriner says Jalen Mayfield will be starter

Ed Warriner has done a tremendous job with the offensive line of Michigan football over the past two years but now he has to work his magic again.

There is no doubt that among all of the assistant coaches for Michigan football, Ed Warriner has done as good a job as anyone since his arrival before the 2018 season.

Warriner was outstanding as offensive line coach last season, helping the Wolverines improve in just about every measurable category, but especially in tackles for loss and sacks.

Headed into this season, Warriner has four guys who earned some kind of All-Big Ten honors last season, as well as promising redshirt freshman Jalen Mayfield.

Mayfield was battling it out with Andrew Stueber for the job at right tackle, however, Michigan football announced Wednesday that Stueber could be out for the season with an injury.

Of course, that leaves more work for Warriner to do, as he now must prepare Mayfield to start, but also has to develop more depth behind him in case of emergency.

For some insight, Warriner addressed the topic of the offensive line, following the injury, with former Michigan standout Jon Jansen. Here Warriner talks about the competition between Mayfield and Stueber as well as the fallout from the injury:

"“This fall it has been 50/50 rotating between the 1’s and 2’s. In the spring game, it was the same way. Neck and neck. Hard to say there was any separation there. Jalen is a quality player. He is athletic, fast, very competitive, learns well and we are excited about him. He will do a great job at tackle. He was a starter in our mind. We thought we had six starters, now we have five and we will continue to move forward with the backups from there.”"

The key sentence was when Warriner said the Wolverines thought they had six starters, including Mayfield and Stueber. To me, that means regardless of who won or lost the job, both would get to play.

There is a good chance Mayfield would have been named the starter, simply because Stueber had so much position versatility. It would have allowed him to be the backup at four of the five spots on the offensive line while allowing Mayfield the chance to grow into the job at right tackle.

From his discussion with Jansen, it’s clear that Mayfield will be the fifth starter in the season opener against Middle Tennessee State but now that safety net of Stueber doesn’t exist.

At least it won’t for a while. There has been some talk that he may be able to return this season, it’s hard to know. But for now, Mayfield is going to be the starter at right tackle and Michigan football has to hope he is ready to succeed.

The Wolverines simply don’t have much depth or experience behind him. If Mayfield struggles, Ryan Hayes or freshmen such as Trevor Keegan or Trente Jones could be next in line.

Injuries can get rid of solid depth in an instant and with one of their most versatile offensive lineman out indefinitely, the Wolverines have to adjust. But as long as Mayfield plays as well as expected and performs like the starting-caliber player UM believes he can be, all will be fine.

At least as long as there are no more serious injuries.