Michigan Football: 5 Breakout candidates for Wolverines on offense

Ryan Hayes

No matter who is the quarterback, Milton or McCaffrey, they are going to need protection and with left tackle Jon Runyan Jr., a two-year starter, graduating, the Wolverines need someone to step up and take over the most important position on the offensive line.

Jalen Mayfield did a great job on the right side and proved to be a solid starter as a redshirt freshman. He will stay on the right heading into next season and will be the Wolverines only starter coming back.

But Hayes is a guy that seems tailor-made to play on the left side and with his athleticism, he just has a ton of upside. This is a guy that was a tight end at one time and even was used as a tight end in some run-blocking situations last season. Here’s what Ed Warriner said about Hayes ($):

“We’re very fortunate that Ryan got a lot of playing time as a backup. He was the player of the game for us against Middle Tennessee. He played in every game. We’d put him in short-yardage situations with a tight end jersey number. Very smart, very hard worker, understands the technician side of things.”

Replacing four starters on the offensive line isn’t ideal, but if Hayes plays like expected, he will fill the void just fine.