Michigan Football: 5 second-year Wolverines ready to step up

Taking over for Ruiz

If you want to know how good Ruiz was for Michigan football the past two seasons, just watch the NFL draft in April, on the first day, because that’s where the former Wolverine is likely to be picked.

One thing that makes Ruiz so valuable is that he can be a guard or a center and that’s something that could be said about his potential replacement next season, Zach Carpenter, who will be a redshirt freshman after not seeing the field in 2019.

You might be wondering why Carpenter is on the list if he wasn’t even on the two-deep last season but after he was the offensive scout team player of the year in 2019, there is reason to believe the 6-foot-5 lineman can take over for Ruiz.

He’s going to be locked in a battle with veteran Andrew Vastardis and when it comes down to it, a lack of spring football could hurt him as much as anyone. But Carpenter is a strong player and after a year of getting to develop, don’t be shocked if he’s the center at Washington in Sept.