Michigan Football: How many O-line will Wolverines take in 2021?

Michigan football has four offensive lineman committed in 2021 already and is interested in several others. How many can the Wolverines legitimately take?

The offensive line can sometimes be overlooked. It’s not a sexy position by any means, but Michigan football fans know how important it’s been to the Wolverines success over the years.

Back in the glory days of Michigan football, in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, the Wolverines consistently had some of the best offensive lines in the Big Ten and the country. U-M routinely turned out NFL players, especially at guard and tackle.

That’s obviously started to turn around again under Ed Warinner as Michigan football had four offensive lineman drafted in 2020. Warinner has also been going a great job recruiting and has already landed commitments from four-star recruits Giovanni El-Hadi, Greg Crippen and Raheem Anderson, as well as from three-star tackle Tristan Bounds.

And Michigan is far from done. The Wolverines are a top contender for four-star guard Rocco Spindler and the crystal ball leader for fellow four-star Drew Kendall, another top-100 offensive lineman.

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Most experts have predicted both players to the Wolverines, which would give Michigan six offensive line commitments this class. But after three-star tackle Thomas Cole released a top five list this weekend, which included the Wolverines, the interest there appears to be legit, at least according to EJ Holland of Rivals ($), who wrote Warinner was going “all in” on Cole.

With two tackles already in the class, it seems like overkill, but the 6-foot-7 prospect from California has a lot of room to grow. If the talent is there, might as well recruit him until other recruitments come into greater focus. Holland also reported ($) that Warinner spoke on the phone with Nolan Rucci Sunday.

That’s a pretty clear indication Michigan football isn’t quite done at offensive tackle yet in 2021. The interesting thing, especially with Cole and Bounds, is that neither is the kind of player you’d expect to shift inside to guard. Cole is 6-foot-7 and Bounds is close to 6-foot-8, and you just normally don’t see players that tall playing inside.

Of course, Cole and Bounds each have tons of potential, but likely would need more time to develop than El-Hadi in order to be ready to compete for playing time. It also makes you wonder if Michigan is starting to worry a little about Kendall.

Holland indicated that Kendall wants to commit soon and he’s been considered a strong Michigan lean for a while now. So you wonder when or if he’s going to pull the trigger and what might be holding him back?

For now, it makes sense for Warinner to push for these other recruits and if Michigan misses on Spindler or Kendall, it will have other guys ready to take those spots. But anything beyond six offensive lineman seems like a bit much.

I understand making room for a guy like Garrett Dellinger or Rucci, but Cole? It’s hard to see Michigan taking him over a running back, wide receiver or defensive back, even a defensive lineman, if push comes to shove.

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But it’s an interesting storyline to follow with this 2021 recruiting class.

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