Michigan Football: Offensive Line Review vs Colorado State

Sneak Peak at Next Week – Hawaii Rainbow Warriors

Hawai’i saw its defense reinforced with several key transfers along the defensive front, notably defensive tackle Jojo Falo (Nebraska), defensive end Mataio Soli (Arkansas), and linebacker Kaulana Makuaula (USC) all stepping into roles for the Rainbow Warriors.

One thing to note is that while this will be the Wolverines second game of the season, it will actually be Hawaii’s third, as they played a “Week Zero” game against Vanderbilt back in late August, along with their match-up against Western Kentucky last week. The Rainbow Warriors were promptly crushed in both match-ups, however, with the Commodores rushing for 404 yards against Hawaii, and the pass-happy Hilltoppers even rushing for 141 yards against them.

There is not much to fear with the Hawai’i defense at this point in Timmy Chang’s tenure there. This unit ranked just 93rd last season in scoring defense, and so far the early results do not show that their handful of transfers have really tightened the defense up.

The one player to note, however, is defensive tackle Blessman Ta’ala (#55 in black and green). Blessman tallied 6.0 tackles for loss last season, and was an All-MWC honorable mention back in 2020. A 6’2, 305 lbs. senior, Ta’ala is a tough, disciplined run stopper for the Rainbow Warriors in recent years, and is the anchor for this unit.

However, Michigan football boasts arguably the nation’s top interior trio on the interior of the offensive line, and the mediocre showing thus far from the Rainbow Warriors defensive front should lead to a very big day on the ground for the Wolverines.

The biggest question, however, is what the offense looks like with the more dynamic J.J. McCarthy at the helm for the Wolverines, rather than Cade McNamara. While the storylines will certainly be centered around that, Michigan’s offensive line should dominate this upcoming Saturday.