5 position battles to watch during Michigan football spring ball

Offensive line

Michigan football lost two key starters on the offensive line in starting left tackle Ryan Hayes and also center Olu Oluwatimi.

But two of the additions in the transfer portal should help shore up those spots. Drake Nugent from Stanford, who started the past two seasons at center for the Cardinal, is the favorite to take over that job but Raheem Anderson and Greg Crippen could have a say in that.

Ladarius Henderson was also brought over from the transfer portal and while he could play a few different spots, he’s started games at both tackle spots and seems like an ideal fit for Michigan football at left tackle, where he will be competing with Jeffrey Persi and others.

Giovanni El-Hadi could also be in the mix at tackle, although he saw most of his snaps at guard last season. The right tackle job could also be up for grabs. Karsen Barnhart is probably the favorite but Trente Jones is another solid veteran coming back.

Stanford transfer Myles Hinton is another name to know. He’s got multiple years to play and could use more development but he’s a top-100 talent and could also play guard or tackle.

Trevor Keegan and Zak Zinter at both guard spots are about the only sure thing, beyond that, it’s going to be fascinating as a battle royal on the O-line two deep is about to commence.