Michigan football has taken some dramatic steps to improve for the 2025 season. The Wolverines landed five-star quarterback Bryce Underwood, the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2025 recruiting class.
They have also landed the No. 1 running back in the transfer portal according to 247 Sports, as well as a former Indiana wide receiver Donaven McCulley. However, if the offensive line doesn't improve from last season it's not going to matter all that much.
The Wolverines have already made one addition to the coaching staff in offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey. The former North Carolina offensive coordinator was hired to fix one of the worst passing offenses in all of college football.
Having quarterbacks like Underwood and Mikey Keene will help but the offensive line also needs to be better. Some of that can be addressed with personnel additions. Michigan football has already added one offensive tackle from the transfer portal and wil look to add a couple of other offensive linemen.
At the same time, there is a lot of talent in the offensive line room. Last season, that group didn't meet expectations. The offensive line improved as the season went along, but it was one of the reasons why the offense felt stuck in neutral.
Sherrone Moore is keeping Grant Newsome as the offensive line coach, which is a smart move. But Newsome is inexperienced, so to address that, Moore hired Juan Castillo, one of the most experienced offensive line coaches around, as an analyst.
Castillo spent 26 seasons in various roles in the NFL. For many of those years, he was the Eagles offensive line coach. Last season, he was the UCLA offensive line coach.
Now, he'll be an analyst for Michigan football according to The Wolverine. Here's what Moore had to say about Castillo who will be able to do more as an analyst than he was back in 2019.
Sherrone Moore on New O-line analyst for Michigan football
“Coach Castillo has been a guy I’ve known for a long time. He’s obviously been here and been back, so he’ll be back helping. He’s just a veteran guy that’s been in the NFL, that’s been in college, groomed really high-quality offensive linemen. Obviously, that’s an important position for me. I want guys that I feel like can help that position.”
This should be a perfect hire to help Newsome get more out of the offensive line in 2025 and with the new rules, Castillo can essentially act as a second position coach.