Michigan football should have one of the best offensive lines in the Big Ten next season, but the goal, according to new O-line coach Jim Harding, is to be the best in college football.
Harding, who joined new head coach Kyle Whittingham at Michigan, after a career of coaching NFL draft picks and all-conference selections for the Utes.
Harding, who is an Ohio native, was one of Whittingham's best hires. Michigan football needs to be elite in the trenches. On the offensive side of the ball, that should happen with Harding working with an offensive line room that "has a lot of really talented kids," according to what Harding told theStadium and Main Podcast.
“My impression of them right now is they want to be great, they want to be pushed — and it’s my job to make sure that I do that," Harding said.
Harding explained how he was able to essentially recruit Jake Guarnera and Andrew Sprague out of the transfer portal. He sold "his vision," and both players bought in after withdrawing from the transfer portal.
Jim Harding aims for Michigan football to win Joe Moore award
With Guarnera expected to take over as the starting center, Michigan football will have three starters back with Blake Frazier and Sprague returning. Evan Link is essentially a starter, too. He could move inside, though. Nathan Efobi is an option to start at guard, but Andrew Babalola could also be in the mix, at guard or tackle. That is the making of an elite group, one that Harding aims to push to the Joe Moore Award.
“Outside of the offensive line meeting room, there are the two pictures of the offensive lines that won it, emulating what the statue looks like,” Harding said. “So, it’s a huge expectation in this group. There are guys that were on the last Joe Moore team when they were younger, so they’ve seen what it looks like. I don’t think it’s wrong to have that as the ultimate goal, because that’s kind of the standard for offensive line play in college.”