If Michigan football is going to take a step forward in the first season under head coach Kyle Whittingham, the offensive line will need to be better than it was in 2026.
The running game flourished. But as Whittingham pointed out, Bryce Underwood was under more heat than he expected. Whittingham didn't say it, but it's clear he thinks that contributed to some of Underwood's struggles last season.
With Andrew Babalola, the former five-star offensive tackle, coming back from injury and reporting to fall camp 100 percent healthy, something Jim Harding confirmed on Thursday after the second day of practice, the competition is fierce to be in the top five.
Babalola could have started last season if he hadn't missed the season with an ACL injury. Andrew Sprague, Jake Guarnera, and Blake Frazier all started the majority of the season on the offensive line for the Wolverines in 2025 as redshirt freshmen.
All three could be back in the starting lineup this season, although Frazier, who played left tackle last season, could be competing head-to-head with Babalola for that job. Whittingham also said last week he didn't see the former five-star recruit moving inside to play guard.
There has been talk that Frazier could do that. He seems willing, too. There are still plenty of moving parts. Harding made that clear on Thursday. He said his job was to find the five best players. Two of them have already been identified.
Michigan O-line how two starters, fierce battle still going
Guarnera is going to be the starting center. He's got three seasons of eligibility, and as long as he is on the Michigan football roster and is healthy, he will be in the starting lineup. The same can be said about Sprague, the 6-foot-8 offensive tackle who, along with Guarnera, entered the transfer portal this offseason, before ultimately returning.
#Michigan OL coach Jim Harding says OL Jake Guarnera has become a leader in the room and likely be a starter for the first game.
— Brice Marich (@BriceMarich) August 6, 2026
#Michigan OL coach Jim Harding says the right tackle position is OL Andrew Sprague’s spot to lose.
— Brice Marich (@BriceMarich) August 6, 2026
Not etched in stone, but felt he made a lot of progress in the spring.
Harding did everything but call them starters and obviously, they need to keep playing well over the next few weeks. Still, the writing is on the wall there.
There was a chance that both of those guys ended up playing for Texas. Harding played a key role in getting them to come back. They are locked in as starters. That makes sense. That leaves three spots for Frazier, Babalola, Evan Link, Nathan Efobi, and Brady Norton. All of those players have started games for Michigan, except for Babalola, yet, Whittingham was comparing him to first-round picks at Big Ten Media Days, so he's in the mix. Harding said he's not limited in practice either, unlike Rod Moore and John Henry Daley.
Regardless of the starting five for the first game, there will likely be some changes before the start of the season and at the end. Harding will find his five guys at some point, but it feels like there are seven starters, and at some point, Michigan football will need every single one of them.
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