Michigan is gearing up to go back to winning ways this season. Sherrone Moore, being bumped up the order to take control of a struggling ship, couldn’t help much. Now that he has a year of experience in a very turbulent position, 2025 gives Moore no reason to underperform. The Wolverines have the No. 1 QB of the 2025 class with them, who has done nothing but impress coaches from the get-go. If he does get his big break this year, Moore has to prepare a support system worthy of helping Bryce Underwood excel.

The offensive line was a glaring problem for Sherrone Moore last year. That was quite an embarrassment since the Wolverines’ O-line won two consecutive Joe Moore Awards in the seasons before. In the last four seasons, six O-linemen went to the NFL from Michigan. Evan Link, who played mostly right tackle last year, gave way to an alarming 27 pressures. The O-line sputtered throughout the season and only showed a spark at the end when it was too late. This was a room that hosted very new talent, who couldn’t make up for the six veterans who departed after 2023. “Last year was unacceptable,” Giovanni El-Hadi said earlier in the year.

“We’re going to be nasty. We’re going to impose our will like we know we can,” he also added. That mentality is now being acknowledged by experts. In a June 15 video, ROC Boys Football’s Jason Piacelli gave the offensive line a B grade. “I could see this being higher,” he also added. “I think we’re probably being too critical on the offensive line from last year. The more and more I go back and watch 2024, the more I just realize, like, how is this team supposed to run the football?” Piacelli highlighted. Michigan’s O-line struggled tremendously in the passing attack, too. But the biggest flaw of all was the stark inexperience in the room.

“Last year the depth was a joke. I mean, Andrew Sprague was what, our third tackle. Like if Evan Link or Myles Hinton went down, you were throwing out a true freshman that wasn’t even enrolled until the summer.” But a majority of the O-line’s production is returning this year. “You’re bringing back four guys who have played quite a bit of football… The excuses are gone. So this unit should be good enough,” the co-host said.

Evan Link has gone back to left tackle, and Andrew Sprague brings some promise from his heroics in the bowl game against Alabama. Brady Norton, who will begin his first season with the Wolverines this year, comes with a record of no sacks allowed in 704 snaps from his 2024 season.

O-line coach Grant Newsome is stepping up, and the unit this year looks more confident than it did last season. However, it still does not like a department that can replicate the production of its Joe Moore award-winning versions. With Bryce Underwood in the mix, Sherrone Moore has to carefully plan out how the O-line protects the QB.

Sherrone Moore warned about 2025’s O-line doubts and danger areas

Bryce Underwood will be the game-changer for Michigan football if he does get to start as QB1. This makes the stakes even higher for the O-line. With such a valuable quarterback on the field, the situation becomes more sensitive and demanding. Sam Webb had a series of questions lined up for the unit in a June 7 video. “Does Michigan have the kind of offensive line that can be a stalwart? That can protect the freshman quarterback in a way that can pave the way for a running game. That can protect him for a passing game; that can, you know, propel a team to a championship level?”

“You got to be able to keep him safe to keep him secure to make him comfortable in a way that most freshmen aren’t going to be, and Michigan didn’t have that kind of offensive line last year, so you got a lot of question marks, big-time question marks at left tackle,” Webb noted. Link, who played at RT last year, was suited for that position because of his experience in high school as an LT. This year, that position will likely go to Sprague, who shone as an RT in the ReliaQuest Bowl.

Sherrone Moore has to get his offensive linemen to come out as members of an elite group. The standards of Michigan offense took a huge hit last season, and the program cannot afford to have more blows dealt to it this season. They have a lot of their hopes resting on the success of Bryce Underwood. Without a strong offensive line this year, the star QB will fall prey to opponents early on in the season.