The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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88 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2017 FOOTBALL PREVIEW OFFENSIVE LINE mer U-M offensive line boss Jerry Hanlon: knees bent, hips down, chest up and you've got to see the eyes. "At times, I saw him leaning on guys and being satisfied with pushing up on high with people, when he's combo blocking," Skene noted. "He's got to get down below those shoulder pads, especially against interior de- fenders in those two defensive tackle spots. He's got to handle big, wide bodies. He's got some to work against in practice, with [red- shirt junior defensive tackle Bryan] Mone and [fifth-year senior defensive tackle Maurice] Hurst. "Kugler's the guy right now at center. But is he going to be good enough to be champi- onship level? I think he can, but he's going to have to make another leap come fall to take his game to the next level. He's physically capable, but for whatever reason, he hasn't put it together — now's the time." Early enrollee freshman center Cesar Ruiz (6-4, 336) isn't going to stop pushing or im- proving. He'll continue to make his bid, with enormous physical tools and his first spring football behind him. Skene observed the rookie looking like a freshman at times in the spring game, getting his feet tangled, drifting out of position and getting moved in pass protection. "When you're in pass pro, you do not want your shoul- ders turned to the sideline at any time as a center," he said. "You just don't. "But the kid should be in high school right now, getting ready to go to the prom, and he's out there playing against guys that are going to be in the NFL a year from now. "Taking that into context, he did a pretty good job. For a young player to step in like that and be where he performed, he's ahead of schedule. This is all going to pay off in the fall, when he watches all the film and di- gests this experience. "Physically, it's nice to have a tall, long center. What is he, 6-4? He's got longer arms and has a long reach. That's a really good tool to Greg Frey Relishes His New Environment Greg Frey isn't a newcomer to Michigan. He's a newcomer to this Michigan, however. He coached the Wolverines' offensive line in Ann Arbor from 2008-10, and stressed it took him "about 18 sec- onds" to return to The Big House when Jim Harbaugh asked. Sitting in an offensive staff room with Harbaugh, offensive coordinator Tim Drevno, quarterbacks and wideouts coach Pep Hamilton, and running backs coach Jay Harbaugh is an experience he wouldn't have missed, noted the man now handling Michigan's tackles and tight ends. "Working with Pep and Coach Harbaugh has been amazing," Frey said. "Sometimes I'm just sitting in there in awe of hearing them talk pass game, and Coach Drevno and Jay Harbaugh. It's an unbelievable staff. It's very easy to get into sync with what the Michigan offense does. "We're a staff. Staffs work together. Whatever I need to do to help Michigan win, I'm willing to do. Whatever Coach Harbaugh asks me to do, whatever Coach Drevno asks me to do, I'm going to do." He's used to coaching in a shotgun spread situation, without tight ends, Frey admitted. "Then you're coming in here where it's three tight ends, two tight ends and a heavy power game," he said. "We've got a couple of former quarterbacks in Coach Harbaugh and Coach Hamilton, and they love tight ends. It's learn - ing how to use them. "There's such a wide array of outstanding football minds sitting in that offensive meeting room. … There's a lot of experience and a lot of great minds." In terms of relating to Michigan's players, he insists it's a totally clean slate. He isn't taking into consideration what they've done in prior years, only what they're doing now. "I'm not a past guy," he said. "I'm a new guy here, I'm walking in, they don't know me and I don't know them." He now knows that his job will be a lot easier if senior Mason Cole winds up at left tackle, where he was at the end of spring football. Frey wasn't talking specifics in the spring, but he noted a lot goes into the consideration of where players perform. "You've got to do what's fair for the player," he said. "You've always got to do what's in the best interests to the team and of the player. That's how a decision is made. If it's in the best interest of a player to play center, or guard, or tackle, you put him in that position. "Any time a player feels as though he's able to reach his dreams and his goals, he works harder. That's what you want." However the lineup shakes out, Frey noted, he knows precisely what he's seeking in the weeks leading up to Sept. 2. "You want consistency," Frey said. "You want physicality. You want competitiveness. You want drive. You want the ability to look in the mirror and say, 'I'm doing this well. I'm not doing this.' "Sometimes, the 'I'm not doing this' involves a long-term answer. It may take six months to get it right. You want people who are going to work hard those six months." — John Borton Fifth-year senior Pat Kugler played in only 10 games during his four years in Ann Arbor, but after a strong spring is poised to be the team's starting center. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN Massive sophomore Michael Onwenu saw playing time on both the offensive and defensive lines as a rookie in 2016. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN