Michigan offensive line aims to grow closer together

When Michigan football assembled its offensive line last year, it wasn't expected to feature a lot of younger talent. In fact, it was initially comprised of two seniors, two juniors, and one second-year player. However, by year's end, three second-year players were starting, completely upending the makeup of the offensive front.

>Now, those three (Blake Frazier, Jake Guarnera, Andrew Sprague) are expected to start the season in their now-entrenched roles. And with last year being their first real playing time (though Sprague started in the ReliaQuest Bowl the year before), the expectation is that they'll improve greatly, understanding more of the game and the speed of it all.

>Jake Guarnera shared more with Jon Jansen on the In the Trenches podcast this week.

>"I think just having the perspective of guys that have played in the game and be able to use that in practice to help the younger guys develop," Guarnera said. "Especially me, being in the game, I know what to expect sometimes from defenses just based on game experience. So I think that's added a lot of value, too."

>Though there certainly was a building affinity and chemistry across the line last year, Guarnera says that they can go further and do more to grow closer as a unit.

>He says that one of the things the group wants to do is spend more time with each other when they're not in Schembechler Hall, and if they're able to do that, it should help build their chemistry that much more.

>"I think something that we could work on is just spending time outside of the facility," Guarnera said. "I know we're trying to plan going to a Tigers game or going to a Pistons game we went to earlier in the year, but doing stuff like that or just hanging out in someone's house, getting a meal together, just being able to bond outside of the facility, I think, is huge for us."

>The offensive line will be back in the building again this next week, with summer conditioning set to kick off for two months beginning on June 1.

>This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Michigan football linemen prioritize team bonding