Drake Nugent needed to 'spark' love for football. Transferring to Michigan did just that.
Drake Nugent started every one of Stanford's 24 games the past two seasons.
Despite Nugent's All-Pac 12 honorable mention nod and a season as a captain in Palo Alto, California, in 2022, Michigan football's newest transfer center was not given any guarantee he would get those roles when he pledged to play his fifth season in Ann Arbor.
Still, he decided to transfer. That decision was more than nine months ago, and even though the 2023 opener against East Carolina (Noon Saturday, Peacock) is now just five days away, Nugent said he still has not been told if he's starting the opener.
“I don’t know yet,” Nugent told reporters Tuesday evening.
BANGED UP?: Michigan football beat up a bit at safety, WR entering season opener vs. East Carolina
His center spot is one of a handful — both tackle positions, both edge rusher positions and possibly the second cornerback spot, though that seems to have cleared up a bit — subject to the "Michigan Method": Whoever plays better in the opener is the one who will play long-term. Practice won't quite determine it.
“I haven’t been told much,” said junior Greg Crippen, Nugent's main competition. “We’ll see on Saturday.”
Not that either center is complaining.
“Honestly, it’s kind of refreshing,” Nugent told reporters of his new program. “At Stanford, we didn’t really win very many games there. And I love those guys there. I mean, I was captain last year, which was great. But, I just feel personally I needed a new change, just to spark my love for football again.
“Not to say I didn’t love it last year, but (coming to U-M), it just gives me no excuse. I come in with competition, I gotta be on my stuff every day. Whereas at Stanford, you can give yourself that excuse — even though I would like to say I didn’t, it’s there.”
2022 brought the Cardinal a 3-9 mark for the second consecutive season, as well as its fourth straight losing record. It's a far cry from where the Wolverines finished last season: At 13-1, including their second consecutive season with a win over rival Ohio State and Big Ten championship, U-M was back atop the national landscape.
RAINER SABIN: Suspension introduces another awkward flashpoint for Jim Harbaugh, Warde Manuel
One notable reason for U-M's domination 2022: The offensive line, which earned the Joe Moore Award as the nation's top unit for the second consecutive season. A mainstay on the line was last year's transfer center, Olusegun Oluwatimi, from Virginia.
All Oluwatimi did was earn the starting job, get named a consensus All-American and win both the Rimington Award (nation's top center) and Outland Trophy (nation's top interior lineman). It wasn't a bad sales pitch for the Wolverines to have when they went to talk to Nugent.
“Obviously, that played a big role,” he said. “I knew who Olu was obviously throughout last year and all the guys in the room here. Hear about Zak (Zinter) and Trevor (Keegan) and (Ryan) Hayes and (Karsen Barnhart), even Trente (Jones), stuff like that. But what he was able to do obviously played a big role."
The 6-foot-2, 301-pound center said he first visited the program during bowl prep last December. It was a day Oluwatimi wasn't practicing — he'd just rolled his ankle — so the two sat together on the sideline. The personal touch might not have been needed, but a one-on-one crash course certainly helped.
'BASEBALL BAT TO THE KNEECAPS': Michigan's Jim Harbaugh weighs in on suspension
“It was nice to talk to him aside, ask questions about the offense, stuff like that and how it’s similar, different than Stanford was," Nugent said. "Definitely played a huge role. Obviously they’re big shoes to fill there, and I’ll do the best I can.”
In that regard, so far, so good. Nugent said his top concern entering a program with Michigan's recent success and internally strong culture was to make sure he knew his role. He didn't want to come in and overstep, but rather earn a reputation with his work ethic.
It didn't take long.
“Toughness, grit, hard worker," were the first words from defensive tackle Rayshaun Benny when asked to describe Nugent. "He’s able to do everything."
A teammate on offense concurred.
“We were both out in the spring, and we were doing conditioning in practice and stuff, we were wearing heart rate monitors, and this dude was always in the red, no matter what," Zinter said. "I don’t know what it is — he’s got like a fifth gear that kicks in and he goes."
Nugent isn't quite sure where that final gear comes from. His father, Terry, starred at Colorado State before he was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the sixth round of the 1984 NFL draft. Now, he does ironman competitions. Nugent's uncle, Brian, played at Washington State.
It's those genes which have helped him earn praise from nearly the entire team, including star defensive lineman Kris Jenkins, who said Nugent has done things in the weight room that left his and strength & conditioning coach Ben Herbert's "mouth agape."
SABIN: Suspension introduces another awkward flashpoint for Michigan's Jim Harbaugh, Warde Manuel
But even with Nugent's talent and hard work, by all accounts, Crippen remains in the thick of the competition.
“He’s a good football player,” Nugent said. “He’s definitely pushed me in ways. There’s some things he does better than me, and I think there’s things I do better than him.”
“Michigan’s a very competitive place,” added Crippen. “This is the best school in the country and the world. I’m going to go out there and give it everything that I got because I’m a very competitive person.”
Nugent is, too. It's why he was named to the Rimington and Outland preseason watchlists, and it's why, even undersized, there's a good shot he hears his name called in next year's NFL draft. And even though the competition for playing time is fierce, he's not nervous about having to go out and earn it.
"As I’ve always said, ‘Pressure is a privilege,' " Nugent said. "When people (have expectations) of you, it’s a good thing. Who wants to have someone expect bad things from them? You never want that. So it’s a privilege to be able to come into a place that’s already expecting to win a lot of games, and I can see myself adding to that.”
Contact Tony Garcia at apgarcia@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter at @realtonygarcia.
For openers: Pirates
Matchup: No. 2 Michigan (13-1 in 2022) vs. East Carolina (8-5 in 2022).
Kickoff: Noon Saturday; Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor.
TV/radio: Peacock (online only); WWJ-AM (950), WTKA-AM (1050).
Line: Wolverines by 35½.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: How Michigan football transfer OL Drake Nugent got his 'spark' back
