Mazi Smith says Olu ‘is going to make that o-line so much better’
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — The Michigan offensive line won the Joe Moore Award for being the best offensive line unit in all of college football in 2021. The Wolverines return three of the five starters, but they lost Andrew Vastardis and Andrew Steuber from that prolific offensive line.
At the right tackle position, replacing Steuber won’t be easy, but Michigan has two viable candidates that can get the job done. Trente Jones appears to have the inside track of getting the starting nod, but Karsen Barnhart will be battling to get the job during Fall camp.
Jim Harbaugh went transfer portal hunting to find a replacement for Andrew Vastardis at center and found an excellent one. The Wolverines landed Olu Oluwatimi from Virginia. The former Cavalier was a Rimington Award finalist in 2021, which is an award given to the nation’s best center. Oluwatimi was also an All-American and he took the most snaps of any center in the ACC last year with 910 snaps.
Oluwatimi has the experience and grit to step right in as the starter on day one for Michigan. Of course, he has three years of starting experience at Virginia and he has made 32-straight starts.
On Tuesday, during Big Ten media days in Indianapolis, we heard a few players talk about the new starting center in Ann Arbor. Mazi Smith was one of the players that Michigan took, and he shared his excitement to line up against Oluwatimi in practice. Smith said it’s nice to go up against someone that won’t lay down.
“He a monster man, like me, so it’s fun you know iron sharpens iron and we kind of adopted the definition of that when he got here,” said Smith during Big Ten media days. “We talked about it and I haven’t had a center to go up against like him since Cesar Ruiz. I’m just like I love going against guys that that ain’t gonna lay down like Olu. He’s athletic, he’s big, he’s strong, he’s competitive, he’s everything that you want in a center. He’s going make that o-line so much better you know and he gonna make me so much better.”
It’s also important that the incumbent starting quarterback has a good comradery with the starting center. On Tuesday, Cade McNamara was asked about his relationship with Oluwatimi. He shared that Olu has been McNamara’s roommate on the tour of Michigan trip that the team has taken, and Olu has taught him a few things.
“I think our relationship has done nothing, but just continued to grow,” McNamara explained on Tuesday. “On the trip, he’s been my roommate, and I’m happy that we were able to do that, that we were able to room together. He’s teaching me some new things already. And some stuff he’s talked to me about, you know, some of his experiences. I just really look forward to getting to know him better. I don’t worry about Olu as far as whether he’s working hard or if he’s gonna be ready for the season. I don’t worry about that at all. I just want to make sure that he’s comfortable and that he’s enjoying his time here in Michigan.”
A popular question on Tuesday was asking each player to name a surprise player or a breakout player for the fall. McNamara didn’t want to name any surprise player, but he did mention his new center. McNamara stated that Oluwatimi would have a big impact on the team in 2022.
“I think we have, I mean, we just have a lot of talent on our team,” said McNamara. “We have a lot of guys who are gonna play big roles. There’s also a lot of dudes with a lot of experience. I think those guys are going to be counted on when we face adversity. But I mean, as far as who’s the one guy you might see playing time a little extra this year, a freshman or newcomer, we’re all pretty well aware that Olu is going to have an extremely big impact on our team. That’s one I’m extremely confident he’s going to play well this season. But as far as who’s going to be a surprise, we’ll see.”
As good as Michigan’s offensive line was in 2021, adding a Rimington Award finalist to an already stout line can only add fear into the opponent’s defense. The Wolverines can most certainly have an even better offensive line in 2022 with the addition of Oluwatimi.
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What Jim Harbaugh said at Big Ten media days press conference
