Michigan Football Recruiting: O-Line Commitments Will Slow Down Ohio State

There has been a lot of talk about Ohio State adding defensive ends Noah Spence, Se'von Pittman and Adolphus Washington, but archrival Michigan must have felt the moves coming because the Wolverines have already stocked up on some elite offensive line prospects.

According to Rivals, Michigan has already secured commitments from three offensive lineman rated at least four stars. They also have two more three-star players as well. That's a pretty good haul and should allow Michigan's offense to remain competitive with Ohio State for the next couple seasons.

Kyle Kalis is the biggest name of them all. The Lakewood, Ohio native rated as the nation's fourth-best available tackle in the current class. He's a monster at 6'5'', 302 pounds and should develop a terrific personal rivalry with Spence in the coming years.

The first four-star recruit is Erik Magnuson from La Costa Canyon high school in California. He's the 10th-rated tackle and Rivals compares him to Jordan Gross of the Carolina Panthers. That's pretty high praise for somebody who hasn't stepped foot on campus.

Blake Bars is the other tackle who garnered four stars. He's not as highly-touted overall as Kalis or Magnuson, coming in just 37th nationally, but is still a solid addition for Brady Hoke.

Depending on how the line situation shakes out before spring practice, one of those guys might be groomed to play guard so one guy doesn't get left too deep in the rotation. Getting playing time right out of the gate is essential to long-term success.

The other commits along the offensive line are tackle Ben Braden and guard Caleb Stacey.

Hoke and his coaching staff clearly wanted to bulk up the offensive line moving forward. It's the building block for any offense and the marquee additions by the Buckeyes only make them look even smarter for going that route.

Assuming each of the recruits is as good as advertised, to go along with Michigan's returning lineman they should be in good shape for at least a couple seasons. That will allow them to focus on other areas while just making a few depth additions on the line when necessary.

Only time will tell if the strategy pays off, but it looks good on paper.