Michigan Football Spring Game 2013: O-Line Struggles Cause for Concern?

For anyone who saw Michigan's offense on Saturday, it was obvious to see that the offensive line struggled mightily at times. With so many young bodies starting on it, this was bound to happen.

Is this a cause for concern, though? Well, as of right now, the answer is yes. Fortunately, game experience and repetition can change that.

For the time being, though, this unit needs to get better. Too often were the opposing defensive linemen able to get into the backfield and swallow up Michigan's running backs, and at times, even the quarterback.

Taylor Lewan and Michael Schofield are just fine as the bookends, but the interior of the line is where the problems reside. Jack Miller is the presumed starter at center, but he has literally no meaningful game experience.

He is being pushed hard right now by Graham Glasgow and will be pushed even harder in fall camp when Patrick Kugler arrives. If Miller still winds up winning the job, then hopefully he will have earned it.

As of right now, the two guards surrounding him appear to be Kyle Kalis and Ben Braden, two redshirt freshmen who have never played a snap in college. It is so hard to know what to expect out of young players like these, so we can really only hope for the best.

If one or both of them falters, there in't any experience behind them. Chris Bryant has yet to play a snap in college, even though he is now a redshirt sophomore. Blake Bars and Erik Magnuson are two more redshirt freshmen who may wind up being top backups.

One of the few guys who has gotten some meaningful game experience is Joey Burzynski. The versatile veteran lineman may not wind up starting, but he will provide plenty of competition wherever he winds up getting reps.

Again, this offensive line has a long way to go. Fortunately, we are nowhere near the start of the season. The extra time should give this young group plenty of time to get better and get closer to the level they need to be at.

Right now, is this offensive line a concern? Yes. Can they do something about it and turn themselves into a pretty solid group by midseason? Absolutely.