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Jim Harding, in his first season as Michigan's offensive line coach, is focused on developing the team's linemen after a promising spring practice. He emphasizes the importance of improving pass protection as several players recover from injuries.
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Detroit — Jim Harding, in his first season as Michigan offensive line coach, is still putting together the puzzle pieces that will make up the Wolverines’ unit this fall, but he was encouraged by what he saw from the group throughout spring practice.
Harding, who came to Michigan from Utah with head coach Kyle Whittingham, said he’s eager to see the progress of the linemen who were out while recovering from injuries, and stressed pass protection remains a work in progress but is a priority.
Jim Harding is entering his first season as Michigan's offensive line coach.
“Although we had some of the kids out in the spring, we have kids that have had a lot of snaps,” Harding said recently during a meet-and-greet session with Detroit high school coaches at Horatio Williams Foundation. “We looked at this the other day, and I think maybe four or five of them have over 400 career snaps. And so although they may not have been full-time starters for multiple years, outside of Evan Link, they all do have some playing experience.
“It's certainly been a little bit of a learning process as they learn a brand-new offense. Maybe some technique and fundamentals are a little bit different, but they're great kids willing to learn and work hard. They’ll basically match any expectation or demand you have, and so I think that says a lot about the kids in the room. Certainly excited about lot. There’s a lot of improvement we still need to make from the spring game, but excited to see where we'll be throughout the summer and then into fall camp.”
The starting offensive line isn’t set in stone, but one spot has been locked down by Jake Guarnera. Guarnera, who started 10 games last season at right guard, will be Michigan’s center this fall. He got a taste of playing a big role at center in the bowl game when he moved into the spot after starter Greg Crippen was injured.
“He's actually done a really nice job,” Harding said of Guarnera. “We had our exit interviews, and I think he's really embraced that position change. He's taken more of a vocal leadership role, which isn't necessarily his personality, but I think he's done a really nice job. There are certainly things we can improve on, but I think that's a good fit for him.”
Jim Harding is the offensive line coach for the Michigan Wolverines, entering his first season in this position.
The offensive line is prioritizing improvements in pass protection while also developing players recovering from injuries.
Four or five players on the offensive line have over 400 career snaps, indicating they have some playing experience.
Jim Harding expressed encouragement regarding the group's performance during spring practice, despite some players being out due to injuries.
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Jake Guarnera appears to have locked down the starting job as Michigan's center next season.
Blake Frazier, who started eight games last season, is projected at left tackle and Andrew Sprague at right tackle. Among those contending to start at the guard spots are Nathan Efobi, Brady Norton, who missed some practice time this spring; and Link, who has made 18 starts, all at tackle. Link was limited during spring practice as he continued to recover from a knee injury suffered last October, and tackle Andrew Babalola was out this spring as he heals from an a torn ACL suffered before last season. He is expected to be a factor this fall at tackle, and transfer Houston Ka’aha’aina-Torres is competing in the interior.
“Babalola has length and certainly has a lot of talent, but now he's got to come back from that ACL, which they have said that he'll be back to full strength come summer workouts,” Harding said. “Evan Link missed a good chunk of spring ball and Norton missed a piece of it. There are some puzzle pieces we're still trying to put together, just because I didn't get an opportunity to move the guys around as much as I wanted to, to try to check out their skill sets. That'll be really critical early on in fall camp, once everybody's back.”
Making sure he could get most of the offensive linemen back was Harding’s first task after arriving at Michigan. Pretty much as soon as he was hired at Michigan, he needed to get to work to retain linemen who, in light of the coaching change, were thinking about finding a new team. Guarnera and Sprague had entered their names in the NCAA transfer portal, and Harding had to convince them to stay.
They explored Harding's background during their decision-making process. He has been coaching out west since 2009 and joined Whittingham’s Utah staff in 2014. But he has Midwest roots. Harding is from Maumee, Ohio, was a captain and top offensive lineman at Toledo, and coached at Troy Athens from 2005-2008, with his last season as head coach. Perhaps more significant to Guarnera and Sprague was the fact Harding had coached two tackles at Utah, Spencer Fano and Caleb Lomu, who were highly regarded heading into the most recent NFL Draft. Fano went No. 9 overall to the Cleveland Browns and Lomu was No. 28 to the New England Patriots.
Last month, Guarnera said Harding playing such a significant role for Fano and Lomu speaks to his ability to develop players.
“And that’s someone I want to play for,” Guarnera said.
Guarnera and Sprague described Harding as having a commanding, disciplined approach.
“Coach Harding is a lot more matter of fact,” Sprague said. “Get the drill, get the job done.”
And while Harding has won over his position group, he knows there’s plenty of work to get done before the season. The Michigan offensive players all spring spoke about being a more explosive offense this fall, but to achieve that, the offensive line has to be in sync in every aspect. With that in mind, being sound in pass protection is Harding’s focus.
“I would say the pass protection is nowhere near what it needed to be (in the spring game),” Harding said. “We’ve got to be a lot. Better technique and fundamentals. There's a number of things. We’ve got to do our part to help out everything else around us. I firmly believe that if we do our job and we give the quarterback time to go through his progression, go through his reads, all that will fall into place. And again, that just goes back to my belief that how this offense is, is a direct reflection of how the offensive line is playing. So just trying to put the puzzle together, so to speak.”
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This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Michigan OL coach Jim Harding working to build centerpiece of offense