The starting lineups for the Michigan Wolverines’ regular-season opener against the Fresno State Bulldogs on Saturday remain unknown as the team gets ready for the game. Throughout fall camp, the competitions have been fiercely contested, and Michigan offensive line coach Grant Newsome discussed the most recent advancements at both positions.

Greg Crippen and Dominick Giudice appear to be the frontrunners for the center position, while Andrew Gentry or Evan Link will likely win the right tackle position. For the majority of the offseason, Crippen and Gentry were expected to start, but Giudice and Link have allegedly performed well in fall camp and pose a significant threat to take the field against Fresno State.

“We have a number of guys we feel pretty strongly about at center and right tackle. We genuinely believe that we have three players at each of those positions who can help us win a lot of games,” Newsome said. “I’m eager to watch how things develop further, and I have no doubt that the guys we send out on Saturday will perform admirably.”

Before formally switching to the offensive line last year, Giudice began his career as an edge rusher at Michigan and played in a number of defensive line games. Despite having little experience playing on the offensive line, Giudice was able to adapt to his new position and is now a viable centerback option.

Newsome continued by talking about Giudice’s appearance at center during fall camp:

He’s adapted to the offensive line quite rapidly, both as a center and as an edge rusher, according to Newsome. It’s an equally important position in football. He is one of the three center players we believe we can win another national title with because of the way he has presented himself.

Coach of the Michigan defensive line, Lou Esposito, thought back on Giudice’s move to the offensive line:

Although I don’t think it’s simple, guys manage. Esposito stated, “The beautiful part about center is you have help on both sides, but the bad thing is you’re snapping the ball every play. “He’s a tough guy who will give it his all for you. When you have guys that are prepared to put in that kind of effort, you can ultimately shape and coach them whatever you see fit.

The Wolverines had to replace all five of the offensive line starters from the previous year, but with the season just a few days away, it appears that only the positions of center and right tackle are still open. Josh Priebe, Giovanni El-Hadi, and left tackle Myles Hinton appear to be expected to start at left guard, right guard, and left tackle, respectively.

The Wolverines should continue to field one of the top offensive line teams in the nation with Newsome as the new offensive line coach. Because he played offensive tackle at Michigan, Newsome has a unique perspective that will be useful in assessing and ultimately deciding who will start at center and right tackle.