Michigan decides on most of its starting offensive line

8/20/2014

ANN ARBOR - With 10 days left before the Michigan football team's season opener, Wolverines coach Brady Hoke announced today that he has solidified the bulk of his starting offensive line for Aug. 30 against Appalachian State.

Hoke said today that he projects St. John's Jesuit graduate Jack Miller as his starting center, with Ben Braden at right tackle, true freshman Mason Cole at left tackle and Erik Magnuson at left guard.

Right guard, however, is still open. Hoke said the top candidates for the position are Joey Burzynski, Kyle Bosch and Kyle Kalis. Kalis has been practicing in preseason camp at both left and right guard but who played minimally in Saturday's scrimmage because of a back injury.

Michigan's offensive line lost left tackle Taylor Lewan and right tackle Mike Schofield to the NFL, and the offensive line was a unit that took its lumps last season - at one point Michigan quarterback Devin Gardner was sacked 20 times in a four-game stretch in the second half of the 2013 season.

"When you're looking at consistency, I think Jack's been consistent, I think Magnuson and Mason Cole have," Hoke said today. "But I think they've all worked extremely hard and they've all improved themselves since the beginning of fall camp."