Michigan’s 2026 offensive line looks nothing like the unit that had to patch itself together through a messy 2025 season.
Last year, injuries kept four players who would have seen major snaps from being available, and the result was constant shuffling at left tackle, left guard and right guard. This time around, Michigan enters with a much deeper, more settled group - one built around seven starting-caliber linemen and enough backup options to survive another bad injury run.
The headliners are clear, and the biggest change is that only two major departures hit the group: Giovanni El-Hadi and Greg Crippen.
At left tackle, Blake Frazier is the name to know. He didn’t play at all as a freshman, then made a huge leap in Year 2 by appearing in all 13 games and making eight starts along the line.
He moved into the left tackle job against Michigan State and never gave it back. If that kind of jump happens again, he could become one of the most underrated offensive linemen in the Big Ten.
He also carries real Michigan bloodlines as the son of Steve Frazier, a member of the 1997 national championship team, and he wears No. 77 - a number with real meaning in Ann Arbor.
Evan Link is the likely option at left guard, though that spot still has some competition baked into it. Like Frazier, Link sat out his freshman season before starting 10 games at left tackle in 2024.
He opened last season back at left tackle while battling then-freshman Andrew Babalola, but an injury in the Washington game ended his year early. He’s expected to be back in that mix again, with Babalola and other rotational players in the picture.
The center spot is already settled with Jake Guarnera. He briefly entered the transfer portal before deciding to stay for his junior year, and Michigan is glad he did.
Guarnera went from special teams work as a freshman to All-Big Ten honorable mention and the Dierdorf-Hutchinson Award as Michigan’s top offensive lineman as a sophomore. After starting at right guard from the Central Michigan game onward in 2025, he now slides to center and takes over for Crippen.
He looks like one of Michigan’s best linemen again in 2026.
Right guard is the most unsettled spot on the line, even if Nathan Efobi has the edge for now. Brady Norton and Guarnera handled most of the work there last season, but Norton’s injury against Oklahoma in Week 2 changed that setup.
Efobi stepped in at left guard when El-Hadi went down against Oklahoma as well, and with Guarnera moving to center, Efobi and Norton are the two names in the mix. Efobi may get the first crack simply because he started there in the Citrus Bowl.
Andrew Sprague is the one constant on the right side. He started all 12 regular-season games at right tackle last year before sitting out the Citrus Bowl, and that position is the only one on the line that returns exactly as it was.
Sprague also put his name in the transfer portal before withdrawing less than a week later. Norton started at right tackle against Texas, but Sprague is the one expected to anchor that spot and has another All-Big Ten-caliber season in him after earning honorable mention last year.
If there’s one true wild card, it’s Andrew Babalola. Coaches raved about his intelligence and feel for the game in spring practices a year ago, and he was in a battle with Link for the left tackle job before an ACL tear in fall camp shut him down.
He wasn’t full-go this spring, but he’s expected back for fall camp. If he’s healthy, the former five-star has a real shot to push Frazier at left tackle.
If not, he still profiles as one of the most talented sixth offensive linemen in college football.
Norton’s path is murkier. The Cal Poly transfer was slowed by injury in Week 2 against Oklahoma and had a strange run after that: he started at right guard in Week 1, was used as the sixth starter in Week 2, played special teams when he returned against Michigan State, then got back into the lineup at right tackle in the Citrus Bowl. With Sprague back, Norton will likely serve as a backup at multiple spots and could also battle Efobi for the right guard job.
Behind that top seven, Michigan has a group that gives the staff some real cushion. Houston Ka’aha’aina-Torres, the lone transfer from Nebraska, is there as injury insurance.
Avery Gach, a sophomore who logged meaningful special teams work, could also work his way into the rotation if needed. Manuel Beigel is another interesting name after moving from defensive line to offensive line this season; he played in seven games a year ago, including four on special teams and three on defense, after appearing in one game as a freshman.
The freshmen may also get their chances. Four-stars Malakai Lee and Marky Walbridge could see time on special teams or even a game or two on the offensive line, though redshirts are also possible.
Brooks Bahr, a senior, and junior Luke Hamilton each played in one game last season. Incoming three-stars Tommy Fraumann and Ace Hamilton could also chip in on special teams or end up redshirting.
For Michigan, the big difference entering 2026 is simple: this line finally looks like a group with answers.
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