Michigan football down two offensive linemen for Big Ten opener vs Iowa
· Yahoo Sports
Michigan football's offensive line is banged up heading into Big Ten play.
Visit biznow.biz for more information.
The Wolverines will be without starting right tackle Andrew Sprague and their sixth offensive lineman (which offensive coordinator Jason Beck calls the "Rhino") Manuel Biegel in their Big Ten opener against Iowa (3:30 p.m., CBS) according to the team's availability report provided to the league prior to kickoff.
Sprague was listed as questionable the past three days but will not suit up in No. 18 Michigan's (3-0, 0-0 Big Ten) matchup with No. 17 Iowa (3-0, 0-0), its second game against a top-20 foe this year. Sprague played all 115 offensive snaps for the Wolverines in the first two games this season and started 12 of 13 games in 2025. He was one of two offensive linemen who emerged as a starter early in fall camp, when Harding said the right tackle spot was "his to lose."
He was a late scratch last week and required U-M to shuffle its offensive line around. Blake Frazier bumped out to right tackle, Evan Link took his place at left tackle while Nate Efobi (left guard), Jake Guarnera (center) and Brady Norton (right guard) made up the interior of the line.
"That's a tough question, I think it could be anywhere from this week to several weeks, and so we just don't know," Whittingham said of Sprague's timeline for a return earlier this week on the "Inside Michigan Football" show. "That's we're trying to sort through ... with the medical staff and making sure that we get the exact diagnosis and treat this thing the right way.
"He's a big part of what we're doing, so we hope to have him back sooner rather later."
Biegel is also a key part of U-M's attack, having played 84 snaps the past three weeks, including 29 each of the past two. Beck praised the job the former defensive lineman has done since switching to the offensive side of the ball in spring.
Michigan football availability vs Iowa includes no RT Andrew Sprague or "rhino" Manuel Biegel. Would expect U-M to go with the same OL configuration as last week with Avery Gach as the rhino. pic.twitter.com/UkqJGRFcAv
— Tony Garcia | Detroit Free Press (@RealTonyGarcia) September 26, 2026
“The physicality and the knockback in the run game is the positive,” Beck said of using the "Rhino" formation. “We’ve been doing it for years. There aren’t too many tradeoffs. We use them in protection where somebody else would be in protection if, say, that’s somebody else is a tight end.
“I think three games in, Manu [Biegel] is one of the better things we have going on. We’ve got a lot of things to improve and get better at, but the Rhino thing’s been a real positive when you look at how they’re grading, the results of what’s happening. It’s been a real positive with getting the job done.”
U-M did get good news in the form of edge Dom Nichols and defensive back Zeke Berry, two starters who were listed as questionable earlier this week but have since been removed from the report, indicating they're good to go.
Make "Hail Yes!" your go-to Wolverines podcast, available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify) or watch live/on demand on YouTube.
Tony Garcia is the Michigan beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football down two offensive linemen for Big Ten opener vs Iowa