ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The offensive line of the No. 2-ranked University of Michigan football team was crowned as the winner of the 2021 Joe Moore Award, given to the top offensive line in college football. The award has been given each year since 2015 and U-M is the second team from the Big Ten to win the honor (Iowa, 2016).
U-M’s line has been the heartbeat of a prolific offense. Together, the unit has helped U-M pile up 5,875 yards of offense, the second-highest single-season total in program history. U-M averages 37.7 points per game (No. 13, NCAA) and 451.9 yards per contest (No. 18).
Tackles Ryan Hayes (left) and Andrew Stueber (right) have joined center and captain Andrew Vastardis (center) in starting all 13 games. Guards Zak Zinter (right, 11 starts) and Trevor Keegan (left, 10 starts) have been mainstays as well. Chuck Filiaga (four starts) and Karsen Barnhart (two starts) have also started on either side of Vastardis, and Trente Jones (one start) has been the team’s sixth man, lining up as the extra lineman in jumbo alignments.
The unit has conceded the fewest tackles for loss (27) and third-fewest sacks (10) in the nation this season. Only Army and Air Force, with a combined 204 pass attempts, have allowed fewer sacks. Michigan’s line has paved the way for a 1,000-yard back in Hassan Haskins (1,288 yards) and have another in range with Blake Corum at 939 yards entering the Capital One Orange Bowl. U-M boasts the nation’s No. 10 rushing attack (223.8 yards per game), the Big Ten’s best
Together, the group has helped U-M to a Big Ten title and an East Division championship with a 12-1 record and a victory over Iowa in the conference title game. U-M reached that game by virtue of a 42-27 win over Ohio State at home that saw the Wolverines score their most points in the rivalry since 1946. In series history, it was U-M’s largest margin of victory since 1993 (15 points), its most rushing yards (297) since 1995, and its most total yards (487) since 2013. Running back Hassan Haskins became the first player to ever record five rushing touchdowns against the Buckeyes.
Stueber was named a second-team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association. He was the recipient of U-M’s Hugh H. Rader Award, given to U-M’s best lineman. Vastardis was a second-team CoSIDA Academic All-American honoree. He also won the team’s Blue Collar Award and the Dr. Arthur D. Robinson Scholarship Award this season.
Stueber is a first-team All-Big Ten selection (media), while Hayes (coaches), Vastardis, and Zinter (media) were second-team honorees. Keegan was named All-Big Ten honorable mention.
The unit is led by first-year offensive line coach and fourth-year Michigan assistant coach Sherrone Moore, the Donald C. Offensive Line Coach/Co-Offensive Coordinator. Moore previously coached the tight ends for three seasons.
Moore was a guard for the 2006 and 2007 Oklahoma Sooners, helping the team win two Big 12 Championships and play in two BCS bowl games. Prior to his time at Oklahoma, he was a two-year starter at Butler County (Kansas) Community College. He has been coaching since 2009. Also as part of his offensive line staff, graduate assistant Grant Newsome and analysts Kyle De Van and Biff Poggi.
