2 months ago
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The new Michigan football staff inherited a former five-star with a ton of upside, but one who hasn't seen the field yet in a real capacity.
The only time that offensive tackle Andrew Babalola suited up in a winged helmet on the field at The Big House in front of fans was in the 2025 spring game, but he tore his ACL in fall camp, precluding him from seeing game action in his freshman year. Before his injury, he was pushing Evan Link for the left tackle position, and it was in no way a decided contest between the true freshman and the elder statesman.
At Big Ten media days last week, head coach Kyle Whittingham gushed about Babalola's potential, noting that he has similar traits to his two first-round draft pick tackles, Spencer Fano and Caleb Lomu. Offensive line coach Jim Harding agrees with the ****** sment, but also notes, there's a lot of work it's going to take for him to get there.
"We recruited him at the last place. I think he's a really talented kid," Harding said. "Now, he's also he hasn't played football in darn near 12 months. Tomorrow will be the first time he puts shoulder pads on in 12 months. Two days ago was the first time he put a helmet on in nearly 12 months. So could he potentially -- I think there's a lot of guys in that room that can be high draft picks and things like that. But Andrew would be one of them, and we'll just see how he develops and see how he gets back to what I think I saw on the fall camp (tape) last year."
The encouraging news is that two practices in, Babalola has been a full go in both. In order to get an idea of what he's capable of, just like Whittingham, Harding went back to his high school, spring ball, and fall camp film and liked what he saw. But now, he's going to have to get back into form, given that, as Harding noted, Babalola hasn't played football in a year.
#babalola #Football #time #first
The only time that offensive tackle Andrew Babalola suited up in a winged helmet on the field at The Big House in front of fans was in the 2025 spring game, but he tore his ACL in fall camp, precluding him from seeing game action in his freshman year. Before his injury, he was pushing Evan Link for the left tackle position, and it was in no way a decided contest between the true freshman and the elder statesman.
At Big Ten media days last week, head coach Kyle Whittingham gushed about Babalola's potential, noting that he has similar traits to his two first-round draft pick tackles, Spencer Fano and Caleb Lomu. Offensive line coach Jim Harding agrees with the ****** sment, but also notes, there's a lot of work it's going to take for him to get there.
"We recruited him at the last place. I think he's a really talented kid," Harding said. "Now, he's also he hasn't played football in darn near 12 months. Tomorrow will be the first time he puts shoulder pads on in 12 months. Two days ago was the first time he put a helmet on in nearly 12 months. So could he potentially -- I think there's a lot of guys in that room that can be high draft picks and things like that. But Andrew would be one of them, and we'll just see how he develops and see how he gets back to what I think I saw on the fall camp (tape) last year."
The encouraging news is that two practices in, Babalola has been a full go in both. In order to get an idea of what he's capable of, just like Whittingham, Harding went back to his high school, spring ball, and fall camp film and liked what he saw. But now, he's going to have to get back into form, given that, as Harding noted, Babalola hasn't played football in a year.
#babalola #Football #time #first
