Angelique S. ChengelisThe Detroit News
Ann Arbor — Offensive lineman Josh Priebe transferred from Northwestern to Michigan because he sought and saw a more defined path to fulfilling his goal of playing in the NFL. In three months with the program, he has found himself welcomed and completely acclimated, while also enduring tougher practices.
Michigan continues spring practice working toward a spring game on April 20 at Michigan Stadium, and Priebe, a graduate student who made 29 starts at Northwestern, has mostly worked at left guard, alongside tackle Myles Hinton. First-year offensive line coach Grant Newsome, a former Michigan lineman who spent the last two seasons as the Wolverines’ tight ends coach, must determine a new starting five, since six linemen from the national title team are readying for the NFL Draft.
“It’s been very competitive,” Priebe told reporters on Monday at Glick Field House. “The practice style is definitely different compared to what I was used to. It’s been really good for me as a player. I feel I’ve been able to grow and develop. As an offensive line, there’s a lot of new people in different positions. Everyone is learning how to play with each other; guys are getting shuffled around. Our communication has been good so far. Just continuing to compete with one another and push each other.”
He said the overall football intensity increased from Northwestern to Michigan
“With certain things. There’s more time invested, certainly with the practices,” he said. “They’re longer, there’s more hitting, more physical contact. That’s one of those things that I know is going to make me a better player. The practices here I can already tell are going to make the games feel a lot easier.”
Going against tackles Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant has intensified the already intense practices.
“There’s no way that’s not going to make you better,” Priebe said. “I have had a decent amount of experience playing in the conference, and I haven’t gone against guys with that level and that ability. Sometimes, you play teams where there’s one guy who's a really good player, but when you have both of those guys, (and) you’re going against them every single time, that level of competition, it forces you to get better. That’s what’s been so great about Michigan so far. Guys develop at such a higher rate because of the level of competition and the overall culture surrounding that.”
Grant, speaking with reporters earlier in spring practice, raved about Priebe’s abilities.
“He’s really good with his feet and hands and leverage,” Grant said.
The 6-foot-5, 310-pound lineman, a captain at Northwestern last season, made most of his starts at left guard. Still, the goal is versatility among the linemen, something head coach Sherrone Moore, who coached the offensive line the last three seasons, stressed, as does Newsome.
“Any time you get a guy in that has starting experience at a position, there's a possibility of keeping him there,” Newsome said of Priebe this spring. “We want to make sure we cross-train him in different areas and make sure that regardless of what the offensive line looks like, he's in a position where he can help us at multiple spots.”
Priebe said he and Hinton have chemistry working next to each other in practice. He would replace Trevor Keegan at left guard, someone whose game, along with that of former Michigan right guard Zak Zinter, Priebe admired. When he studied film of opposing Big Ten defenses that had played Michigan, he caught plenty of Keegan and Zinter and the offensive line and liked what he saw.
He also likes the success offensive line transfers to Michigan have enjoyed. Center Olu Oluwatimi, who transferred from Virginia and won the Rimington Award in 2022 as the nation’s top at his position, is now with the Seattle Seahawks, Stanford-transfer center Drake Nugent and LaDarius Henderson, a starting left tackle who transferred from Arizona State, are awaiting the upcoming draft, and Hinton also transferred from Stanford.
“That was definitely a factor,” Priebe said. “You see guys who were in my similar position where they had a fifth year, they had that extra year. Obviously, their situations might be different, but they wanted that extra year to try and take their game to the next level. Every single one of those guys was able to and was extremely successful here, and I think that for me it was very comforting and kinda made the decision (easier because) they do have such a good program, and the way they handle and take in transfers has made guys really successful and has made the team better.”
Priebe had some injuries earlier in his college career but was healthy last season and said another reason he chose
Michigan was the weight and conditioning program, not to mention its offensive line tradition.
“The overall excellence of the program,” Priebe said when asked why he chose the Wolverines. “It’s going to be a great opportunity for me to pursue my dream of playing in the NFL and improving myself in every way possible.”
angelique.chengelis@detroitnews.com
@chengelis
