Name: Greg Crippen
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 309 lbs.
High school: Bradenton (FL) IMG Academy
Position: Center
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #51
Last year: I ranked Crippen #56 and said he would be a backup center (LINK). He played in nine games.
TTB Rating: 65
Depending on how you look at it, Crippen has had one of the more frustrating careers imaginable in a Michigan uniform. After redshirting in 2021, he would have had a chance to start in 2022 . . . except Michigan brought in Olu Oluwatimi from Virginia, who won the Rimington Trophy for being the nation's best center.
So then Crippen had a chance to start in 2023 . . . except Michigan brought in Stanford transfer Drake Nugent, who was named First Team All-Big Ten and a Rimington Trophy finalist.
Now Crippen has a chance to start in 2024 . . . except Michigan brought in former 3-star defensive tackle Dominick Giudice?
Okay, so earlier today, head coach Sherrone Moore was asked about the battles on the offensive line, and Moore said the center position was coming down to Crippen and Giudice. It's surprising that Raheem Anderson wasn't mentioned (perhaps there's an injury?), and it's even more surprising that Giudice is the primary competition after taking just 25 total snaps over the past two years.
Regardless, I'm sticking with the front-runner for the starting center job, and that's Crippen. The former 4-star recruit has waited around for three years, and there have been positive comments coming from the coaches for the past two years. If Giudice is truly neck-and-neck with Crippen - and better than Anderson - then that likely means positive things for the depth of the line and not necessarily something negative about Crippen.
Prediction: Starting center
Recall that Crippen played 6 games as a true freshman in 2021 -- he was slated to be the starter in 2022, but ended up red-shirting his sophomore year because of Olu's surprising arrival.
ReplyDeleteThat's how good he was, as a freshman. A guy the coaches thought should be prepared to start. Presumably now, 3 years later, he should be substantially better to the point that I don't expect much of a drop off from Nugent to Crippen.
Less encouraging is that Anderson and now Giudice appear to be competing with him. That gives me some pause but hopefully it's more of a sign about those 2 elevating than Crippen reaching some kind of ceiling. It may be a motivational push for Crippen to take his game to the next level after 3 years of being the backup OC, perhaps he got complacent.
This is the first time I heard that Giudice is pushing Crippen for a starting OC. Panic time! With a question mark at QB, the only way we have a decent offense is if the OL clicks immediately. If Crippen is anything but a B+ or higher, I think it will be a long season for Michigan football. I would even say that given the offense we are running, the OC might even be more important than RT.
ReplyDeleteI don't buy the competition part. Sure, they compete, but applying context across position groups, and I think this "competition" speaks more to the critical importance of the position than Crippen having short comings. I expect a slight improvement from 23 & 21 (Olu was just too good)
ReplyDeleteCrippen is one who will prove to be higher. Not through submarine comments, but on field play
The more I think about this competition the more concerned I get. Michigan isn't manufacturing any competition for Hinton, El Hadi, or Priebe. Giudice is not a natural center he is moving around from DL and OG. It was one thing if Anderson was surging as a senior to push him, it's another when Anderson falls off and suddenly Crippen is competing with a DIFFERENT guy.
ReplyDeleteFile under reading tea leaves but this feels off.
We also do have to note that while Crippen appeared in line to start in 2022, he's been passed over TWICE now. It maybe that he just doesn't have the ability to be an elite player at the level we have grown accustomed to at Michigan.
I was viewing Crippen as a pretty sure thing (or Anderson his replacement if he earned it with merit) but I'm definitely having second thoughts at this point. He has to prove himself.
Crippen was a 4-year center at IMG. Anderson was a 4-year center at Cass Tech. I’d expect those two to be excellent, and to push each other. Giudice came out of left field, but the dude is shaped like a cube and might be a human forklift.
ReplyDelete