When you are a college football position coach, there is not much better than seeing a player you helped develop move on, and get drafted into the NFL.
But how about seeing that happen four times in one year?
That is exactly what Michigan offensive line coach Ed Warriner recently experienced as Cesar Ruiz, Ben Bredeson, Michael Onwenu, and Jon Runyan Jr. were selected in the 2020 NFL Draft.
“It makes you feel good,” he told the Free Press. “It makes you feel like you’re doing the right thing. Productivity is the loudest advertiser of what you are doing.”
Despite the success he has had at improving the Wolverines offensive line since being hired by Jim Harbaugh in 2018, Warriner is focused on what lies ahead and how he can improve his players, despite the challenging times we are all dealing with during this pandemic.
“The number one thing in football, in my opinion, is reps,” he explained. “You get good by reps — not by talking, not by watching.”
“I think we’re doing as well as we can do,” he said. “How good that is, how well that is bringing along four new everyday starters is hard to say.”
“I am hoping that we get that time to get them ready,” he said. “It has been a challenge.”
Warriner has certainly been a welcome addition to a Michigan team that had been looking to build a solid offensive line for some time.