Michigan offensive lineman Blake Frazier spent the spring, fall camp, and even some of last season at left tackle. But then right tackle Andrew Sprague went down with an injury early this season, and Frazier had to flip sides almost overnight.
On In The Trenches with Jon Jansen, Frazier explained how he has handled the adjustment and what it has taught him about the offensive line’s struggles in the run game.
Frazier found out he was going to be playing right tackle the day before the UTEP game. He
had gone to offensive line coach Jim Harding’s office with a question about the game plan, and Harding gave him an unexpected look.
“He was like, ‘Can I tell you something without you freaking out?’” Frazier said. “I was like, ‘What’s going on?’ He goes, ‘You’re probably playing right tackle tomorrow.’”
Frazier had spent the whole week preparing for the game from the left side, only to be told he’ll be playing a different position.
“It’s definitely not what you expect to hear after practicing on one side all week and going through a game plan on one side,” Frazier said. “But it’s something they needed me to do, and so I was happy to do it.”
The most difficult adjustment for Frazier, he revealed to Jansen, was pass protection.
“The run game is the run game — you’re trying to put people on the ground,” Frazier said. “But with pass protection, you train your left leg and your right leg to do one thing. You’ve got a post foot and your slide foot, and now you’ve got to flip it. My pass set just didn’t feel as consistent. It was a lot more uncomfortable.”
Frazier said that has aspect of playing on the right side of the line has improved with reps. He estimated he has now played about five games on the right side, and it is becoming more comfortable.
The move also changed who Frazier is playing immediately next to. On the left side, he and guard Evan Link had to build their chemistry from scratch, since Link was a tackle last season. On the right side, he lines up next to Brady Norton, who already had his footwork and technique established at guard.
“My big thing was getting as comfortable as I could as quickly as possible, but also not stepping on his toes in any way,” Frazier said. “I didn’t want to make (Norton) uncomfortable with anything I was doing. Just getting reps over and over and over again was the best way to get comfortable quick.”
Michigan’s ground game has struggled for much of the 2026 season, and Frazier was candid about why that may be the case.
“Movement has been the biggest one that we’ve been struggling with,” Frazier said. “Sometimes you’ve got to wait for the defense to declare before you can get locked on. Our big thing has been patience, square shoulders and short steps. You can never have too short of steps. Your shoulders can never be too square. You can never be low enough.”
Frazier pointed to the Rutgers game as a step forward. Michigan ran for 161 yards on Saturday against the Scarlet Knights, and Frazier said downhill runs were the key.
“Getting guys covered up and fitting onto blocks was the big emphasis, and letting our backs find the hole and go from there,” Frazier said. “It wasn’t the most explosive run game. … It’s a step in the right direction. Coach Harding was saying in film this morning that we feel like we’re really close.”
With Michigan State up next, Frazier made his rivalry stance clear. Last year’s win in East Lansing was his first career start.
“It’s in-state bragging rights. It’s about establishing who runs the state,” Frazier said. “My personal goal is to never lose to Michigan State while I’m here.
“Focus on your one-eleventh. At the end of the day, this is going to be the dirtiest game that you ever play in, and it’s going to be a dogfight.”
Frazier has taken on more of a leadership role this season, and he acknowledged how hard that is when the results have not matched expectations.
“That’s been the tricky part for sure, how do you motivate guys to keep going when the results aren’t exactly what you want them to be?” Frazier said. “My personal motivation has been, what would my dad do to get to play another game? I owe it to everybody that’s ever put on the winged helmet to give it my all, regardless of what’s been going on with the team and the results.”
Frazier has had a lot asked of him this season. He moved sides on short notice, took on a bigger leadership role, and kept putting his head down and going to work despite how everything has gone this year. If the offensive line is as close to turning the corner as Harding believes, the Michigan State game is certainly a chance to show it.
