- Position
- OL
- Number
- #76
- Pieces here
- 12
On the record
Called Shots →Manuel Beigel starts at least one game on Michigan's offensive line during the 2026 regular season.
Evan Link is one of the five offensive linemen who start Michigan's September 19, 2026 game against UTEP, as listed in Michigan's official Player Participation release for that game.
The five offensive linemen listed as starters in Michigan's official Player Participation release for its September 26, 2026 game against Iowa are a different set of five men from all three sets Michigan has started so far in 2026 (Frazier-Link-Guarnera-Norton-Sprague, Frazier-Efobi-Guarnera-Norton-Sprague, and Link-Efobi-Guarnera-Norton-Frazier).
Written about him
Michigan completed nothing that travelled more than 11 yards in the air, and won
Michigan beat Penn State 21-18 without completing a pass that travelled more than 11 yards past the line of scrimmage. By the catch spots recorded in Michigan Athletics' official play-by-play, its 10 completions covered 41 yards in the air and 49 after the catch, and the four throws that went 25 yards or more downfield were two Tommy Carr incompletions and both Bryce Underwood interceptions. Across six games, Michigan has completed five passes of 20 or more air yards, all against Western Michigan and Iowa. Penn State's deep passing game was one receiver: the stat crew marked five of Rocco Becht's 44 throws as deep, all five went to Chase Sowell, and three were caught for 76 yards. In the run game, the second half's 14 runs up the middle were Michigan's season habit producing 10.1 yards a carry instead of the 4.0 it had averaged there in the first five games, and the ball moved to Savion Hiter, who carried twice before halftime and nine times after it. PFF's grades, cited as rankings only, had Avery Gach first in run blocking among the five linemen who started at the conventional spots, Manuel Beigel's run-blocking grade highest of any Michigan lineman, Rod Moore Jr. the highest-graded Michigan defender despite leaving in the third quarter, and Jyaire Hill last in coverage among the eight defensive backs who made a tackle. Kyle Whittingham said Monday he will not name the Indiana starter.
Three of Michigan's five starting linemen are on the Penn State injury report
Michigan's initial Big Ten availability report for Saturday's game against Penn State, filed Wednesday, October 14, lists 14 players, six of them offensive linemen. Jake Guarnera, who started at center at Minnesota, and Brady Norton, another Minnesota starter, are Questionable; Nathan Efobi, a third starter, is Probable. Evan Link and Blake Frazier are not listed. Andrew Sprague is Out, the first time Michigan has opened a week with him at Out rather than Questionable, and Ace Hamilton is Out. Andrew Babalola, Out on all eight of his earlier designations this season, is Questionable. Manuel Beigel, Out on game day at Minnesota, is off the report, which makes him Available under the conference rule. In Michigan's two earlier conference weeks, ten Wednesday Questionable designations ended with three Outs on game day, all three of them offensive linemen; the six non-linemen all finished Available and the fourth lineman, Houston Ka'aha'aina-Torres, was a Game Time Decision who played. One take filed.
Minnesota's blitz got seven sacks at Washington and one against Mississippi State
Michigan (3-1, 0-1 Big Ten) plays Minnesota (3-1, 1-0) at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis at noon Eastern on Fox. DraftKings has Michigan by 6.5 with a total of 43.5 at 8:12 a.m. Eastern, down from an open of 8.5 and 44.5. Minnesota blitzed on 33.9% of snaps in MGoBlog's chart of its win at Washington, where it had seven sacks; against Mississippi State's quarterback it had one and lost 38-13. Michigan lists eight players Out, four of them offensive linemen including Andrew Sprague, Manuel Beigel and Andrew Babalola. Receiver Andrew Marsh and defensive ends Dom Nichols and John Henry Daley are Questionable. Prediction: Michigan 24, Minnesota 16.
Last week Michigan's injury report did not change until two hours before kickoff
Michigan's first Big Ten availability report for Saturday's game at Minnesota, filed Wednesday, September 30, lists six players as Questionable: receiver Andrew Marsh, edge rushers Dom Nichols and John Henry Daley, and offensive linemen Andrew Sprague, Houston Ka'aha'aina-Torres and Manuel Beigel. Blake Frazier is Probable. Six players are Out, including defensive end Julius Holly. Daley and Nichols have 5.5 of Michigan's 12 sacks, per the official box scores; Nate Marshall and freshman Tariq Boney have 2 each. Under the Big Ten's 2026 rules, teams file at 8 p.m. Eastern on the three weekdays before a Saturday game and again two hours before kickoff, when the only categories are game-time decision, out and out for the first half, and an unlisted player is available. Before Iowa, Michigan filed an unchanged list on all three weekdays. In the Big Ten archive through September 26, 64 players were Questionable on a Wednesday report; 22 were still Questionable on Friday, and 15 of those were game-time decisions on game day. The other seven, four from Michigan and three from Michigan State, were settled on the game-day report: Nichols, Zeke Berry and Logan Forbes were left off as available, and Sprague was out. Michigan plays at Minnesota on Saturday at noon Eastern on Fox, so the game-day report is due about 7 a.m. Pacific.
The Freaks List Used To Be Where Michigan Kept Its Defensive Line
Gavin Magorien is No. 78 on Feldman's 2026 Freaks list: 6-0, 202, a 550-pound squat and a 6.87 three-cone. Michigan's own roster matches Feldman's description on all five stated fields. What has changed is how many names Michigan puts on the list and where they sit. The Wolverines had four in 2024, two in 2025 and one now, and Manuel Beigel, No. 62 last year as a defensive lineman, is listed at offensive line.