When offensive coordinator Al Borges first saw Graham Glasgow in 2011, he was skeptical that the offensive lineman would ever play in Michigan Stadium.
Glasgow, now a redshirt sophomore, was all over the place as a tackle his freshman year, running into teammates and unaware of when to block. Borges doubted Glasgow would ever reach a high enough caliber to be on the field for a snap, let alone a start.
It wasn’t just Glasgow’s confusion during practice that made Borges hesitant about putting him in the lineup — it was the fact that Glasgow, a walk on, was competing against his highly recruited, scholarship-worthy teammates, not just for a chance to play, but for the coaches’ attention.
“It’s a credit to a walk-on kid to get in the starting lineup because he’s done something to get you thinking he can play,” Borges said.
Glasgow talks about the coaching hierarchy in the eyes of a walk-on, the list of people that needed to take notice before he could make the jump to being seriously considered to play in games. He had already caught the eye of the strength coaches, so next on the list of people to impress was offensive line coach Darrell Funk.
But that was already taken care of: fifth-year senior left tackle Taylor Lewan was acting as a sort of liaison, casually bringing up Glasgow’s name in front of Funk as a younger guy who stood out.
So after seeing Glasgow struggling at both the tackle and guard positions, Funk gave him center duties in practice last fall to see if he fared any better there.
Finally, it was Borges’s turn to pay attention, after the spring game of Glasgow’s freshman year. He “wasn’t going to take the world by storm” at the time, said Borges, but the extra time Glasgow spent in the weight room during the offseason paid off.
“(Glasgow) worked hard and … it’s important to him,” Borges said. “That’s all a coach asks. If it’s important to you, you do all the right things to get you as good as you can be. If that’s good enough to play, then great.”
Now, two years later, Glasgow is a self-made lineman. He was awarded a scholarship at the beginning of the season, and after starting the first four games at left guard, he moved over to center for the Big Ten opener last weekend. He’s been one of Michigan’s most reliable interior linemen, which is why the coaches had no qualms about changing his position a week before the game.
After the Minnesota game, Lewan said Glasgow plays better with a full plate, that the increased multitasking and heightened sense of responsibility make him a better fit at center than at guard.
Glasgow agreed with the assessment, rationalizing it by saying that the number of things there are to keep track of during games keeps him from getting complacent now that he’s achieved both scholarship and starter status.
“One good performance isn’t going to change their perspective,” Glasgow said. “There’s always that mentality you always need to work hard even if you’ve been given something. You need to still prove them right.”