OL Josh Priebe’s path to Michigan, outlook for 2024

Michigan has had a knack for signing productive, experienced offensive linemen in the transfer portal in recent years, and that will continue in 2024 with the addition of Northwestern transfer Josh Priebe.

The story so far

Priebe played high school football in Edwardsburg, Michigan, and was rated as a three-star prospect and the No. 20 offensive guard in the nation in the class of 2020. Priebe received offers from Michigan, Michigan State, Boston College, Tennessee and others, but chose Northwestern.

Priebe played 36 games at Northwestern, starting 29 of them, primarily at left guard. Priebe was eventually named team captain in 2023. Priebe’s most productive season was last year, when he allowed just four sacks in 421 pass-blocking snaps.

Priebe committed to Michigan in December 2023 and has been in Ann Arbor for offseason conditioning and spring training. Priebe has already earned the respect of his teammates by showing toughness after battling with defensive lineman Mason Graham in the trenches during practice. Head coach Sherrone Moore said Priebe suffered a major injury but continued to play.

“The cool thing about that thing is he has this big slit in his mouth and he just kept playing! He just kept playing. He was bleeding all over. And we were like, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa. Priebe, you’re bleeding!’ And he was like, ‘Huh?’ And then he just kept playing,” Moore said. “Two minutes (later) I was like, ‘What!?’ And then he came out and had to get stitches.”

Outlook for the future

Michigan offensive coordinator Kirk Campbell said Priebe will play an important role on Michigan’s offensive line. The question is what position he will ultimately play.

Priebe will likely play left guard since that is where he has the most experience. Priebe will look to become a key part of the Michigan line and increase his draft value in the process.

The 6’5″, 300-pound guard should improve as a player. Priebe now plays on a team that just won a national championship and faces two of the best defensive linemen in the country in practice: Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant. Priebe is taking advantage of the opportunity.

“Playing against guys like Mason Graham and KG definitely makes you better,” Priebe said in April. “I have a lot of experience in the conference and have never played against people of that level and skill level.”

The success other transfer linemen have had recently at Michigan, such as Olu Oluwatimi (Virginia), Drake Nugent (Stanford), LaDarius Henderson (Arizona State) and Myles Hinton (Stanford), should bode well for Priebe’s prospects in 2024. If any team can draft the best transfer linemen, it’s the Michigan Wolverines.