Bad news for the Michigan Wolverines, as offensive tackle Andrew Babalola is believed to have suffered a season-ending injury a couple of weeks before the start of the 2025 campaign. Babalola is a five-star recruit from the class of 2025, who was the 10th-best prospect in the nation and the best offensive tackle.
The news was broken by CBS Sports’ reporter Matt Zenitz, who went on X to share the following tweet:
“Unfortunate development: Michigan five-star freshman offensive tackle Andrew Babalola is feared to have suffered a season-ending knee injury, sources tell
@CBSSports.“Babalola, who ranked as a top-10 overall recruit, had been impressing big-time and was in line to be a factor for Michigan this season.”
Unfortunate development: Michigan five-star freshman offensive tackle Andrew Babalola is feared to have suffered a season-ending knee injury, sources tell @CBSSports.
Babalola, who ranked as a top-10 overall recruit, had been impressing big-time and was in line to be a factor… pic.twitter.com/iNpQn2WIJK
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) August 18, 2025
Andrew Babalola was expected to play an important role in the Wolverines’ offensive line this season. However, the injury comes as a major setback to the youngster.
Andrew Babalola has earned praise from the coaching staff and teammates alike
Andrew Babalola earned the respect and praise of coaches and teammates alike during the Michigan preseason training camp, with Sherrone Moore saying the following about him last week:
“Andrew Babalola — he’s gonna push for the starting left tackle spot, that’s a day-to-day competition with Evan.”
It seems that not only did he manage to impress the head coach of the Wolverines, but also some of his teammates from the offensive line. Starting left guard Giovanni El-Hadi showered with praise earlier in August:
“He’s very athletic with his feet,” El-Hadi said. “Very strong. And for him being a freshman, he’s so smart, like he knows what a senior knows, and that’s a really good thing for a freshman… [I knew he was smart when] he was telling me he was a 4.0 [student].”
As per El-Hadi, when offensive line coach Grant Newsome would come up with some questions, Andrew Babalola had his answers ready.
Michigan is set to start its season against the New Mexico Lobos on Aug. 30, at home in Ann Arbor. The game is scheduled for 4:30 pm ET.
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