Michigan’s most experienced position group might be the most interesting to watch leading up to the team’s first season under new coach Jim Harbaugh.

Spring practice is generally a time to analyze and get excited about the new, and there is plenty of that in Ann Arbor this year. A new battle for the starting quarterback job started this week. There are new potential stars like defensive back Jabrill Peppers and running back Ty Isaac expected to make an impact next fall. And of course, there is the new coaching staff.

But it’s the offensive line, the only group that returns fully intact from a year ago, that might determine how much and how fast the Wolverines can improve. Two years of serving as the program’s on-field whipping boys leaves the linemen eager to practice whatever its coaches preach.

"There’s something special there," said Tim Drevno, who will coach the line along with his play-calling duties as offensive coordinator. "They want to be taught, and they want to be coached, and they want to be demanded on. You couldn’t ask for anything better. There is nobody resisting what we’re doing."

Drevno was aware of the criticism his charges have faced during the past couple years. The relatively young group floundered through the better part of the past two seasons. In 2013, the Wolverines finished near the bottom of national rankings in sacks allowed (109^th) and rushing yards (103^rd). Those numbers improved to the middle of the pack last fall, but not enough to quiet the disparaging remarks.

Harbaugh and Drevno have transformed more inept offenses together in the past. In 2007, they left the University of San Diego to take over the Pac-10’s worst offense at Stanford. They turned the Cardinal into a BCS bowl winner in four years. The offensive line and its power running game served as an effective sledgehammer for that remodel, and remain one of Stanford’s biggest strengths almost a decade later.

Michigan’s current skill players -- an inevitably inexperienced quarterback, young receivers and well-stocked backfield -- make the same type of power offense the program’s best bet for fast results.

"The biggest thing is just getting a great knowledge of the offense and where we want to go with it," Drevno said. "Finding out our personality on offense and who we’re going to be and what schemes we’re going to run."

The first step in that process is developing a tough mentality on the line, something Drevno says the new coaching staff will demand from his players.

"Yeah, you demand it from them," he said. "You get them to trust you. You invite them over to your house for a barbecue. You tell them that you love them. You get them to play for you. It’s pretty cool when it happens."

All of Michigan’s coaches have made a point to say they want to evaluate players without any preconceived notions of who fits where. None of the five returning starters is guaranteed his spot this season. Drevno said the first thing he wants to see from his players is how well they translate what they learn in meetings to the field. Though they are just two practices into the spring, he said he has been happy with his group’s desire to learn and willingness to be active in meetings.

"They’re going to come off the football. They’re going to know where to go," he said. "They’re going to have a want-to, a brotherhood, they’re going to take control in the room, and they’re going to lead us."