Wayne State University Athletics

Football 8/16/2026 8:05:00 AM Jeff Weiss, Senior Associate Director of Athletics/Media Relations

WSU Football - 2026 Offensive Line

DETROIT -- With less than three weeks before the season opener on Sept. 3, this position preview features coach Cleandre Robinson and his offensive line group.

The 14 offensive linemen on the roster is evenly split with seven returnees from 2025 and seven newcomers.

The returnees are led by three-year letterwinners Will Edwards (Cincinnati, Ohio / Winton Woods) and Ethan Gates (St. Clair Shores, Mich. / Lakeview). Edwards has played in 28 games in three seasons, making 18 starts (16 at right guard, and two at left guard), while Gates has appeared in 25 contests in three seasons with the Green and Gold, making 10 starts (nine at right tackle, and one at left tackle).

The only other returning letterwinner is redshirt sophomore Mikey O'Brien (Toledo, Ohio / Whitmer), who played in seven games in 2025, making five starts (twice at left guard, once each at left tackle, right guard and right tackle) to earn his first collegiate letter.

Three other returnees are redshirt freshmen in Evan Bainbridge (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. / Grosse Pointe North), Jonathan Major (Sanford, Fla. / Parish Episcopal [Dallas, Texas]) and Keathan Smith (Fort Worth, Texas / Liberty Christian).

Bainbridge played in one game as a true freshman in 2025 as a back-up defensive tackle before switching to the offensive side of the ball for spring ball. Major dressed for all 11 games last season, seeing action in three contests and making one start. He made his collegiate debut as the starting center at Ferris State. Smith dressed for seven games a season ago, seeing action in four contests. He primarily played left guard, including a start at Northern Michigan.

Redshirt junior Derek Johnson (Wayne, Mich. / River Rouge) is the other returnee. He enters his fourth year as a student at WSU, and is looking to make his collegiate debut this fall.

In terms of the seven newcomers, three are transfers along with four freshmen.

The three transfers are redshirt senior Nick Ahmed (Redondo Beach, Calif. / Narbonne/Sunburst Youth Academy [Montana State-Northern / Long Beach City College / Los Angeles Southwest College]), redshirt sophomore Elijah Beachum (Marlin, Texas / Chilton [Mary Hardin-Baylor]) and redshirt junior Darrien Lurks (Dallas, Texas / DeSoto [(]Kilgore CC / Tyler JC / Cisco CC]).

Ahmed can play all five positions on the offensive line, while Beachum comes to Detroit after two years at Division 3 powerhouse Mary Hardin-Baylor. Lurks played in seven games for the Cisco (Community) College Wranglers in 2025.

The quartet of freshmen consists of Abram Marcial (Leonard, Mich. / Orchard Lake St. Mary's), Dominic Melaragni (Goodrich, Mich.), Caiden Pfeiffer (Newport, Mich. / Monroe Jefferson) and Jordan Stewart (Detroit, Mich. / Martin Luther King).

Marcial helped the Eaglets to back-to-back MHSAA Division 2 state titles in 2024 (35-19 win over Byron Center) and 2025 (51-14 triumph over Dexter). Melaragni helped the Martians to back-to-back Flint Metro League titles in 2024 and 2025, and an MHSAA Division 4 state title in 2024. Pfeiffer helped the Bears to an 11-2 record as a senior, including three playoff wins (District and Regional titles), while Stewart was a three-year letterwinner for the Crusaders.

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Players Mentioned

#61 Evan Bainbridge: OL; 6' 2"; Redshirt Freshman

#62 Will Edwards: OL; 6' 3"; Redshirt Senior

#76 Ethan Gates: OL; 6' 6"; Graduate Student

#63 Derek Johnson: OL; 5' 11"; Redshirt Junior

#71 Jonathan Major: OL; 6' 1"; Redshirt Freshman

#74 Mikey O'Brien: OL; 6' 5"; Redshirt Sophomore

#77 Keathan Smith: OL; 6' 5"; Redshirt Freshman

Caiden Pfeiffer: OL; 6' 4"; Freshman

Abram Marcial: OL; 6' 8"; Freshman

Dominic Melaragni: OL; 6' 3"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#61 Evan Bainbridge
: 6' 2"; Redshirt Freshman
: OL

#62 Will Edwards
: 6' 3"; Redshirt Senior
: OL

#76 Ethan Gates
: 6' 6"; Graduate Student
: OL

#63 Derek Johnson
: 5' 11"; Redshirt Junior
: OL

#71 Jonathan Major
: 6' 1"; Redshirt Freshman
: OL

#74 Mikey O'Brien
: 6' 5"; Redshirt Sophomore
: OL

#77 Keathan Smith
: 6' 5"; Redshirt Freshman
: OL

Caiden Pfeiffer
: 6' 4"; Freshman
: OL

Abram Marcial
: 6' 8"; Freshman
: OL

Dominic Melaragni
: 6' 3"; Freshman
: OL