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Should Sherrone Moore be feared? Are coaches overlooking the Wolverines?
Athlon Sports’ preseason 2024 college football preview magazine just became available and is filled with quotes from anonymous coaches in the Big Ten discussing (and debating) other programs’ futures. They provide an unfiltered and unique perspective heading into the new season, including for the Michigan Wolverines.
Which coaches are on the hot seat? Is Michigan poised to take a step back after winning its first national championship in nearly three decades? How will the Oregon Ducks, USC Trojans, Washington Huskies and UCLA Bruins fare against the pre-existing Big Ten teams? These are some of the topics discussed by the anonymous coaches.
With the College Football Playoff — and most conferences, for that matter — expanding, there should be a sizable number of Big Ten teams contending for the National Championship this fall.
As for Michigan, specifically, the Sherrone Moore era will begin shortly after the program reached the sport’s mountaintop.
Here are the quotes from anonymous coaches regarding Michigan:
“They’re basically turning over the entire offense, and they need to find some receiver talent for whoever wins that starting job at QB.”
There is no question the Wolverines are in the midst of a quarterback battle between Alex Orji, Jack Tuttle, Jayden Denegal, Davis Warren and Jadyn Davis. While many believed some questions would be answered this spring, Tuttle didn’t suit up, and the one who showed huge flashes was Warren, who was on the outskirts of the QB1 conversation.
Warren had the best spring game performances, completing 6-of-9 passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns and showed a good pocket presence. Orji had a handful of nice throws and showed off his legs on an 18-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. However, he also had some bad misses to open receivers. The competition is still ongoing.
As for the receivers, Tyler Morris, Semaj Morgan and Moore were the top three wide receiver targets back in April. Since then, Michigan has brought in Youngstown State receiver C.J. Charleston, who had 33 receptions for 503 yards and four touchdowns last season. Former Michigan/Ole Miss cornerback Amorion Walker also returned to Ann Arbor to play wide receiver.
Whether these moves work for the Wolverines is still to be determined, but there is no question the current group is very raw and young.
“This is going to be a massive transition even though they kept on the interim from last year. They’ll take a step back, but maybe not as far as you think.”
The receivers and quarterback may have changed, but the running back and tight end group carried over and will only improve. Meanwhile, the defense could be the best in the country. The Wolverines bring back Mason Graham, Kenneth Grant, Derrick Moore and Josaiah Stewart on the defensive line, they picked up top linebacker target, Jaishawn Barham, in the transfer portal to pair him with Ernest Hausmann, and they retained top cornerback Will Johnson and safety Makari Paige.
Senior safety Rod Moore tearing his ACL hurts, but the Wolverines are brought in Jaden Mangham (MSU) and Wesley Walker (Tennessee) via the portal. Not to mention, they also reeled in cornerbacks Ricky Johnson (UNLV) and Aamir Hall (Albany) to help out Johnson on the boundary. The defense should be ready to rock and roll once again this fall.
“The defense will lead the way for them; that can help bridge the rebuild on offense. Will [DC] Wink [Martindale] just rip it and blitz? That will be interesting to see.”
With the skill and improvement on the defensive side of the ball, paired with Wink Martindale’s play style and defensive mind, Michigan should be just fine in 2024 defensively, at the very least. But the question does remain if the offense can balance out the team and not put the defense in bad positions more often than not.
“The trick for Sherrone [Moore] is to keep the momentum of a national championship culture through all the roster turnover. I think you’ll see a lot of familiar [Jim] Harbaugh practices and ideas this first season because they’ve got to rebuild before they can put a new signature on the program.”
Moore has said time and again he wants to keep some aspects of Harbaugh’s system and make the rest his own. Moore is about ground and pound, “smash” football. The team is largely the same, and everyone who’s commented on Moore has only spoken highly of the new head coach.
Luckily enough, Moore has the experience of coaching a National Championship-winning team, he’s beaten three Big Ten opponents — including at Penn State and vs. Ohio State — at their best, and he’s put a respectable staff together. Coaching changes are tough on any program, but the Wolverines have kept much of their culture the same.
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