Everything Sherrone Moore said during post-spring press conference

On overall thoughts on spring

I thought it was good. Physical, tough, I think we're calloused. I think it was a fun spring, the boys got after it. Excited for the progress we'll make into the summer.

On his thoughts on the spring game

Same. Good. A couple of penalties but, other than that, I think guys competed and they had a lot of fun so that's what I wanted to see and no major injuries.

On the quarterbacks

Everybody is getting better. I think that will go into the summer, through fall so we'll see when we get to fall camp.

On whether Michigan is looking for anything particular in the transfer portal

We'll see. Different needs at different spots. Won't get into all the particulars but we'll see how we progress. Excited for the building of this team.

On whether he's found any challenges or obstacles as head coach

Just different than the fact that it's not as much football. Used to sit in a room with two screens and watch football all the time. It's less of that and more managing, more organization on a daily basis and just keeping our alignment, keeping our process the same. That's really been the biggest thing for me.

On whether the transition has been smooth

Yeah, it's been great. There's things that go on every single day that are different that you didn't have to handle (before). Excited about what's been going on, just keep progressing.

On DL players who have taken a step forward and whether it will be the strength of the defense

I think, shoot, it's fun to watch all of them. Mason, KG, Derrick Moore, Josaiah, a guy that we all talked about was TJ Guy, he took steps. Trey Pierce took steps. Enow Etta took steps, Cam Brandt took steps. Koumba, it was fun to watch him. Our true freshman, Dominic Nichols. There wasn't a guy that took a step backward or stayed the same, they all improved. Just excited to watch all those guys progress and we'll see who the strength is. We won't know until fall camp.

On whether being light at WR allowed more players to take a step forward in spring

You only get better football by playing so those guys got more reps and it was good for them. I think they'll continue to get better and excited for them.

On whether he saw steps forward with the offensive line

Yeah, it takes time. Every year, every spring. Everybody is like, O-line this, O-line that. Last year, Trevor Keegan yelled at me, we're not there yet. Trev, it takes time. You need full camp, you need summer, you need a fall camp, you need a couple of games. They're all progressing and they all did a really good job this spring. Super cool to see where they've been and how they've grown and how guys have taken steps positively and excited for them.

On his message to Zeke Berry when Rod Moore went down with an injury

Next man up. He's been great. Been outstanding, actually. He's taken the opportunity and then ran with it at a high level.

On Jack Tuttle

He'll be in it. We talked about this as a team, as a staff, that the dudes that he backed up are Michael Penix and J.J. McCarthy so he's got talent and we'll see what happens we gets to fall camp.

On the NCAA penalties impacting recruiting

I can't comment on anything.

On why he thinks recruiting has been slow to this point

Not really slow, there's a process of how we do things and who we want and who we get. I can't comment on recruits, when they recruit or when they're gonna recruit or when they're gonna commit, taking it day-by-day and we'll find the best fit for us.

On having gaps in commitments impact recruiting

I don't think it affects much, they make decisions when they want to make decisions.

On whether the potential of being on probation was an issue when hiring staffers

All that stuff I am not going to comment or talk about.

On whether he feels he can make the team close to what it has been in the past with new faces

I think the goals always stay the same. The goals are to beat our rivals in the Big Ten, win the Big Tenm, beat Ohio State, make the playoff and win the playoff. The goals stay the same and the process in which we'll do things will stay the same. The people are different and people are always different every year. We're just going to attack the process every day and do it how we know best and put our head down and work.

On whether he's worried about a championship hangover

Nah. Not worried about anything. Worried about today and try to get better.

On his plans for the NFL Draft

Super excited for it, super excited for our team. We'll have a team event we're gonna have down there. Just excited for the draft, excited for our players. Had 18 guys at the combine and just excited for their futures and what they're going to do. Got guys still working, saw Blake this morning, saw Roman out here working. Guys aren't satisfied with potentially being drafed, they're getting ready for that next step.

On Justin Tress

He's done an outstanding job. Herb was outstanding but Tress knows he's not Herb and Tress does it his way. The same process and implementation that he's done is what Herb did. He was right by him the last six years, it's just continued to escalate, continue to progress and make the players better. I think he's done a tremendous job with his staff with new wrinkles and stuff we've done a little differently. The guys have loved it and appreciated it. It's been awesome. They came in spring ready to go. It felt like sometimes we would practice and they could go another hour. Super excited for where we're are and excited for summer.

On the center position

Crippen has done a great job and Raheem Anderson has stepped in there and done an outstanding job. The dude definitely stepped up and played at a high level. Excited for him and the young guys like Jake Guarnera who has come in and only played center last year, his first year he was playing center last year. Excited for him to see what he can do.

On Jaishawn Barham

Instinctual, physical, violent, fast. Everything you want in a linebacker. As quiet as can be, just goes about his business the right way. Just how we like them, the transfers that come in here. They just come in, assimilate themselves into the culture and keep attacking. He's been outstanding. Can't wait to see what he does.

On whether adding a QB in the transfer portal is a possibility

We'll see.

On why it's a 'we'll see' regarding the portal

Because there's a process in which we do things. We're just going to attack it.

On what initiatives he's doing to make the program his own

The good thing with coach was that it was a very collaborative effort in what we did and what we've always done. What coach did was part of what I did and Kirk did, Ron and Grant. It's not really just what coach did, we've always been part of it and we just continue to keep this train kind of rolling.

On whether he wants to paint his program a specific way

Just want to win. The process of winning is what we're going to do.

On whether winning the championship got what they needed out of it with donors, etc.

Felt some great juice when I got those four rings the other day. We've got all the juice we've wanted and we'll continue to get it and just keep working. Last year was last year, we're still celebrating it, we're excited that we did that and we'll look at those rings all the tie and that's all the juice we need.

On which ring he'd wear to a fancy dinner

It's a hard one. Probably the national championship one. The Rose Bowl one might be my favorite, though. The national championship. It's the natty, you gotta wear that one. I wore all four the other day.

On Rod Moore's prognosis

I don't know. I think we'll see what it is. I'm not a doctor so I don't know exactly how fast it is and what that process is. Hopeful.

On the difficulties of navigating legal issues, hiring new staffers, etc.

Just adversity you gotta face sometimes and the challenges that happen. We continue to push through. Our players just keep responding and that's what it's all about to me. It's the players. They just keep responding at a high level. Had a great game and they're here working out right now. Moving great. Got finals coming up, make sure we do well with finals and give some time off and get back at it.

On what the playcalling was like with Jim Harbaugh and where might he step in

Really, coach gave me the confidence to call plays how I see fit. It was very situational. Some things would happen where it would be, hey, I think we should go for it here or might go for it there, as far as plays to be called, he didn't tell me when to call a play or what play it was, he let me be me and will probably let Kirk do the same. I'll have an eye on the situation and what's going on.

On how much more prevalent has NIL been in conversations with recruits and transfers

It's something you've gotta have a plan for. It's there, it's out there so you have to have a plan, you have to attack it in a way. We're going to do it our way and we'll continue to attack it aggressively. Still, just make sure we have a plan when we do have those conversations.

On the culture

It's awesome. These kids that we've got, we're a player-led team. To be successful you have to have that. Our kids are continuing to do that. The Donovans, the Colstons, the Makaris, even Rod. Will Johnson, Mason, Kenneth, all those guys. They have seen how leaders operate and they continue to do that and that's what gets our team floating and we'll keep doing that. Excited for the rest of the team to stay aligned in what we're doing.

---

Discuss this article with our community on our premium message boards

Not a subscriber to Maize & Blue Review? Sign up today to gain access to all the latest Michigan intel M&BR has to offer

Follow our staff on Twitter: @JoshHenschke, @Berry_Seth14, @TrevorMcCue, @DennisFithian, @BrockHeilig, @JimScarcelli, @Jerry_Diorio

Subscribe to our podcasts: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify

Check out Maize & Blue Review's video content on YouTube

Follow Maize & Blue Review on social media: Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram