For the first time in the 2024 season, Michigan football (6-5) dominated a game essentially from start to finish while beating Northwestern (4-7) by a score of 50-6 to secure bowl eligibility.
With the game well in hand by midway through the third quarter, the coaching staff was able to give valuable reps to a lot of the younger players on the roster.
Even freshman quarterback Jadyn Davis saw the field for the first time in the fourth quarter, albeit for just one play as Tavierre Dunlap took a handoff from Davis 20 yards to the house late in the game.
On defense, true freshmen Mason Curtis, Jo'Ziah Edmund, and Cole Sullivan made four tackles between the three of them, with Curtis coming up with an interception on a 4th down play in the third quarter.
Moore said it was nice to see some of the young guys getting in the game and making plays and spoke to Curtis' growth as a player since he stepped on campus.
"The crazy thing is, he got on campus and we really didn't know where we were going to play him," Moore said. "He's 6'4", 6'5." He's long. He's like Spider-Man out there, just roaming the field. He played SAM, he played receiver. He played d-end, he played safety in high school. He played all those positions in high school, so we're trying to figure out where we best fit. We ended up with safety, and he's just been unbelievable. He's a tireless worker. Great human being, but he's got a great skill set. He's going to be really good."
On the offensive side of the ball, true freshman running back Jordan Marshall has been returning kicks all season other than when he was injured, and has seen a bit more time in the Wolverines' backfield as well.
Against the Wildcats, Marshall carried the ball seven times for 17 yards, but got the opportunity to show how electric he can be in the open field when he returned a free kick following a safety 63 yards all the way down to the Northwestern 20-yard line.
Moore also had high praise for Marshall in his post game press conference.
"He's an absolute stud," Moore said. "He's going to be really good. He'll dictate how good he's going to be as we go through the years, but he's a star in the making. He's lightning in a bottle."
Overall, Moore is very high on the freshmen class, is optimistic about their futures and was excited that many of them got to see significant game action on Saturday.
"Those young guys are going to be really good," Moore said. :The whole freshman class."
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