What Sherrone Moore said during his Big Ten Media Days breakout session

On the Texas game being on the schedule

I don't know, you want to have that competitive nature regardless what you do. A lot of these are scheduled out a while from now. For us, we're going to have to play whoever we have to play. We're excited about every opportunity that we get, we're excited for every game we get to play.

On his version of Jim Harbaugh during recruiting visits

My version of that is getting to know these kids inside and out, everything about them, about who they are, how they tick, who is going to help them make these decisions and continue to show them who I am as a person and let them get to know our program, get to know us and get to know me. That's what I'm going to do. Coach was his own man, I'm my own man. We'll do it that way.

On who Donovan Edwards has turned into as a person

He's the same energetic person he's been since I saw him in high school. Walking the hallways, dapping everybody up, smiling and laughing. On the field, making the plays. He's just become more mature. Really grown in his spirituality and his faith, that's probably the biggest thing. As a leader, he's always been a leader but now he's a leader of men in college and really done a good job with that. Hasn't changed from the personality he is but just matured a little bit.

On how often he talks to Jim Harbaugh and the best advice he's given him

I just talked to him about two days ago, just continue to say do you because it was working and continue to work. For me, he's always himself, he's always going to tell me the truth and I'll talk to him as often as possible. He told me, his phone is there and he's just waiting to be counted on. I'm excited to call him again soon.

On whether he feels like the spirit of Jim Harbaugh is still alive in Ann Arbor

Yeah, I think the spirit of Bo, Jim, all the great players before us, those spirits are together. Really, as he'll tell you, as he always did, it's about the players. Really, the players are maintaining the culture and the brotherhood that we have. To watch them every single day is what's kept us where we are today

On how he balances playmaking ability vs. consistency with QB competition

Like I said earlier, I think the number one thing is who is going to take care of the football. Who is going to be the guy who will take care of the football. Our defense is going to provide a bunch of different looks, they're going to have Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant running at them, Josaiah Stewart, Jaishawn Barham, Will off the edge and Makari and all these guys will give them different looks. Who is going to take care of the football? Who is going to make a play? Next thing, who is going to lean on the team-first mentality. For us, we'll get a good feel as we go through training camp. We don't know what the day is, we don't know when that'll be but you guys will know as soon as we do. Maybe. (laughs)

On his experiences coaching at Louisville shaping him into the coach he is today

It was awesome. I learned so much of what to do, what it should look like, what I wanted it to look like, what I didn't want it to look like. My first year coaching, I think we were 4-8 when I was a GA. My first I was coming from Oklahoma and joined the staff there, the head coach got let and Charlie Strong comes in and revamps the whole thing. We ended, my last two years being a full-time coach there, we lost like three games total. Teddy Bridgewater was drafted in the first round, Devonte Parker was drafted in the first round, and I saw what it took to flip a program on its head. Getting the opportunity to see that, enjoy that and be pare of that really has molded my career and what I've done now. Obviously, the opportunity to go to Central Michigan, the same thing. The opportunity with Coach Harbaugh the last six years has really helped me and built a vision of what we're going to look like now.

On having the support of Donovan Edwards the players

The players are all the support we need. I want to support them in every way possible. For me, it means everything. It means everything. I've got their back and they've got my back and that's all that matters.

On the adjustments made for a longer season to keep players fresh

The number one thing is you gotta win so you can't focus on trying to keep people fresh. If you don't win, you're not playing. For us, we will do everything we can to win and the preparation, however we're going to do it, we're going to do it. We made great adjustments last year and we'll continue to do that as we go through.

On the battle at center and right tackle

(Greg Crippen) and Raheem Anderson have a great battle going on right now, super excited to see who wins it. Both of those guys have been waiting in the wings, they've been around really good players. Andrew Vastardis, who started off when they were freshman, Olu Oluwatimi who won the Rimington and Outland and Drake Nugent who was an All-American. It's not like they haven't been around players who were pretty good, so those guys have really sat back in the shadows and with the world of the transfer portal and the era for them not to leave tells you the dedication and love they have for Michigan. They both deserve the right to go get this job. They've been awesome. Excited to see what happens. The right tackle, we've got Jeff Persi and Andrew Gentry, both those guys who have played a lot of football. Jeff Persi started a game for us two years ago. Andrew has played a lot of football. Excited to see what happens.

On what is a successful first season for him at Michigan

Just for us to get better every single day. We're going to strive to be better than we were yesterday and be better tomorrow. For us, that's how we're going to try to do it and the rest will take care of itself.

On Mikey Sainristil's replacement and the depth at secondary

Feel great about the depth. Obviously you've got Will Johnson who is the best corner in college football. Opposite of him it could be a number of guys. The guy right now looks like Jyaire Hill but Aamir Hall, Ricky Johnson has come in, Myles Pollard is making a push to get better. We're excited about all those corners, we've got a lot of depth there. Safety you've got Makari Paige obviously, unfortunate with Rod and the injury there but feel like we've got some guys who have come in and can really help. Having Quinten Johnson back is huge, Zeke Berry has really, really taken the steps necessary. Had a great, great spring. and excited to see him. We've got two transfers in the secondary with the safeties with Jaden and Wes Walker. We've got a lot of competition. As we say, the depth chart is ever-flowing. We never stop. We'll continue to see who wins the job.

On when he expects a final ruling on the NCAA investigation and Tony Alford's addition to the program

As far as the NCAA deal, not at liberty to comment about that. Not worried about that. Just really worried about what we've got going on with our team and our football program. We'll go from there. Tony, man, an unbelievable human being. Person I've known for a very, very long time. Respected for a long time and respected throughout the business for what he's done in the recruiting department, how he's coached, where he's coached and who he is. For us, it was just a great fit of a great person first. A great coach and teacher second.

On Harbaugh-isms

Besides SMASH, that's the Sherrone-ism that everybody knows. It'll come out day-by-day and we'll see what happens. I don't try to quote coach every second, that's really a Jack Harbaugh-ism. Something that's really sustained through the program for a long time. We're always going to be about the team, the team, the team. That's something that goes back to Bo. For us, we're going to live and die on it. Other than that, we'll see what comes out in different moments.

On the run game behind Donovan Edwards

The guy that's not talked about enough is Kalel Mullings. He's going to be a force, he looks as good as he ever has. He's going to have a great year. Watch him last year, every time he came in he had an explosive play, a big play, runs over somebody, makes somebody miss. It's hard to take the ball out of Blake Corum's hands. For us, we've got a stable of guys. We've got him, we've got Ben Hall, we've got Cole Cabana, we've got this freshman Jordan Marshall, we've got Micah Ka'apana. We've got guys left and right. We're really excited about that group and continue to go day by day.

On what has surprised him the most about his role

A lot more pictures you gotta take, that's probably the biggest thing. I didn't realize there was this many. All the other things that come with it, I figured they would. The donors events, the alumni, the meetings, head coaching meetings with other head coaches, there's a lot more of those than I thought, just talking about issues that we have to deal with as coaches and making the best decisions for our student-athletes. Probably those are the biggest things. Really, the coolest thing is I get to be around every player on the team and hang around all the players from the kickers, to the walk-ons to the starting quarterback whoever that might be. To the linemen, to the receivers. For me, I get the chance to hang around all the players, that's pretty awesome.

On whether it's harder to create hunger after winning a national championship

No, I don't think it is. When you're at Michigan, you're always hungry to win. The tradition, the passion we have at Michigan, we're always hunting to be great, we're always hunting to win. For us, there's no complacency of what we want to do and who we want to be every single day.

On what Sherrone Moore's flavor he wants to put on the program

We'll figure that out as we go through camp. The different things, the different processes which we'll attack, we're just going to keep doing it and the hard work, the toughness we attack everything with on offense, defense, special teams, we're gonna do. More music at practice, coach didn't play music at practice, I'm guessing the Chargers are finding that out now. Everything else, there will be things here and there but most of that stuff is gonna stay the same.

On his experiences at Michigan shaping him and whether he deserves a honeymoon phase

I think those experiences have shaped and helped me to right now, to allow me the chance to get this opportunity with this great staff that I have and great players to lead this program. No, there's no honeymoon here. Ready to attack. All my life I've been a competitor, I've wanted to win and I've tried to win everywhere I've been. There's no time off, there's no, oh, let's take a step back. That's not our goal. We know what we want to do, we know how we're going to attack it and I'm hungrier than ever.

On which freshmen have impressed

I think to watch these freshmen, man, talk about a mature group. Start with the quarterback, Jadyn Davis, dude just makes plays every time he's in the game. This spring he did a really good job of handling things, still learning the playbook, still learning the game and adjusting. Phenomenal, phenomenal job. Two guys that I'm excited to watch, both receivers, Amorion Stewart and Channing Goodwin, those guys are really electric, have some ability. Whether they play early or not, we'll see. Excited about them. All the linemen, we had five of them enroll and super stoked about them. Jordan Marshall, he has a little bit of Blake Corum mentality in him and his skillset. Super exited about him. On the defensive side of the ball, the guy I'm most excited about as a true freshman is Dom Nichols, big, long athlete. Goofy as can be, funny as can be but dude can play. Super excited to see what he does this year.

On the expectations for the Washington game

Obviously, it's different because it's a regular season game and you know you got another game after that and all those things, the national championship is different than any other game. A little bit different, as far as when you get into the game, it's going to be a competitive game, they're going to be a good team, they're going to be well-coached, we gotta prepare like any other game.

On what he knows about Jedd Fisch

I know a little bit about Jedd, I know he was at Michigan. I've had some conversation with him and know he's a good coach. Excited for our competition with them and excited to go out to Washington.

On what he saw from Jack Tuttle

He's been great, man, he's been accurate, he's been throwing it hard, physical, fast and he looks good. Jack had the unfortunate favor of being behind Michael Penix Jr. and J.J. McCarthy. He's excited, to say the least. Watching him compete and we're ready to see what happens.

On whether he could utilize the QBs like they did in 2021

We're just going to play the best 11. We'll see.

On speculation that there will be a drop-off this year

There's always everybody's speculations and opinions, it's not our job to really care about what everybody else thinks. For us, we know who we're going to be and that's how we're going to do it.

On whether he apply similar messaging to the team

For the team, they just see my interactions with them every day, they know how much I love them, how much I care about them and how much I believe in them. It's all they really need and they've got enough motivation being at Michigan.

On Dominic Zvada

Dominic is here and he's been awesome. Dude's got a leg, he can boot it and he's super accurate. Super excited about him.

On whether Michigan can win the Big Ten this year

Every year, that's what we're going to try to do. We're going to try to compete to win the Big Ten. If we do it's because we took care of the football, we play great defense and we played as hard as we could every game.

On delegating responsibility with Kirk Campbell

It's been great. Kirk, I trust in and out. He's done such an unbelievable job and I told the story that we won a national title and go back in the offense and Kirk is in there yelling at the screen because somebody's route wasn't right. Dude, go home, we just won the natty bro. That's the type of guy he is. For me, it's less and less difficult to delegate things when you have people like that around you, having Wink and having J.B. Brown, those guys are unbelievable. Tough, hard workers and their number one goal is the team which makes it most important for me.

On finding his voice as a head coach

It's being me, I can't be coach. I can't be Jim Harbaugh and I never will be. For me, I go as I go. I'm not going to change who I am, when I get excited I am going to get excited and when I yell smash, I'm gonna yell smash. When I want us to play violent, I'm going to let our players know. That's what I'm gonna do but when I love them, I love them. When I feel like they need a hug, I'm going to give them a hug. I'm just gonna be me. I can't change that and I'm not gonna change that.

On what a national championship can do for Michigan in recruiting

I don't think necessarily the national championship changed our recruiting philosophy, I think it's more of, we're at Michigan, we should be able to recruit the best of the best and that's going to be my attitude as long as I'm the head coach here.

On whether adding West Coast teams change the formula of recruiting

No, the biggest thing for us, we're a big fit-based organization. They gotta be a fit. Obviously, they have to have great grades and be a fit for us. Wherever we go, regardless if we're in Washington, California, Oregon, Idaho or we're in New York or Maryland or Florida, they have to be a fit for us.

On if he could take one quality from J.J. McCarthy and give it to his QBs now

The ability to be so cerebral in the most pressure moments. He was just calm, he was vintage, he was himself but he was always ready to attack. You could always count on him when the big plays were there and you need somebody to make a big play, he'd make it or he let whoever was supposed to make it, make it. He wouldn't go out of the way to do something crazy. I think he grew to that and excited to watch our quarterbacks do the same.

On the secret of finding it in new QBs

I don't it's a secret, I think it's the work. The work that we have to do throughout training camp to find that.

On Semaj Morgan's development

Semaj is probably one of the best practice players on the team. He practices so, so hard, he probably loses about five to six pounds every practice and gain it back. The guy runs hard, he's physical. For being a guy that's so little in stature, he plays like he's 200 pounds and he'll tell you that, too. He's done an outstanding job of changing his body in a good way, continuing the speed. Got a 4.0 this semester, that was a big change to allow him to get the number 0 which he wouldn't stop bugging me about. He's done an outstanding job and excited for what he's going to do this year.

On revenue sharing and how Michigan is echoing Jim Harbaugh in that regard

We're all about it. We're all about supporting our players in every single way. Our administration is aligned and ready to do that and figure out the best way to allocate all those funds to the student-athletes. We're all in for it and we knew coach wanted it and we're definitely hands-on with doing that.

On how NIL collectives have evolved in the last six months

It's been huge. They've done an outstanding job. They realized what we have to do and how we have to compete. It's part of the game, it's part of it, you have to have a plan and we continue to be aligned as an administration and collective to get there.

On what has Wink added to the defense

I think you'll find out game one what he's tweaked and added and as we go on throughout the season, we will tell a story of what we've tweaked or added. The defense will be fun to watch and we'll put our players in a position to be successful.

On the offense under Kirk Campbell

During the spring, you saw a little bit of what we did or a good bit of what we did, you can see his flavor on it. I think he's going to do an unbelievable job. He's creative, he's smart, he's detailed and he's going to find every way to attack defenses. Even more ways than I did. I'm excited to watch the offense develop.

On the offense, contd.

I think more so it's going to be different because there's different players. They're going to get the ball in the playmakers hands and whoever those people are, we're going to make sure they get the football. We both want to win so we're going to get the ball in their hands and they're going to help us win.

On the key to success against Ohio State

We think about them 24/7, 365 so that's what we're going to continue to do, we're going to continue to attack it. We're just going to attack our process. We can't be worried about what happened in the past and what the future holds, we just have to worry about today and that'll dedicate and predict what we do in these future games.

On roster continuity

I think you have to have that to be able to compete, you have to have the same or similar guys in your locker room and develop the culture, have it sustained and continue to roll it over to the next people who join your team. For us, it's been invaluable to have those guys come back every year.

On the role NIL has played in roster continuity

I think some of it is part of it. The number one thing is they want to go to Michigan, they want to be part of the brotherhood, camaraderie and they want to do what they came to do in the first place which is continue to win championships.

On how he plans to utilize changes in analyst roles

We figured that was coming and we've got a plan, guys that can coach will coach and we've distributed it out as we've gone through and I guess everybody will start to see it.

On whether that takes the load off some of the primary coaches

I think it just gives them assistance and allows people to get detailed in other areas and get other people to help them. Nobody knows everything, you need the assistance and the help, It just allows more coaches to coach on the field which is necessary. We've got so many players on the field so everybody needs coaching, everybody needs direction so now you've got more eyes on those young student-athletes.

On Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant

When you have any change I think there's always some kind of indecision, some kind of thought process. There was that, they're young, they're kids. For us, the message was, look, man, you know what you came here to do, you know what this place is about, you know how I'm going to coach you, you know how I'm going to take care of you. This decision is on you. It wasn't very hard for them to do that, to say Michigan they've dedicated to, they trust they were going to take care of them for life. That was that. Those guys have been working their tails off. They are not satisfied with anything, they're very hungry so super excited for training camp for them.

On Colston Loveland

Ever heard of Travis Kelce? That's what you're looking at. That dude is an animal. He's an absolute animal. The guy just works, he works, he works, he works. Colston, you can't do that much, you gotta stop. The sky is the limit for him.

On the areas Loveland has improved

Everything. Run game, he looks like a receiver when he's running routes so it's going to be awesome to watch him.

On using the pillars on defense

The players are super adamant of keeping that and Wink was way on board with it. Definitely kept those pillars. Very excited for the defense. They're excited for what's going to happen and all the tweaks we're doing. Making sure they're all in a great position which they've done a good job of doing.

On the preparation and attention detail has risen over last year

Yeah, I have. I think when you have guys who haven't played as much with as much game experience but you have enough of them, you know they have to take it up a notch. They're not satisfied, they're very hungry to be successful. I've seen the times where it's just guys in the building and they won't leave and you want that, that's what you need. You've got a great program and great culture set up.

On Rayshaun Benny's progress from injury

He's been great, man, it was great seeing him. I watched him do some drills the other day. He looks good and I think he'll work out the kinks in the first week of training camp and he'll be ready to go.

On the younger offensive linemen

Start with the O-line, guys like Myles Hinton and Josh Priebe, they've done an outstanding job and I think they're going to be superstars. I said it last year, Myles Hinton could be the best one of them all of the guys who were there. He's done an outstanding job. Andrew Gentry, really excited about what he's going to do next year. Super excited about him. Gio El-Hadi has been a guy who has been waiting and behind an All-American, all-conference guards and he's played in games, he's started in games and had been a stalwart for us. Super excited about him. A guy nobody really talks about is Dominic Giudice who moves from D-line to O-line, he's really taken a step in the right direction. Excited to see what he does.

On whether he's had any in-helmet communication practices in spring

It went all. It was funny, you turn on the radio frequency and you can just yell at the guys. I would just be messing with people. I grabbed one from Ernest and yelled at somebody else. It's gone well, the players really, really like it and it's just going to take some getting used to as we get to training camp.

On Rod Moore coming back before the end of the season

We'll see. I think he's on progress, maybe slightly ahead, so we'll see where it goes.

On the Michigan vs. Everybody approach this season

Just for us, and since I've been there, people are gonna predict what they're gonna predict. They're gonna say what they're gonna say. Our job is not to prove anybody right, it's to prove ourselves right. We're just gonna go day by day and try to get better.

On what he's seen from the secondary transfers

Obviously, experience, a guy who was an All-American at the FCS level. Guys that really have just submerged into the culture. I think our coaches have done a really good job of bringing in guys who fit. No egos, they're all about the team and they want to see the team have success. That's what we have. All those guys have been great. You find out more about them when you get the pads on you get some adversity and you get beat once, you need it to see how they're going to react because in the game, it's going to happen. What's the next play going to look like? You want to see them hit, are they gonna be physical? Are they gonna tackle? I think they are but we've got training camp and that's what we're going to find out.

On the depth pieces needing to step up this year

For us, you like standing there, you like standing on that little perch and getting ready, when it's time for game day on August 31st, you're ready to strike. For us, we're just ready to work. It's awesome to hear it from our leaders who are in the thick of it with our players every single day, they see it, they understand it, they get it, they see what it looks like. He knows and they all know what it's supposed to look like and we're excited.

On Greg Crippen

I think it's been awesome. Like I said, this era of transfer portal, so many guys just leave and go and I want it now. He's gone through the process and attacked it so it's been cool to watch Greg go through this thing and guide him and shape him and mold him. He's ready to go.

On Sean Magee's addition

With all the things going on in NIL and revenue sharing, you have to have a plan. Part of that plan was to bring him in and manage a lot of that. Part of my delegating was making sure I had somebody handling a lot of that stuff so he's been outstanding. He's been an outstanding addition to the program. So smart, so creative in his thoughts and I lean on him for a lot of that stuff.

On the EDGE players behind Josaish Stewart and Derrick Moore

The pocket just shrinks so fast with those two guys. Great example is the Rose Bowl, the last play, people talk about the blitz off the edge but it's Josaiah Stewart on the backside who takes the tackle and puts him on the ground, he really stops the play. The dude is strong as an ox. Derrick Moore is elite can be. Doesn't say a word, just keeps attacking. Really excited for TJ Guy, he's a guy who has been waiting in the wings and he's watched the Aiden's, he's watched the Ojabo's, he's watched Mike Mo, he watched all those guys and he's ready. He's ready to go attack this year.

On whether it's a surprise how strong Josaiah Stewart is given his size

I've seen it before. It was Josh Uche all over again. We had Uche a couple years back who was like a snake, the venom, ready to go on third down. You saw that back foot just revving up and going, that's what Josaiah is. He's got some elite twitch and quickness but elite strength for his size.

On whether Michigan's NIL budget is close to Ohio State's

We're in a good place and we're going to continue to build to make sure we're competitive. We've got a great plan and we're going to continue to build.

On whether the NIL budget is close to Ohio State's number

Yeah I don't got the number on me, I'm not worried about the number right now.

On the receivers

Tyler Morris has been awesome. He's really taken on a leadership role, obviously made a big play in the Rose Bowl that kind of surprised people, didn't surprise us. A guy that was timed a 4.4 in high school. People forget he was a highly-recruited kid and tore his ACL in high school and had to recover and really ready to take the reigns, he's done an outstanding job. Fred Moore is another guy who had a really great spring. Kendrick Bell, younger brother of Ronnie Bell, has the ability to be great, really great. Excited for him. Amorion Walker and we talked about Semaj, those are probably the top guys. Peyton O'Leary is a guy we're ready to see break out. Had some good springs but really want to see what he does here in fall camp and then our young guys, so what they do.

On Jimmy Rolder's health and the linebacker depth

He's been awesome. He looks like the Jimmy Rolder we would get before he started to get the injuries, the dings. He looks like. He's in a good place physically and a good place mentally. Jayden Hood has done a really good job, he's stepped up, he's really changed his body and done some good things. A guy that I'm excited to see is Micah Pollard, he's up to about 235 pounds, 240 pounds, he's played at 205ish so he's been really good. Young guy, Cole Sullivan, he's ready to break out at some point. He's a true freshman but he's a guy that I feel will play this year whether it'll be special teams, a little bit on defense, he looks like a defensive end but runs like a linebacker. Excited to watch him.

On potentially playing Ohio State up to three times a season

I love it. Let's do it.

On whether there are any other long-term injuries on the team

No, that's it. Everybody is in good shape and ready to go.

On the early challenges he faced

I think there's things that go on and you can't predict them and you just put them in God's hands and try to figure out the best way to solve the problems as they go on. Feels like we got better, feel like we got some really good additions to our staff, really good people. Super excited for, we call him Sweet Lou, Lou Esposito. I looked at the defensive side yesterday, all of our defensive coaches have been coordinators. It provides us with an avenue and outlet to have different voices and different views that have seen all different types of offenses. Cosch Brian Jean-Mary has been in the SEC, he's dealt with the fastest offense in college football every single day at Tennessee. Lou, being in the MAC, Memphis, dealing with spread offenses, power offenses and LaMar, all types of offenses down in the south. For us, it's been really cool. Obviously, Wink dealing with Pro Style and fast offenses and different things. We've got a lot of different and smart minds in there that can handle a lot of different issues that people try to present to us.

On whether he's talked to Lloyd Carr at all

Not as much as I want to. Definitely want to keep more in touch with him and definitely want to do that for sure. Definitely before camp.

On the tight end room

Colston is obviously an absolute beast, Max Bredeson is an absolute beast. Marlin Klein, he is probably the freakiest athlete of all of them. He's outstanding. The next guy I'd say who is really emerging is Deakon Tonielli, a redshirt freshman who has all the skillset and size. He walks in here and looks like a guy who is probably a junior. We'll see how he does in training camp. Zach Marshall has done a really good job. That room is deep. I'm excited for them.

---

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