ESPN's Pete Thamel predicts NCAA punishment for Sherrone Moore, Michigan

ESPN’s Pete Thamel joined Get Up with Mike Greenberg on Monday to dish on Sherrone Moore and the Michigan Wolverines, and any potential punishment the NCAA is going to hand them.

First, Thamel took some time to explain the notice of allegations the NCAA delivered to Michigan, and what it all means for the Wolverines and their new head coach.

“This draft of the notice of allegations comes from the Conor Stalions scandal. I think the first thing about the draft that stood out to me was it really laid bare the extent of the illicit in-person scouting scheme that Michigan had operated from 2021 to 2023,” Thamel explained. “The draft cites 58 instances of illegal in-person, off-campus scouting. It included 53 games, 13 opponents. In 2022, they scouted one single team seven different times. So, the draft really digs in on that. Now, Sherrone Moore became the headline yesterday. He is in position to potentially, according to the draft, be suspended, or face a show-cause order, in part because he deleted a thread of more than 50 text messages with Connor Stalions the day the story broke, naming Stalions as the face of this scandal.

“Moore faces, what the NCAA says in the draft, is a Level 2 violation, and he is potentially a repeat offender, because he got jammed up in the other Michigan scandal which occupied a lot of our last summer, which was the illegal, COVID off-campus recruiting case. Moore was suspended for the opener last year. So, that is, in a nutshell, what happened. I guess the final thing is that the University of Michigan also faces a Level 1 violation in this. The NCAA called it a pattern of non-compliance for the university.”

In response regarding any potential punishment, Greenberg wanted it straight: “Okay, so in the most dramatic scenario, if they throw the biggest book at them they can, what does Sherrone Moore potentially face?”

Evidently, Thamel doesn’t believe any accomplishments will be taken away from Michigan, and while Moore could be suspended, that’s the most dramatic scenario for the Wolverines.

“So, I would think Sherrone Moore faces a short suspension, if you look at the history of this stuff, at the maximum,” Thamel stated. “To go through sort of the matrix of what could happen to Michigan in this, I don’t think they’re going to have any type of postseason ban. I don’t think, looking at history and looking at past precedent in this, there’s going to be any type of retroactive anything to what they’ve already won and accomplished.

“Their accomplishments are safe. There’s no player’s eligibility at stake in this, so for Moore, who’s sort of become the base of this notice because the other coaches involved have all gone to the NFL, I would think we will find out in the upcoming weeks and months, depending on how long this takes to litigate, if he does end up getting some type of suspension.”

After everything Michigan has been through, their fans would likely sign up for that punishment to put this entire situation behind the Wolverines. It seems like we’re headed to a conclusion, with the NCAA ready to make a decision soon, and everyone will be waiting to hear what their answer is.