Sherrone Moore and Jim Harbaugh are both responsible for Michigan's mess at quarterback
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Sherrone Moore certainly deserves blame for what happened to Michigan on Saturday. But it’s also Jim Harbaugh’s fault.
You’re probably thinking “This is just Andy’s way to get Harbaugh’s name in a headline even though he’s prepping for the Las Vegas Raiders,” but this is no molten take. It’s a simple examination of the calendar. The extended dance between Harbaugh and the Michigan administration in December and January while Harbaugh chased NFL jobs is the reason Michigan couldn’t reach into the transfer portal and pull out a better QB1 than the on-the-roster options Moore had to choose from this offseason.
Unless Moore and his staff can dramatically improve their preparation of the quarterbacks they have, that situation could haunt the Wolverines until next offseason.
Consider this. While Texas was rolling up yards and points on Michigan thanks in part to a Wolverines offense that couldn’t sustain drives behind starter Davis Warren or occasional fill-in Alex Orji, at least a few of the 100,000-plus maize-and-blue-clad souls at Michigan Stadium probably checked the scores of other games, saw that Syracuse was marching up and down the field on Georgia Tech, and thought to themselves “Why didn’t we go get Kyle McCord?”
It would have been the ultimate revenge tale. The scapegoated Ohio State quarterback goes to Ann Arbor and keeps the defending national champs in the College Football Playoff hunt until the big showdown in Columbus two days after Thanksgiving.
Instead, the guy the Michigan fans called Honda McCord was busy throwing for a sensible and reliable 381 yards and four touchdowns for Syracuse in a 31-28 win against No. 23 Georgia Tech while Michigan fell 31-12 to the Longhorns. We don’t know whether McCord would have chosen Michigan instead had the situation been different, but we do know the timing made it impossible for any such courtship to happen. And it wasn’t only because Michigan was busy winning the national title.
McCord declared his intention to enter the transfer portal when it opened Dec. 4. He committed to Syracuse on Dec. 17.
Taylen Green, the former Boise State quarterback who has made the Arkansas offense considerably better, entered the portal Dec. 4 and chose the Razorbacks on Dec. 11.
Former Duke QB Riley Leonard led Notre Dame to a season-opening win at Texas A&M. He entered the portal Nov. 29; he could enter earlier than others because Blue Devils coach Mike Elko took the Texas A&M job. Leonard committed to the Fighting Irish on Dec. 12.
All three would have been more effective options for the Wolverines, but none of the QBs in the portal in December could accurately assess Michigan because Harbaugh was planning on leaving but keeping the door open at Michigan just in case he didn’t get an NFL job.
It didn’t help that Michigan 2023 starter J.J. McCarthy had yet to announce his intentions, but McCarthy declaring for the draft was a likely enough outcome. And there were young QBs in the portal who could have been added to the roster who might have been willing to roll the dice. That’s what Jayden Maiava did when he transferred from UNLV to USC with no guarantee that he’d start over Miller Moss.
But no QB was coming if he didn’t know who his coach would be, and Harbaugh had sent up enough signal flares over the previous two offseasons to make any potential transfer unsure who would be leading the program in 2024. It wasn’t that he was too busy preparing to beat Alabama in the Rose Bowl and Washington in the national title game. He was a legitimate threat to leave, and while it seemed clear Michigan would hand the keys to Moore, it wasn’t a guarantee. So it’s impossible to blame any QB who might have considered the Wolverines for taking a more sure option.
To understand the difference between a coach planning to leave and a coach not planning to leave, consider this scene from warm-ups before the national title game in Houston between Michigan and Washington. Will Rogers, a four-year starter at Mississippi State, wore a Washington jersey and sweatpants as he threw a ball on the sideline surrounded by his future teammates.
Why was Rogers there? Because then-Washington coach Kalen DeBoer had picked Rogers to replace Michael Penix Jr. DeBoer, as of that Monday night, planned to be Washington’s coach in 2024. He had no idea Nick Saban would retire that Wednesday and he’d be Alabama’s coach that Friday, so he planned for the future.
Harbaugh didn’t. At least he didn’t plan for Michigan’s future.
When Harbaugh left Jan. 24 and Moore was elevated Jan. 26, the difference-making portal QBs were gone. Most QBs want to go through spring practice with their new team, so the hope of getting someone who might be able to start out of the portal in the spring window was slim. The options were Warren (the former walk-on) Orji (the speedster whose arm wasn’t a known commodity) or seventh-year former Utah and Indiana QB Jack Tuttle. Redshirt freshman Jayden Donegal and true freshman Jadyn Davis were deemed not ready.
Moore chose Warren as the starter coming out of preseason camp. Orji earned a change-of-pace role. He fooled Fresno State for a touchdown pass early in Michigan’s win last week, but Texas never bit. When Orji first entered Saturday on a third-and-3 play in the first quarter, Texas knew he was there to run. He got stuffed for no gain, and the Wolverines settled for a field goal. Texas then embarked on a 12-play, 76-yard drive that ended in the end zone and gave the Longhorns all the points they’d need for the day. Warren showed occasional flashes. He made a daring escape from pressure and a beautiful throw on a 31-yard Semaj Morgan touchdown catch with 1:54 remaining. But that was far too late to matter.
It will be Moore’s job to create an effective offense out of the parts he inherited. The roster is what it is because of the weirdness of the timing of Harbaugh’s exit. But going forward, Moore will get the praise if it improves or bear the blame if it doesn’t.
Maybe the Texas offense is just excellent and the Michigan defense is good enough to win the Wolverines the majority of their games. But when they play USC, Oregon and Ohio State, they’ll need to score points. The current QB situation does not inspire confidence they’ll score enough.