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Jim Harbaugh speaks on Sherrone Moore helming Penn State win, support from Michigan community

Anthony Broomeby:Anthony Broome•11/14/23•

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Sherrone Moore
(Photo by Lon Horwedel / TheWolverine.com)

The Michigan Wolverines won a top-10 matchup on the road at Penn State without head coach Jim Harbaugh, serving the first of a three-game suspension handed down by the Big Ten in response to an alleged illegal sign-stealing operation. Offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Sherrone Moore stepped in to lead the way and coached the squad to a 24-15 victory.

Harbaugh discussed Moore and his team’s performance during the Inside Michigan Football radio show on Tuesday night, sharing his view on how they performed with him sidelined.

“The team, couldn’t be more proud of them,” Harbaugh said on Tuesday night’s show. “The leadership, coaches, players, so many leaders on the team just played their hearts out. They did what they had to do to win and blocked out the outside noise, blocked out the noise inside the stadium, and took care of business.

“Been very outspoken about what I think of our coaches, our players, our leaders and our captains. With Sherrone, the mental toughness, the connection with the team, the commitment to the program. He did what he had to do to get us to get that win. Couldn’t be more proud of him. Second game as a head coach. Get a top-10 win on the road. I think we all know his future is really bright. He will be one of the outstanding head coaches in the history of the game.”

Michigan leaned on its run game in Saturday’s game, rushing for 227 yards against the nation’s top run defense and attempting 31 straight runs to end the game. Junior quarterback J.J. McCarthy attempted only eight passes on the afternoon, but still made critical plays with his legs and leadership in the contest.

“[He’s a] winner,” Harbaugh said. “What he’s done is what he’s done a lot with numbing repetition. As a quarterback in Michigan, as a quarterback in high school, in Little League, I mean, he wins.

“A third down conversion really got us going early in the game, the quarterback sweep. He had another scramble later on the fourth and one where he got us the first down. Took care of the football, and made sure we didn’t lose the game. Also the receivers. They blocked like crazy. Just doing what you have to do to win.”

A hearing is set for Friday that could determine if Harbaugh is able to return from his suspension to coach the final two games of the regular season against Maryland and Ohio State. Meanwhile, the Michigan leadership and community has wrapped its arms around its head coach. That has served as further motivation for the group on the field.

“It’s so very much appreciated. Our team has been galvanized going back now for a while. But to see Santa Ono,  the Board of Regents, Warde Manuel and then the Michigan alumni, Michigan fan base, that of support is very much appreciated. It’s not lost one bit on our players, and that support motivates them. it’s another layer of motivation for our players, our coaches, our staff to have that one-track mindset to get up each day and take care of business and go to sleep and come back the next day and take care of more business.

“This is a big one this week. We’re in November, we’re chasing the championship and a chance for a thousand wins. What we really worked on was for it to come in this eleventh game in this eleventh opportunity.”

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