Michigan football: Sherrone Moore assesses program's 2023 recruiting efforts so far

Michigan football is hard at work preparing for the 2022 season. In the here and now, that is the focus for the coaching staff. The Wolverines are coming off a Big Ten title and trip to the College Football Playoff and a lot of work goes into maintaining that.

There is a lot of on-field momentum and optimism for the Wolverines of the present. Michigan’s effort on the recruiting trail has been a bit more of a slog. The 2023 class ranks 25th in the country, per the On3 Consensus. They also sit fourth in the Big Ten behind Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan State.

Co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach – one of Michigan’s ace recruiters – has helped bring in some talent to his group in 2023. The Wolverines currently have a pair of four-star OL commits in interior lineman Amir Herring and offensive tackle Evan Link.

However, his responsibilities have changed a bit in his new role.

“I try to do as much as I can and as much as I did before,” Moore said. “Obviously, with the responsibilities I have now, there’s a little less than that [is] kind of divvied up to other people. So, I’m still doing my part, but I’m on the other side of it, trying to make sure that, from an offensive standpoint, we are where we need to be.”

Head coach Jim Harbaugh’s NFL flirtation and mixed NIL messaging have played a part, but things have picked up. Five of the program’s top six commits in 2023 have come since the month of July began. There is optimism that the momentum keeps rolling as the program pushes into the fall.

“We’ve been good,” Moore said. It’s been just a steady pace and excited to see where it goes, especially when the dead period is done, and we can get rolling again.”

Weiss weighs in on Michigan recruiting

Co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Matt Weiss also addressed the topic of recruiting this week. Michigan has yet to land a quarterback in the cycle after missing out on 2023 five-star-plus prospect Dante Moore. However, Weiss feels his prowess is coming along.

“Recruiting is really important because we all understand that the quality of your players is the biggest input to your program,” he said on Sunday. “So that’s something that we all have a responsibility to do, and it’s something that I take pride in. It’s also something that I’m learning a lot about. It’s not something that I did. For the last 15 years, I was coaching football and trying to get better at that — and that’s what I invested in. If I was in college football, I’d have 15 years of recruiting experience, and I’d be a lot better at that, just like any job. I think I’m figuring it out and learning fast. 

“With the quarterbacks, yes, that’s what I’m focused on in recruiting. We’re fortunate we are not in a position where – because of Cade, J.J., other guys who are really talented – we’re not looking to take a transfer like some other programs or anything like that. We’re in a good place. I’m happy with where things are.”

Michigan’s current quarterback recruiting efforts revolve around four-star 2024 passer Jaydn Davis, who the On3 Consensus rates as the No. 2 quarterback and No. 13 overall player in the country. On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine has him as a 79.4% chance of landing in Ann Arbor.