Michigan HC Sherrone Moore speaks on Champions Circle support, new faces adjusting, QB criteria, more
ANN ARBOR – Michigan Wolverines head coach Sherrone Moore joined TheWolverine.com live from the Champions Circle Golf Classic on Tuesday morning with the goal of expanding NIL efforts and raising money to retain and attract the top talent.
The collective expects this to be a massive day for efforts on the NIL front with several big donors and former star players – including Charles Woodson and Brandon Graham – on hand for the event. Auctioned items include signed memorabilia from former head coach Jim Harbaugh and others.
In other words, it’s a big-time event. And Moore is grateful for the support from Champions Circle and on the NIL front.
“I think the college football landscape has just changed so much that you need to have the resources to support your student-athletes financially and from other avenues that we haven’t ever had to do before,” Moore told The Wolverine. “They’ve just done such an unbelievable job of raising the funds to help our student-athletes and get the things that they deserve.
“So they’ve been important to us. They’ve been a great backbone for our program, helping us keep those guys and continue to build the future of the program.”
Moore and his first Michigan team as head coach are preparing for the start of fall camp on July 31 in the leadup to the Aug. 31 opener against Fresno State. There are a ton of new faces in the building, especially on Moore’s staff, but a tone has been set and not much is expected to change from a mentality standpoint.
“Everybody from the coaches and the new players, not necessarily getting comfortable, but they’re getting adjusted to what the culture is,” Moore said. “They’re getting adjusted to how we do things. So I think for us, anytime you start to adjust to things and you can make those adjustments, it’s huge for you for the program, huge for the players and the coaches.”
Moore may be a new to his role as head coach, but they are not many changes for him to make at Michigan as long as he continues to serve as an advocate for his players.
“For me, it’s really been about the players, the players, the players,” Moore said. “The players and the team. I haven’t asked like what stamp I’m going to put on it. It’s not about me. It’s about the kids. So. What stamp do they put on it? It’s really what it’s going to be all about. Not about what I do.”
Many of the offseason storylines this year revolve around what Michigan lost and how they replace it, but they feel as if they have an abundance of player leaders on the roster that have taken on the challenge and embraced it.
“These guys have been so aligned attacking everything,” Moore said. “It seemed like a seamless transition because the leaders have done such a really good job of taking that baton and really just leading the team and keeping everybody aligned. So it’s awesome to see it’s awesome to watch and I’m just super excited to start camp.”
The last several months have been a whirlwind for Moore as he takes on a bigger role with Michigan, and he has had some time this summer to hang out with his family. But he does not feel the need to “escape” from his team, and says he looks forward to coming to work with them every day.
“I’ve had some time to just hang out,” Moore said. “We’ve got a pool [at home] and two little girls and my wife and we just had some time to hang out. I got to see my mom and dad and family, which was great. But every day I still urge to see these guys. I just watched Donovan and work out and walk out here. And they’re like my kids. I have two kids. I got a four-year-old and two-year-old. I have 138 players here. And to me every day, it’s a blessing that I just get to put my feet on the ground and be the head coach here.
“I don’t take any day for granted. I just make sure whether it’s at home or in the facility, it’s a great day for me.”
The alignment around Moore as Michigan’s head coach has helped serve as a boost into the new era of the program. He hopes its the start of a long and fruitful time in the big chair.
“[The support] means everything,” Moore said. “I can’t thank everybody enough for the support and I’m just ready to go. I’m ready to hit the ground running, continue to work, and make sure we make everybody proud. “Like I tell everybody. I plan on being the head coach here for a long time, and I want to win a lot of games.
“I want to win a lot of football games, but I want to win a lot of championships. And there’s going to be some adversity at some point, but so I just ask the fans and the people around to support our players because nobody wants to win more than they do.
“But our job is to win and we want to continue to do that at a high level.”
We could not let Moore get off the set without asking a question about the quarterback situation. Junior Alex Orji, graduate Jack Tuttle and senior Davis Warren. He wouldn’t reveal who his guy will be, but did lay out the criteria for who wins the job.
“He will take care of the football,” Moore said. “He will be a team player. He’ll be a playmaker, but he’ll put winning first.”
