Michigan HC Sherrone Moore speaks on philosophy, more at NFL Combine: 'We're just going to work'

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Michigan Wolverines head coach Sherrone Moore was on hand at Lucas Oil Stadium on Friday to hop on the NFL Network broadcast of the combine, dishing on his philosophy and some of the top storylines from both Team 144 and the future.

Michigan has an event record of 18 players on hand in Indianapolis, which affirms just how talented the team was during the 15-0 run to the College Football Playoff National Championship.

Last year, former head coach Jim Harbaugh called his shot and said the Wolverines would have 20 players selected. It will not be that high, but Moore said it became apparent how good they might be when so many returned.

“Last year, as we got into January, we had I think five or six guys leave,” Moore said. “And then all of a sudden, Coach Harbaugh mentioned it, he’s like, we’re gonna have 20 guys drafted. We look at it, you look down the list and look at all the guys … that can potentially get drafted, and we knew we’d have a whole bunch of guys here.”

Harbaugh’s Michigan was built on toughness and love of the game. Moore wants to keep that going and for U-M’s pipeline to the NFL to continue.

“I think first, it starts with how Coach [Harbaugh] started the program and how he’s built it, and I just want to continue to keep that consistency and keep that drive with the toughness, what they do every single day on and off the field, how they drive,” Moore said. “And then, they love football. All those guys love football. They’re constantly studying football, they’re constantly wanting to play football and get better at it. I think that’s really the point, the piece that has really helped us get ahead.”

Harbaugh, now with the Chargers, built a program that finally climbed its way to the top of the mountain. Moore watched it firsthand at Michigan and thinks he has the goods to replicate that success in the NFL after nine years out of the league.

“First of all, an impeccable, great human being, great man, high character, high values. But you’re gonna have a tough, physical, fast, relentless football team that will play through the echo of the whistle and give you everything they got every game and nothing less. They will play with high standards, they will play with discipline and they do everything that you guys want. And I look forward to watching Coach Harbaugh all the staff kick butt at the next level.”

There might be some continuity with Moore leading Michigan into the future, but the past is no longer important. He knows the importance of starting the work again in the dawn of a new season and a new era of the program.

“Just like we do every year, we’re just going to work,” Moore said. “We’re not going to say much. We’re just going to let the results and everything [speak for themselves] on the field. And just keep going to work. We’re a blue-collar type program we’re not going to open our mouths and talk. We’re just gonna go to work and then show what we can do when it comes time in September.”

Moore weighs in on Michigan’s players, offensive line

The NFL combine is also a realization of a dream for Team 144’s outgoing crop of talent, headlined by quarterback J.J. McCarthy. Some have criticized McCarthy for a lack of production at the college level, but Moore wants teams to know they get a winner if they select him.

“I mean, you put on the film of J.J. McCarthy and you just see a winner,” Moore said. “You see a guy that if asked to hand the ball off, he will. If asked to throw the ball and be accurate and throw it on time and scramble around, make plays, he can. He can make every type of throw – off-balance throw, anything you want, J.J. can do. He can run the football if you want to. He’s extremely smart, extremely intelligent, he’s taken snaps on the center, he’s called a play from a wristband, he’s looked at the sidelines.

“He’s done everything you want, and he has the ‘it’ factor that you want in the quarterback. The dude loves football. So he’s gonna find a way to get better, and that’s the thing he’s gonna do. He’s the ultimate team guy. I remember as a freshman, him coming in the huddle and Andrew Stueber – who was a senior o-lineman – told me, he’s like, ‘Man, I would run through a wall for that guy.’ He’s just a special type of kid.”

Running back Blake Corum was the heart and soul of the Michigan offense and will not be easy to replicate moving forward. Moore also discussed what he thinks he will bring to the NFL.

“He’s elite in every way,” Moore said. “First off, as a football player, the film speaks for itself. Contact, balance, strength, breakaway speed, short-yardage back, pass protection. All the things you want – make a big play, take over a game. But off the field, he’s a tremendous leader, a tremendous ambassador for the community, person. He’s somebody that if your daughter came home with him, you’re like, Okay, we’re good. I have two daughters, and I always say that if they came home with a Blake Corum-type of person, I’d be super happy. He’s an outstanding individual and obviously, one of the captains and a Michigan legend.”