Michigan LB Michael Barrett talks NFL Draft preparation, says Sherrone Moore is 'going to give it everything he has'

Michigan Wolverines football linebacker Michael Barrett is preparing for the NFL Draft, looking forward to impressing at the combine in Indianapolis this week. He spent six years playing college football, becoming the Maize and Blue’s all-time leader with 61 wins, and is ready for the next step.

“It’s a little hectic, man, but it’s a blessing,” Barrett said of the pre-draft process. “It’s a blessing to be here, just a blessing to be a part of this, and it just feels great just to know that all of my hard work that I’ve worked for over the years since I was a kid, my dream is finally about to come true. It’s a surreal moment, just kind of being in this moment right now, so it’s great.”

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The Wolverines set the record with 18 prospects invited to the combine, and Barrett said he’s seen his fellow Michigan players quite a bit this week.

“It just feels like we’re back in Schembechler Hall with how many guys we have here,” Barrett said with a smile. “Crossing each other in the hallways or walking with each other, it’s definitely a comfort having all my brothers that I’ve been playing with over the years be here in this moment.

“It just shows you the kind of guys we had on the team, the kind of team we had. It just shows you that natty champs — we were national champions for a reason. I just feel like it’s a full display of that.”

A high school quarterback, the 6-0, 239-pounder came to Michigan without an established position. He played ‘viper,’ a hybrid linebacker/defensive back spot, before moving to inside linebacker during his fourth season in 2021. That’s where he played his final three seasons and wound up becoming a third-team All-Big Ten honoree in 2023, helping lead the Wolverines to a 15-0 season and national championship.

“Just showed how tough I am, how resilient I am,” Barrett said of what he learned about himself throughout his Michigan career. “Mental toughness, I feel like I showed a lot to myself throughout my career at Michigan, just showed how versatile I am, how I can pretty much overcome anything; with God in my corner, I feel like I can get through anything that’s thrown at me.”

It wasn’t just six years of ups and downs for Barrett, but the Michigan program itself overcame a lot over the years. Most notably, the Maize and Blue finished 2-4 in 2020, before winning 40 of their last 43 games and being crowned national champs.

“I feel like it was a whole culture change,” Barrett said of post-2020. “Once that season hit, the guys that were there, the guys that stayed, we kind of just decided that, that wasn’t the legacy that we wanted to leave, that wasn’t the tradition or the way that Michigan is.

“We came together after that season, man, and we just ended up grinding. We grinded, we knew what kind of team we had and what kind of guys we had in that building, and we just had to go out there and continue to display that. Over these last couple years, it’s just been a showing of that.”

Barrett, who started all 15 games and recorded 65 tackles last season, believes his versatility will help an NFL team next season and beyond.

“I can bring versatility to a defense,” Barrett explained. “I can bring my instincts — I feel like the way that I see and read offenses, I can bring value to a defense. I can bring value to a special teams unit; I played special teams a lot, and special teams is a third of the game. I can make an impact early on special teams.

“I can impact the defense, bring that extra level of swagger, for real. That’s what I would say. Just my versatility, the way I can play inside, I can blitz, I can cover. There aren’t too many inside ‘backers can do all of that.”

Sherrone Moore is ‘going to give it everything he has’

Roughly 48 hours after Jim Harbaugh left Michigan for the Los Angeles Chargers, Sherrone Moore was promoted from offensive coordinator and line coach to head man. Players expressed their support for him before and after he got the job, and Barrett is one who’s in his corner.

“You can expect he’s going to give it everything he has, man — more than anybody in the country, I think,” Barrett said of the new Michigan coach. “Coach Moore, I think a lot of people really underestimate him because they don’t really know him as much as a coach. But man, he’s going to be … that’s probably the best hire they could’ve made, honestly.

“When I heard that, I was in there jumping around, I was in there talking with him. Coach Moore is a guy who’s going to get everybody fired up, regardless of offense, defense, regardless of the position. When it’s time to lock in, he’s going to get them locked in. He knows the game plan; he’s going to get the guys ready to execute the game plan. I’m excited to see what he’s going to do.”

Barrett believes the continuity provided with the hire, given that Moore was a Michigan assistant coach for six seasons, will be beneficial.

“Just keeping the culture,” Barrett said. “Over the years I was there, it was a culture that was built. And being able to lock into that and not really get deterred by everything that’s going on, just stay on that one-track mind that we always talked about and just being able to focus on the job at hand and go out there and kick ass every week, week to week.

“Just keeping that in the front of our mind, not letting the outside noise get in and continue to grind. They know the kind of work ethic it takes, what kind of work it takes on a day-to-day basis and just continuing to do that.”