LIVE UPDATES: Sherrone Moore, Michigan players at 2024 Big Ten Media Days
INDIANAPOLIS — Head coach Sherrone Moore, graduate safety Makari Paige, senior fullback / tight end Max Bredeson and senior running back Donovan Edwards are representing Michigan Wolverines football at Big Ten Media Days Thursday. All four will meet with reporters to preview the 2024 season.
Here’s Michigan’s schedule for the day:
• Moore addresses the media with opening statement and Q&A — 12:45 p.m. ET
• Michigan players at individual podiums — 1:15-1:45 p.m. ET
• Moore at individual podium — 3:30-4:30 p.m. ET
Throughout the day, TheWolverine.com will provide updates regarding Michigan and other Big Ten news. Follow along below, with updates listed in reverse chronological order (most recent at the top).
Live updates: Michigan football at Big Ten Media Days
• 4:13 p.m. — Moore on potentially playing Ohio State two weeks in a row: “Love it. Let’s do it.”
• 4:07 p.m. — Moore on Michigan flying under the radar: “For us, you like staying there. You like staying in that little perch, and get ready. When it comes game time Aug. 31, you get ready to strike.”
• 4:04 p.m. — Moore on helmet communication with players on field: “It went well. It was funny because you turn on the radio frequency and you can yell at the guys.”
• 4:03 p.m. — Sherrone Moore on Rayshaun Benny: “He’ll work out the kinks in the first week of training camp and then he’ll be ready to go.”
• 4:02 p.m. — Moore on the four pillars of Michigan’s defense: “The players were super adamant about keeping those. [Coordinator] Wink [Martindale] was so on board with it.”
• 4 p.m. — Moore on Kenneth Grant and Mason Graham: “Those guys have been working their tails off. They are not satisfied with anything. They’re hungry.”
• 3:59 p.m. — Moore on analysts being able to coach: “We figured that would come, and we got a plan. Guys that can coach, will coach. We’ve distributed it out and people will see that.”
• 3:58 p.m. — Moore on the Ohio State rivalry: “We think about them 24/7, 365. That’s what we’re going to continue to do, that’s how we’re going to continue to attack it. We’re just going to focus on our process.”
• 3:57 p.m. — Moore: “The defense will be fun to watch and will put our players in positions to be successful.”
• 3:56 p.m. — Moore on Youngstown State WR transfer CJ Charleston: “He’s a quick little cat. He’s gonna be great.”
• 3:55 p.m. — Moore on strength coach Justin Tress: “Coach Herb actually came to a summer practice and said, ‘nothing has changed.’ For him to say that and watch the guys workout, I think it speaks volumes to what J-Tress and that staff has done.”
• 3:54 p.m. — Moore on revenue sharing: “We’re all about it. We’re all about supporting our players in every single way. Our administration is aligned and ready to do that.”
• 3:53 p.m. — Moore on sophomore wideout Semaj Morgan: “Semaj is probably one of the best practice players on the team. He practices so hard he loses probably about five or six pounds every single practice.”
• 3:52 p.m. — Moore said he doesn’t believe the national championship changed the recruiting philosophy. “We’re Michigan, we should be able to recruit the best of the best. That’s my attitude, and that’s never going to change.”
• 3:51 p.m. — Moore said he trusts O.C. Kick Campbell “in and out.” “It’s less and less difficult to delegate things when you have people you trust around you.”
• 3:50 p.m. — Arkansas State kicker transfer Dominic Zvada “has been awesome.” Dude “has a leg. He can really boot it.”
• 3:48 p.m. — Moore on Jack Tuttle: “He’s been great, he’s been accurate.”
• 3:47 p.m. — Moore said freshmen I’Marion Stewart and Channing Goodwin are “really electric.” Freshman running back Jordan Marshall has a little bit of Blake Corum mentality and skill set to him. The defensive player he’s most excited from the freshman class about is EDGE Dominic Nichols.
• 3:46 p.m. — Moore: “There’s no honeymoon year. We’re ready to attack.”
• 3:45 p.m. — Moore said there is more music at practice than under Jim Harbaugh. “Coach didn’t play music at practice. I’m sure the Chargers are finding that out now.”
• 3:45 p.m. — Moore said he doesn’t think it’s hard to be motivated after winning a national championship. “When you’re at Michigan, you’re always hungry to win. We’re always hunting to be great, we’re always hunting to win.”
• 3:44 p.m. — Moore on the biggest difference being head coach: “A lot more pictures you have to take. That’s the biggest thing. I didn’t realize it was this many for me.”
• 3:42 p.m. — Moore on the running backs: “The guy that’s not talked about enough is Kalel Mullings. He’s gonna be a force. He’s unbelievable. He looks as good as he has.”
• 3:40 p.m. — Moore called running backs coach Tony Alford “an unbelievable human being” and mentioned that he’s “very respected” as a coach.
•3:39 p.m. — Moore “feels great” about the depth at cornerback. He said that right now the guy looks like Jyaire Hill.
• 3:38 p.m. — Moore on offensive line battles. At center: Greg Crippen and Raheem Anderson have a great battle going on right now. Super excited to see who wins it. Both of those guys have been waiting in the wings.” At right tackle: “Jeff Persi and Andrew Gentry, both guys who have played a lot of football.”
• 3:37 p.m. — On Donovan Edwards clapping for his press conference earlier and the support from his players: “It means everything.”
• 3:36 p.m. — Moore said when it comes to the quarterback the No. 1 thing is “who’s going to take care of the football?” And then “who’s going to make a play?” And then “who’s going to lean on the team mentality.”
• 3:35 p.m. — Moore said he talked to Jim Harbaugh three days ago. He’ll talk to him “as often as possible.” “He told me his phone’s there and he’s just waiting to be called upon.”
• 3:34 p.m. — Moore said Donovan Edwards is the same energetic person he was in high school, but he’s grown in his spirituality and his ability to be a leader.
• 3:31 p.m. — Moore said his version of Jim Harbaugh climbing a tree or taking his shirt off is “getting to know these kids.”
• 2:45 p.m. — Video of each Michigan player’s session with the media:
• 1:41 p.m. — Edwards said “it’s fine” that Ohio State is favored to win the Big Ten and noted that Michigan has been in the same spot before — as a non-favorite with the chance to win the league.
• 1:38 p.m. — Edwards said he feels responsibility to represent the Michigan program while being a cover boy for the EA Sports College Football 25 video game.
• 1:32 p.m. — Edwards was asked about the possibility of playing Ohio State two weeks in a row, and said he’d be excited about it and said the Wolverines will have to play “whoever is the schedule.”
• 1 p.m. — Here’s Moore’s entire press conference:
• 12:59 p.m. — Moore on taking over as head coach: “The No. 1 thing I did is bring in the right staff and people around our players. I’ve gotta be a better delegator, and I’ve tried to do that as fast as I can.” He added that he will lean on his mentors, and pointed out that he’s been at Michigan for the last six years.
• 12:57 p.m. — Moore says the ideal timeline for finding the starting quarterback is “is when we feel like we’ve got the guy that’s going to help us win. There’s not a date or a time.” He praised his staff, specifically coordinator Kirk Campbell, and his confidence that Campbell and Co. will “make a great decision.”
• 12:56 p.m. — Moore: “Every year for us, our goal is to win that. We’re not going to stray away from the goal of trying to win it all every year. At Michigan, that should be the goal every year.”
• 12:55 p.m. — Moore on his quarterbacks: “All those guys have all the attributes you need to be a successful starting quarterback at Michigan and other universities.” He said all of them have different traits. He wants the starter to be a “playmaker,” “make the right decisions,” and that they “want to win.”
• Moore: “I’m going to take a lot of pride in making sure that line is ready to go come Game 1.”
• 12:54 p.m. — Moore: “Our players have done an outstanding job of keeping the culture, keeping the togetherness and the brotherhood.”
• 12:53 p.m. — Moore on being “hunted” by the rest of the conference and college football: “For us, it’s about getting better day, and we’re always hunting. … We’re going to attack our process, we’re going to work our tails off.”
• 12:52 p.m. — Moore says his team has done a good job of “taking the necessary steps to be elite, do all the things we set out to do — win the big games, beat our rivals, beat Ohio State, win the Big Ten, make the College Football Playoff and win it.”
• 12:51 p.m. — Moore: “What an unbelievable job by Team 144, but Team 145 is ready to take the reins.”
• 12:40 p.m. — Moore is up next, after Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti.
• 12:03 p.m. — Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck invokes Michigan in his press conference: “I think Michigan proved this last year — ‘team, team, team.’ If you build the best team, you got a chance to win. It’s one thing to have the transaction, but you have to transform them.”
• 11:33 a.m. — Other Big Ten coaches have begun their press conferences on the stage, beginning with Oregon’s Dan Lanning, Minnesota’s P.J. Fleck, Maryland’s Michael Locksley, Washington’s Jedd Fisch and Indiana’s Curt Cignetti, before Moore is up at 12:45.
• 10:27 a.m. — Michigan has arrived at media days.
More on Michigan football at Big Ten Media Days
Moore is entering his first season as Michigan’s head coach, after taking over for Jim Harbaugh. The Wolverines are the three-time defending Big Ten champions and coming off finishing 15-0 with a national title, so they’re on top of the perch in the conference. Others, including new members USC, Oregon, UCLA and Washington, are looking to chase the Wolverines and knock them off this season.
Michigan replaces many of its starters, including 13 players who were drafted in the NFL this past April, and seven of its assistant coaches. However, Moore made sure to have continuity with his systems on both sides of the ball, and U-M retained most of its roster of returning players.
