Michigan quick-hitters: Sherrone Moore on quarterbacks, other position battles, NIL, Ohio State, exciting freshmen, more
Michigan Wolverines football head coach Sherrone Moore spoke to reporters for 45 minutes at Big Ten Media Days. Here are notes on the most interesting things he said.
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Notes from Sherrone Moore press conference
• Moore said his version of Jim Harbaugh climbing a tree or taking his shirt off in the recruiting process is “getting to know these kids.” He noted he and Harbaugh are different people and will have different styles. He stressed the importance of relationships.
• 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.
• 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.”
• 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.”
• 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: “Jeffrey Persi and Andrew Gentry, both guys who have played a lot of football.”
• Moore “feels great” about the depth at cornerback. He said that right now the guy looks like Jyaire Hill, “but we’ll see.” He also mentioned Albany transfer Aamir Hall and UNLV transfer Ricky Johnson.
• Moore called running backs coach Tony Alford “an unbelievable human being” and mentioned that he’s “very respected” as a coach.
• On Donovan Edwards clapping for his press conference earlier and the support from his players: “It means everything.”
• 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.”
• 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.”
• 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.”
• Moore said freshman wide receivers 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.
• 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.”
• There’s no honeymoon year. We’re ready to attack.”
• Moore on graduate quarterback Jack Tuttle: “He’s been great, he’s been accurate.”
• Arkansas State kicker transfer Dominic Zvada “has been awesome.” The “dude has a leg. He can really boot it.”
• Moore said he trusts O.C. Kirk Campbell “in and out.” “It’s less and less difficult to delegate things when you have people you trust around you.”
• 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.”
• 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.”
• 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.”
• Moore on strength coach Justin Tress: “Coach [Ben Herb[ert] 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.”
• Moore on Youngstown State WR transfer CJ Charleston: “He’s a quick little cat. He’s gonna be great.”
• Moore: “The defense will be fun to watch and will put our players in positions to be successful.”
• 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.”
• 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.”
• Moore on junior defensive tackles Kenneth Grant and Mason Graham: “Those guys have been working their tails off. They are not satisfied with anything. They’re hungry.”
• 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.”
• Sherrone Moore on senior defensive tackle Rayshaun Benny, who missed spring with an injury: “He’ll work out the kinks in the first week of training camp and then he’ll be ready to go.”
• 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.”
• 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.”
• Moore on potentially playing Ohio State two weeks in a row: “Love it. Let’s do it.”
• Moore wouldn’t talk numbers in terms of how many NIL dollars Michigan has compared to Ohio State, but said he likes where they’re at and they’re “continuing to build.”
• Moore said that senior EDGE TJ Guy is one standing out as a depth player at the position behind senior Josaiah Stewart and junior Derrick Moore. He compared Stewart and his strength to former Michigan outside linebacker Josh Uche.