Sherrone Moore 'excited' for Michigan's challenging schedule: 'They still gotta play us'

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan Wolverines football head coach Sherrone Moore said his team is having a “phenomenal” fall camp. The team starts with a matchup against Fresno State Aug. 31, and will endure a challenging schedule in the head coach’s first year on the job. The Wolverines face two College Football Playoff teams from last season — Texas (Sept. 7) and Washington (Oct. 5) — a 12-win team in Oregon (Nov. 2) and 11-win squad in Ohio State (Nov. 30), along with traditional powerhouse USC (Sept. 21) and others.

Moore received a question about the schedule at his introductory press conference in January and gave a one-word answer: “Excited.” He feels the same way now that the season is drawing near.

The 38-year-old who was an assistant coach for the Wolverines the last six seasons was asked Tuesday if Michigan has to adjust its preparation for the enhanced competition.

“No,” Moore said. “The way we practice is to make sure that we’re ready for games, regardless of who we’re playing. They still gotta play us.

“Our guys are excited about the schedule, competitive schedule. When you’re in the Big Ten, there’s not really an easy schedule. So everybody is going to have to deal with it. Everybody is going to have to deal with a competitive schedule, and that’s what we want.”

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The College Football Playoff has expanded to 12 teams, so theoretically Michigan or another program could lose one, two or even three games and still make the field. That doesn’t change the Wolverines’ approach, though, either.

“We’re never thinking about that,” Moore said of the possibility of losing and still getting in. “We’re gonna prepare to try to win every game. That’s always the goal for us.

“In fall camp, you have to build the callous, you have to get better, you have to push each other. And then you just have to be smart throughout the season when you prepare, how much hitting you’re doing and just be smart in those regards.

“But it doesn’t really change anything with our mindset, because you gotta go win. If you don’t win, you’re probably not gonna get in, so that’s our mindset.”

Moore was asked about internal goals and expectations for the Michigan program, and he turned to one of his mantras as the head coach: “process over prize.”

“We always talk about the process. We try not to talk about the prize as much,” Moore explained. “Just getting better today will lead to more success tomorrow. So that’s all we’re concerned with.

“We know what the goals are, we know what the aspirations are. When you’re at Michigan, you always want to win it all — and that should be our goal every year. But we’re just going to attack the process — that’s it.”

A reporter followed up wondering about the challenges of chasing another national championship despite losing so much talent, including 13 players that were taken in the 2024 NFL Draft. Moore said he likes the talent level on the roster.

“We got a lot of talent here,” the Michigan coach responded. “We got maybe four or five guys that are gonna be drafted in the first round. So we have enough talent, and we’re gonna develop them.”

Sherrone Moore confident in his team

Moore has confidence in the way his team is operating on and off the field. Michigan players have been disciplined in both areas.

“No. 1, the way they walk in the building, the way they carry themselves, the way they take care of the new locker room, which is beautiful,” Moore stated. “We’ve got an undefeated record and keep track of everything. Keeping track of how the locker room is, and it’s been awesome. Keeping track of the building and everything we do. That’s been great.

“And just watching our guys in practice. When you have the vision of the head coach and you stand behind and you see everything going on — you watch the quarterback, you watch the O-line, you watch the D-line, you watch the defense’s eyes, you hear the communication that the defense does and you hear the pads. You’re like, ‘OK, we’re gonna be good.’ You can feel it, you can sense it.

“And there’s just a [mentality that] we don’t care what other people think. We’re just ready to go. The guys are working their tails off, and I’m excited.”