On Derrick Moore and his impact, status for Saturday at Illinois
Michigan junior defensive end Derrick Moore missed a game at Washington with an injury, and the Wolverines missed him in a 27-17 loss to the Huskies. Though he hasn’t put up big numbers this year (10 tackles, 1.5 for loss, .5 sacks, 3 quarterback hurries), he’s made a huge impact this year, defensive line coach Lou Esposito said Wednesday.
The starting defensive line was expected to be a strength of this team, and it has been. Moore has been a huge part of that, and it’s important U-M gets him back this week at Illinois. Head coach Sherrone Moore said Monday he felt good about it, and Esposito is hopeful.
“He did some stuff this week — he did some stuff yesterday, so it’s day to day with him,” he said. “He looked good bouncing around yesterday. Like anything else, everybody’s body is a little bit different. If he progresses, we’ll see game day how it goes.”
He and Josaiah Stewart provide one of the top edge rushing combos in the country when healthy. While Stewart is far ahead in sacks (5), many of those don’t happen without Moore on the field, Esposito insisted. It was evident in the first game, a win over Fresno State and the first sack of the year in which Moore beat his man so badly it force the quarterback into a waiting Stewart.
“You go back and look at every single sack we have when he’s on the field, he contributes to it,” Esposito said of Moore. “Every single one. A lot of the guys’ sacks are because of him … because he’s doing such a good job with a power rush or a hesitation, or beating a guy around the edge so the quarterback flushes.
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“If you’re a football fan and you know football and you watch that tape, he is just as important as any one of those guys that had a sack. [Michigan defensive coordinator] Wink [Martindale] talks about it all the time … the dam is going to break at some point. He’s going to have one of the games where he’s got three or four sacks in it. But he’s important to our success, and when he is on the field with Josaiah or TJ [Guy], that’s a very formidable duo there. You add Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant inside and Rayshaun Benny and those guys playing, he’s really good.”
Esposito couldn’t stress Moore’s impact enough, both in the run and pass games. Having him back healthy Saturday with Stewart on the other side could be a huge shot in the arm.
“He helps us a ton and makes us go,” he said. “If you watch the tape, you really see it. He’s done a great job. Like everything … sometimes guys are selfish and they want to run around blocks. so they want to do their own thing. He’s not that man. He goes right rough huge tackle, he condsenses the pocket.
“He does a great job. He’s a great team player. That’s what makes him special.”
