Sherrone Moore defends Davis Warren after humbling loss to Texas
Michigan quarterback Davis Warren’s numbers were a mixed bag Saturday in a 31-12 loss to Texas — 22-of-33 passing, 204 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions — but they didn’t tell the whole story either way, head coach Sherrone Moore said.
For one, much of his passing yardage came after the game had pretty much been decided. He missed one pass badly, but Moore said his two picks were on the receivers, not him. In addition, he made things happen when he escaped the pocket and threw on the run, including a 31-yard touchdown to Semaj Morgan after right tackle Evan Link was beaten by the rush.
As such, it seems we shouldn’t expect a quarterback change anytime soon. Alex Orji played sparingly and was only brought in to get stuffed on third and short or medium — he doesn’t seem to be an option.
“Really, [not] just reads … we’ve got to make plays,” Moore said. “Pass catchers have got to make plays. You have some third downs and you drop one, you miss one [running the wrong] route. I can remember specifically off my head, there’s two of them that we just dropped. That drops the percentage there.
“So, we’ve got to make plays for the quarterback, as well. We’ve got to keep the protection clean, and protection wasn’t a big issue all night, but we’ve got to do a great job executing. The whole offense. It can’t just be one person here and there. It’s got to be a whole collective effort.”
Fixing the turnovers is the big one, of course. Tight end Colston Loveland was responsible for two, including an unforced fumble that was the difference between a 10- or 14-point halftime deficit and what it became (21).
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“The turnovers are easy to fix,” Moore said. “The first pick was a tipped pass. The second one was a communication in the route concept … and then the fumble, he just didn’t tuck it away fast enough. Those are three things. If you don’t have those, then you’re in a different ball game. But they happened, and they did a good job capitalizing off them.”
One reporter asked if freshman Jadyn Davis might even be an option going forward. Moore quickly shot it down.
“No,” Moore said. “The two picks, like I said, it’s a whole team effort. Interceptions aren’t always just on the quarterback. It’s got to be a whole collective effort on things.
“He did a good job of putting the ball where it needed to be. The one throw he had down the seam was probably his worst throw, where the guy was open. But besides that, the two picks that happened …. because one was tipped in the receiver’s hands and the other one, we didn’t run the right route. In that case, he did a good job managing it. So, we’ve got to do a better job as pass catchers too.”
