Sherrone Moore singles out two Michigan players who have made meteoric rises in fall camp

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Fall camp is about halfway over with eyes on the Aug. 31 season opener against Fresno State. And every year, you can count on a player coming on as if from seemingly out of nowhere, moving from obscurity to viability. With months of development between spring ball and fall camp, it’s a prime time to hone the body and skills in order to see the field more in the coming year. For Michigan football, Sherrone Moore sees two players who are stepping up — and they’re both veterans who have bided their time. WolverinesWire asked Moore on Tuesday which players have made the biggest jumps from the end of last year, and the first that he mentioned is someone who got a lot of praise in the spring but hasn’t yet had much of an opportunity to see the field. “I think the guy that really has been where he was in the spring and taken the next step in fall camp is TJ Guy,” Moore said. “He’s a guy that’s really taking that next step of — you got Josaiah, you got Derrick, and you got him, and you got other guys that are chomping at the bit, but he’s really taking that step to be an elite player and be that guy that — there’s not that much of a drop-off, like last year. So feel really good about TJ, and he’s changed his body. He’s done a lot of great things.” Guy is a former three-star edge rusher who didn’t come to Ann Arbor with many accolades or much fanfare. Still, he got to see the field a bit in his first season, even notching a sack in the penultimate regular season game at Maryland, taking down a threatening Taulia Tagovailoa. The other player that Moore mentions is one who was a little more expected to make the jump, however. “Another guy that just jumps out is a guy that has started games for us — Gio El-Hadi,” Moore said. “I mean, he’s changed his body and I think being behind Keegan and Zinter the past couple years, he’s really done a really good job of learning. We always say watch, emulate, surpass, and that’s what he’s trying to do. “So those guys have all — the whole team’s been outstanding. But those two, I could think specifically — and ironically, they’re really, really close. I think they were roommates, so good to see.” El-Hadi has had time on task for a few years now and has, as Moore notes, started games when Trevor Keegan was injured. Moving from left to right guard this offseason, the former four-star from Macomb County has a lot of potential, but has had to wait until his senior season before he was able to earn that starting role. Michigan needs both to step up — it needs an edge rushing rotation beyond Derrick Moore and Josaiah Stewart and bruising road graders on the offensive line. With Guy and El-Hadi potentially being the two most improved players, especially given the offseason accolades, that bodes well for the maize and blue.