ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan football had a few players who didn’t see game time once again with Rod Moore and Makari Paige both out in the Week 2 win over UNLV.
While there was some sparing play a week ago by Paige, he wasn’t dressed in uniform for the contest on Saturday. Moore was, and he warmed up, but he did not see any playing time.
After the game, Michigan acting head coach in the first half, Jay Harbaugh, who is also their position coach at safety, said the two should be ready to go next week, but it’s still a wait-and-see scenario.
“Yeah, Rod and Makari, they’re coming along,” Harbaugh said. “They’ve been practicing and I think we should have a good shot at them being available for this next game.
“Them being out is a blessing for some of the other guys just to be able to get in there and get some live action, maybe even before they’re fully ready. So you just get better so much faster when you do get in the games and you’re able to coach up those live reps. So really, I’ve been pretty pleased with them but still a ton of stuff to clean up.”
The Wolverines exited the game with minimal injuries, but a late hit out of bounds on backup quarterback Jack Tuttle cut his day short. Second-half acting head coach Mike Hart said Tuttle could have returned, but the maize and blue held him out for precautionary reasons.
“Oh, he’s good. He hit out of bounds late over there,” Hart said. “He was throwing he wanted to go back in and we weren’t putting it back in. No, it’s just not worth it. Right? I mean, I think that at the end of the day, the health of the kid is best. And I think if the kid gets knocked down over there, you don’t know what’s happening. So let it heal up in but as far as medically, he’s good to go. And he wanted to go back in the game.”
WolverinesWire can confirm, according to one person who spoke on the condition of anonymity, that Tuttle had a brief shoulder issue, but he’s back to full health.
There was one other player who participated in only one play, safety Zeke Berry. Berry saw his first extended action last week, but only one snap on Saturday: the opening kickoff.
Zeke Berry appears to be shaken up on the kickoff.
— Isaiah Hole (@isaiahhole) September 9, 2023
After the opening play of the game, his teammates were calling for the team trainers as Berry limped back toward the bench area. He did not return.
Up next, Michigan football will take on Bowling Green in Week 3, which will be a 7:30 p.m. EDT kickoff at The Big House. That game will be broadcast on Big Ten Network.