Sherrone Moore – Page 3 – Syndication Server

Sherrone Moore breaks down ‘huge game’ for Michigan football vs. rival MSU

Gotta win this one. #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The past several years, the Michigan football vs. MSU rivalry has taken center stage, especially because one or the other program is in a good position to contend for something in the postseason. However, this year, both rivals enter Saturday’s Week 9 contest with 4-3 records, and this game is mostly for pride.

The Wolverines have won two straight after having lost two straight. Both teams have new head coaches but for Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore, this is his seventh iteration against the rival Spartans, as he came aboard in 2018 as the tight ends coach for the maize and blue and having worked his way up to head coach. In his time in Ann Arbor, Moore has seen Michigan go 4-2 against MSU.

“I think it’s huge. It’s a huge game,” Moore said on Monday. “We’re playing Michigan State, and it’s a rivalry. It’s an in-state rivalry, and everything’s on the line. We’ve got to keep Paul Bunyan here, and there’s a lot of pride in that trophy. There’s a lot of pride in this rivalry, and we’re going to do everything we can to win.”

When it comes to turnovers, MSU is in a similar boat to that of Michigan. The Wolverines are ranked No. 117 in turnover margin, and the Spartans aren’t that far ahead, ranked No. 111. Both teams have lost 15 turnovers through seven games, but MSU has managed to get one more takeaway in that span.

However, quarterback Aidan Chiles has been far superior in being able to push the ball downfield, despite his turnover issues. He’s averaging 209.7 yards per game, though he’s accounted for nine interceptions despite having thrown six touchdowns. As a QB who can extend drives with his legs, Moore says it’s of paramount importance to not lose sight of Chiles’ playmaking ability, even if he does have some turnover struggles.

“You’ve got to do a great job with your rush lanes, and that’s something we’re going to stress and talk about,” Moore said. “You’ve got to do that with that guy because once he gets outside the pocket, he can be dynamic. He can do some things to hurt you. So you’ve got to keep him in the pocket and be really disciplined with your lanes, whether it’s a four-man rush or a five-man rush, where you’re at in the pocket, keeping him compressed. Because if he gets out, he can make things happen with his feet, and he can make things happen with his arms.

“So we’ve got to do things there and mix up different looks for him. So it’s not easy, so he can just look at his read and throw to his read. So you’ve got to do a good job of keeping him in his pocket.”

Michigan and MSU will kick off at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday evening at The Big House with the game being broadcast on Big Ten Network.

Sherrone Moore points to offensive turnovers as primary culprit in Michigan’ struggles

This season could look a lot different if #Michigan didn’t turn the ball over an average of 2.14 times per game.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — For the first time since 2020, Michigan football has lost three games in a season. And for the first time since 2014, the Wolverines were unable to score more than seven points this past week in a 21-7 loss to Illinois.

With the schedule being daunting from here on in, with three ranked teams coming up in the last five games, and a Michigan State rivalry game forthcoming this week, head coach Sherrone Moore is looking for answers to keep the team focused, and not let the season spiral to the point where the Wolverines don’t even make a bowl game.

“Obviously not happy with the record. Not happy with the losses,” Moore said. “I really just want our kids to be in a good place mentally and spiritually. So that’s where we are. We’re 4-3, but our job now is to get better to be 5-3 this week.”

So, why has the season gone off the rails? After the loss at Illinois, Moore praised the defense, which did hold the Illini passing attack to the lowest output they’ve had since 2021. Though Moore says there’s no finger-pointing inside the building, really, the bulk of the struggles have come on the offensive side of the ball.

And there, it’s mostly turnovers.

Last season, Michigan was No. 1 in turnover margin, having only lost eight possessions all season. However, this year, Michigan is No. 117 out of 134 teams, having turned the ball over 15 times in seven games.

As Moore notes, a team cannot win turning the ball over an average of 2.14 times per game.

“Just execution on offense,” Moore said. “Turning the ball over, big thing. There’s enough good, but not enough good. So we can’t turn the football over. That’s really the end of the discussion. If you don’t turn the football over, you’re going to win the game. It puts you in a position to be in a good place. But we did that, so we have to take care of the football at all costs.”

Moore says it’s somewhat inexplicable that Michigan is turning the ball over the way it has been given what he’s seen during the week.

The axiom is that teams generally play as they practice but in practice, Moore hasn’t seen the same issues that he’s seen on Saturdays, where interceptions and fumbles have happened continuously. So now, he’s looking for answers as to how to stem the turnovers from happening on the offensive side of the ball.

“Yeah, I feel like we’re protecting it way better in practice, and it’s just not translated to the game,” Moore said. “So we have to figure out as coaches, as a team, how to translate all that stuff to a game. There’s things that you’re doing in practice that have to replicate like they have before in the game. And for us as coaches, whether that’s simplifying, doing things less, so we can be better at those things, especially on offense. And that’s what we’ll work toward doing that.”

Sherrone Moore updates multiple Michigan football player injuries before MSU game

Could #Michigan have some key players back for the Spartans? #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan football continues to have some injury concerns as the season progresses.

Cornerback Will Johnson has missed considerable stretches throughout the season and the Wolverines have now gone two straight games without starting left tackle Myles Hinton. Center Dominick Giudice was injured going into Week 6 but he was ultimately supplanted by Greg Crippen, who continues to play even now that Giudice appears to be healthy.

In terms of Johnson and Hinton, head coach Sherrone Moore was noncommittal about their chances to play against rival Michigan State on Saturday, but notes that Hinton looks likely to return to the lineup.

“I think we’ll see again this weekend,” Moore said. “Myles looks like he’s trending in a really good direction.”

Johnson wasn’t the only one to leave the game early against Illinois on Saturday. Tight end Marlin Klein, the nominal backup to Colston Loveland who tends to be on the field at the same time, left the game in the first half on a cart. However, it does appear that he isn’t suffering from what looks to be a long-term injury as Moore notes that there’s a chance that Klein returns to the lineup this week.

“Yeah, working through something. We’ll see what the doctor says, if he practices this week,” Moore said. “Think he’ll get back into it to tomorrow — probably tomorrow, Wednesday. But think he’ll be in a good place. But we’ll see.”

Michigan is without cornerback Ja’Den McBurrows for the season and safety Rod Moore is still working through a long-term injury after tearing his ACL in spring ball. Defensive tackle Rayshaun Benny — who has had his best year thus far — missed this past week and freshman running back Jordan Marshall has been out since early in the season.

Should Michigan football turn to Jadyn Davis at quarterback?

He doesn’t appear to be an option for #Michigan, but maybe he should be? #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan football has worked its way through three quarterbacks thus far through seven games this season, and none have proven to be a high-caliber option at this point. But the Wolverines do have a signal caller waiting in the wings in true freshman Jadyn Davis.

At the time of his commitment to Michigan, Davis was rated a five-star, and the second-best QB in the 2024 class. However, as the recruiting cycle progressed, he dropped in the rankings, but still ranked relatively high as the No. 112 player in the country, according to the 247Sports Composite.

Even as Michigan searches for answers, it’s unlikely that Davis will become the starter at any point this season. But Moore says he likes the true freshman’s trajectory, noting what he has to do in order to see the field sooner than later.

“Just continue to learn to learn the system, learn the playbook, which I think he has done a good job of,” Moore said. “And continue to improve his strength and his things in his toolbox. So he’s definitely continued to progress”

Davis arrived in Ann Arbor in December and got an opportunity to get some practices in as the Wolverines prepared to face Alabama and Washington in the College Football Playoff and national championship game. So, where has Moore seen him progress the most?

“Just probably progression and knowledge of — not only the system, but just football in general,” Moore said. “When you’re in high school, you do limited things. You’re limited in what you do. And he’s definitely taking steps to put himself in a good position.”

In 2023, as a high school senior at Charlotte (N.C.) Providence Day, Davis went 204-for-288 (70.8%) for 3,370 yards, 43 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He also rushed for three touchdowns. His numbers were similar in his junior campaign, when he went 221-for-305 (72.5%) for 3,425 yards, 43 touchdowns, and six interceptions.

With five regular season games left, Davis could play in four of the upcoming matchups and still retain his redshirt as he has yet to make an appearance this season. However, he did travel to Washington along with Alex Orji, Jack Tuttle, and Davis Warren.

Why Sherrone Moore is confident in Jack Tuttle’s ability to lead Michigan football’s offense

Can’t wait to see what he does now that he’s the starter. #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — It’s usually never a good sign if you’re halfway through a college football season and are on your third starting quarterback. However, for first-year Michigan football head coach Sherrone Moore, he’s hoping third time is a charm.

If seventh-year quarterback Jack Tuttle, who served as J.J. McCarthy’s backup last year, had stayed healthy this offseason, the strong likelihood is that he would have been the starter from the beginning. However, due to his injuries, he didn’t get an opportunity to see the field until Week 6 at Washington.

And even with that, Moore says it wasn’t a ‘crash course’ of sorts for Tuttle, it was more just getting his feet wet in an actual game now that he’s back healthy.

“Even though he didn’t practice, he’s been in meetings,” Moore said. “He’s been out there, so he’s seen it, he’s done it. He just hasn’t been able to practice and do all the things at full speed. And, obviously, throwing, the timing, and all that. So from the perspective of knowing and understanding the system, no, but getting the most, getting the things done, and timing with the receivers and the tight ends and timing the handoffs and all those things, that’s what he had to really progress at. And he did a really good job.”

The switch from Alex Orji to Tuttle wasn’t one that was made lightly, and not making change for the sake of change.

Players noted that Tuttle gave the offense a spark, and part of that was his calm demeanor, having been in college football for so long and understanding what it takes to lead an offense. Though Orji has immense, yet undeveloped, talent, Tuttle entered the Washington game as someone who’s been there, done that, and it showed in terms of his poise and ability to engineer drives.

“He’s been who he’s been,” Moore said. “Obviously, he hadn’t practiced for a whole length of time, and got to practice and played in the game. They call him Uncle Jack, a seventh-year guy that’s done it, seen it, been in the big game, been in all the games. So did a really good job, and he just continues to progress and do those things right now.”

Of course, he did have two turnovers — a fumble and an interception. They were costly and they directly correlated to the 10 points that Michigan lost by in Week 6.

Moore diagnosed the turnovers and says they aren’t big systemic issues with Tuttle. It’s more about honing in on some details both at his position and with the pass catchers. And he’s confident they’ll have those things fixed as the team progresses.

“I looked at everything,” Moore said. “The biggest thing in the picks was either route distribution and timing of the throw, protection was one — that really was that. And so when you get a mistimed route and a mistimed throw, that’s what happens.

“So we got to really focus on again, the little things around detail, the precision of the throw, the precision of the route, making sure those things are all timed up, and then putting guys in a position to make sure they’re successful. So moving guys around in different places, which I think we did a really good job with this past week. And excited to see them as we practice this week, though.”

Michigan football head coach Sherrone Moore previews what Illinois does well

There’s a lot to prepare for this week. #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — It’s not often that Michigan football has a ranked-on-ranked matchup against Illinois, but what was seen as a gimme in the preseason is now a tough game in Champaign, with the Illini being ranked No. 21 against the No. 22 Wolverines.

Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore needs a win to keep his team afloat, but it won’t be easy. Though the Illini had a disappointing season last year, they’re looking more like the 2022 squad that took the Wolverines to the brink, in some ways.

On Monday, Moore broke down what he’s seen from Illinois and he says that it is the embodiment of its head coach, led by a savvy, emerging quarterback.

“Coach Bielema just does an outstanding job building a program,” Moore said. “Physicality, toughness, detailed. And what they do offensively, Luke Altmeyer, their quarterback, he’s gotten so much better. He’s just progressed from last year to this year. You could see him being in the system for another year, and they’ve got skill guys all over the place, with the receivers and the two backs are really good.”

Last year, Altmeyer was a turnover machine, having thrown 13 touchdowns to 10 interceptions. However, this year, his completion percentage is up three points and he’s thrown 14 touchdowns to just one interception.

But that’s only part of the battle.

Though not as stout as the 2022 squad which had Ryan Walters leading the charge as defensive coordinator, this is a plus unit defensively, giving up just under 350 yards per game.

Moore sees a group that’s smart, physical, and can do a lot to confuse you offensively as he’s seen them change schematically from week to week.

“Defensively — tough, physical front,” Moore said. “They’ve mixed up the coverages in these past games. Played a little bit more quarters last game, and that could have been of who they were playing, but they’re mainly a one-high team that will go to two-high stuff. But physical defense, and we gotta be ready for that challenge.”

Michigan will start Jack Tuttle for the first time and is coming out of the bye week. The game will take place on Saturday at Memorial Stadium with a 3:30 p.m. EDT kickoff.

Sherrone Moore updates Michigan football injuries, says there could be an OL shakeup

Getting healthier and potentially better. #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan football went from being one of the more healthy teams in college football to suddenly being without multiple key players.

Of course, Rod Moore has to this point been out for the season as he rehabs his spring ACL tear, but we’ve seen several players miss time in the past few weeks. Though Josaiah Stewart and Will Johnson had missed the Minnesota game in Week 5, both returned at Washington in Week 6. But Myles Hinton, Derrick Moore, and Dominick Giudice were all out that game.

As far as that trio is concerned, head coach Sherrone Moore feels like they could be back for this week’s road trip to Illinois.

“It looks like they’re trending all in the right direction,” Moore said. So feel good about them. I think they’ll all practice today. I feel like we’re in a good place with them all.”

Hinton, he surmises, would reprise his role as the starting left tackle, but Giudice may have a battle on his hands with Greg Crippen performing admirably in Seattle. Likewise, Moore says that with Jeff Persi’s performance, they may also take a look at what they can do at right tackle with Evan Link having been inconsistent to this point.

“If Myles is back then Myles will be the starter at left tackle, and then we’ll see at right tackle,” Moore said. “I thought Crip did a really good job. I think he did a really good job controlling the line of scrimmage with the calls — especially in that environment — being pretty calm. But he’s been a guy that’s that’s traveled to different places, seen it, so it looks like he’ll cement himself there and continue to work there, but we’ll see what happens with Dom.

“And Persi gave some great experience being an older guy, so it gives us a challenge at the other spot to see what he can do.”

As far as other injuries are concerned, Moore says that Rod Moore is progressing but he can’t give a timeline on his return as of yet.

“Still progressing. Can’t really speak on the exact timeline, on the date, but he’s still progressing in a good way,” Moore said. “We’ll see.”

As far as cornerback Ja’Den McBurrows, who had been working at nickel alongside Zeke Berry, he says his injury does appear to be of a long-term variety.

“It looks like it,” Moore said. “We’ll keep working with the doctors.”

Sherrone Moore assesses Michigan football defense, Wink Martindale after six games

The defense has gotta get a lot better in the second half of the season. #GoBlue

Last year, after 15 games, Michigan football had the top-rated defense in all of college football. After 14 games in 2022, it was ranked No. 6. After 14 games in 2021, it was ranked No. 20.

Through six games thus far in 2024, it’s ranked No. 48.

There’s one element of the Wolverine defense that’s stellar — stopping the run. Michigan is actually fifth nationally in run defense, but the pass defense is nearly its opposite. Despite having Will Johnson in the defensive backfield, Michigan is near the bottom of all of college football, at No. 115 in pass defense out of 134 teams. Yes, the offenses that the Wolverines have faced have been a bit more high-flying, but considering that this team is faring nine yards per game worse than the 2020 pass defense, that tells you much of the story.

On Monday’s ‘Inside Michigan Football’ radio show, head coach Sherrone Moore gave credit where it was due on his defense, but also shared his concern for the pass defense.

“I think they’ve done a good job of initially stopping the run on teams,” Moore said. “People have to do different things to get the ball moving on us, but the pass game, pass defense has to improve. And that’s a collective group thing. That’s not just Will, that’s not just the DBs, but it’s the pass rush. It’s all the things tied together to make sure that we’re aligned in the pass game. So we definitely have to improve there.”

Moore attempted to keep some continuity with the scheme, hiring Wink Martindale — whose system Michigan implemented via two of his proteges — to run the system. While Moore says it’s important to be critical of his assistant coaches, he doesn’t necessarily feel like Martindale is blitzing too much through six games.

“You look back at the stats, and I go through last year, and I go through this year, and looked at the comparisons of games, and the blitz percentages, quote-unquote, are about the same,” Moore said. “They’re not far off, so I think that it’s a misnomer, because people are coming off the edge or blitzing, but really, sometimes it looks like a blitz, and it’s four guys rushing, and for us, I think it’s just, we have to have a balance of what we’re gonna do, and use it as a weapon, but not as the foundation.”

That said, he is still evaluating the jobs his assistants have done and plans to adjust what they’re doing accordingly now that it’s the bye week.

“I think you just have to be real on what’s good and what’s not, and you can’t sugarcoat it because it’s not about feelings or emotions,” Moore said. “It’s about our team getting better, and that’s the No. 1 thing you have to do. And had some great conversations with some of my mentors and people, and got a chance to talk to Coach Harbaugh the other day just about these situations and what you can do. And the only thing you can do is get better. He always said, ‘Never get bitter, get better. And make sure that the coaches are coaching their players like they wanna be coached,’ and that’s what we’re gonna go do this week.”

Michigan is on bye this week but takes on Illinois in Week 8 in Champaign.

Sherrone Moore shares what he wants to see from WR corps during bye week

This group has to be better! #GoBlue

Much of the negative attention Michigan football has gotten through the first six weeks of the season has centered around the quarterback position. But perhaps that position would be a little further ahead if the Wolverines had receivers who were stepping up to make the quarterbacks look good.

Thus far, through six games, the Wolverines have the 38th-best rushing offense but the No. 130 passing offense — completely one-sided. And on the ‘Inside Michigan Football’ radio show, head coach Sherrone Moore said that the bye week this week will be spent in large part working on becoming a bit more balanced.

“I wanna see us be complementary run and pass. I want the plays to look the same,” Moore said. “I wanna be fundamentally sound. I want the O-line to play fast and faster and keep playing faster and strain, but then the route detail and everything we do on offense, I want that to be pristine and a lot better than it has been.”

After starting Davis Warren the first three weeks and Alex Orji the past three weeks, Moore looks as if he’ll be starting Jack Tuttle, at least against Illinois in two weeks. And though Tuttle, now healthy, looked to be a competent passer, it’s not like he’s had a lot of help out there.

Through six games, the leading pass catcher is tight end Colston Loveland, who has 29 catches for 261 yards in five game appearances. The next closest nominal wide receiver? Semaj Morgan, who has also appeared in five games but has 13 catches for 78 yards.

Against Washington, we saw Tyler Morris get a big catch, but also Amorion Walker, who had a crucial third-down catch for 22 yards.

Moore says that there’s a lot he’s looking for when it comes to the wide receiver position and shares what he’d like to see coming out of the bye week.

“I need to see a lot of deep route detail,” Moore said. “The urgency’s been there. You can see it in the run game and what they do when they don’t have the ball, but we really gotta get better in the route detail, and putting guys in the position to be successful. Amorion Walker is a guy that had a big catch on third down, and it was probably one of the better third-down conversions we’ve had all year. It was third-and-long, so for him to get in that game and have that confidence was huge, and he’s the guy that really needs to step up.”

Michigan will have this week and next to prepare for a ranked Illinois team, which it will face in Week 8 in the second road game of the season.

Sherrone Moore plans to stick with Jack Tuttle as Michigan football starting QB moving forward

Third QB’s a charm? #GoBlue

Michigan football made its third quarterback change of the season, with Alex Orji’s third start seeing him getting supplanted by seventh-year QB Jack Tuttle.

Tuttle was likely Michigan’s plan A for the season, but he battled injuries all spring and fall. Now that he’s healthy, head coach Sherrone Moore looks like he’ll be riding with the man who was the primary backup to J.J. McCarthy last season.

Moore said on the Monday night ‘Inside Michigan Football’ radio program that, at the moment, it appears that Tuttle will start for the Wolverines in two weeks when Michigan plays at Illinois.

“Right now it looks like Jack,” Moore said. “We’ll do everything we can to keep the competition going, but I think right now he gives us the best chance to win, and we’ll continue to process that as an offense, as a team, but that looks like the direction we’re heading.”

Down 14-0 with 9:38 left in the second quarter, Sherrone Moore took the baton from Orji and handed it to Tuttle. Tuttle went 10-for-18 for 98 yards with a touchdown, an interception, and a fumble recovered by the Huskies.

It was an up-and-down appearance as Tuttle’s insertion definitely gave Michigan a spark, but his two turnovers ended up being costly, as they led to the 10 Washington points that ultimately decided the game. Regardless, Moore says he mostly likes what he saw from his elder statesman and has had to quell his concerns after he committed the two turnovers that helped lead to the Michigan loss.

“I thought offensively, definitely, Jack Tuttle came in there and gave us a huge spark, and that was a positive,” Moore said. “The first three drives, touchdown, field goal, touchdown, and gave us a lot of momentum on offense, and he’s beating himself up still. I had to call him last night and tell him, ‘Hey, we got your back, you’re good.’

“And he only practiced for a week and a half, really. And to get him back was a huge boost for us, so we’ll continue to get better and build stuff around him to make him better and make our team better and let our other guys be playmakers.”

So, what happens if Tuttle struggles from here? Does Moore then turn the page to yet another quarterback? He isn’t fully sure at the moment, but he does have full confidence in Tuttle’s ability to go out and lead the team from here.

“We’ll see, I feel pretty good about Jack, and we just gotta keep molding him, keep him healthy, and keep him going.”

Michigan is on a bye week this week which gives it some time to figure out the pass game before it heads to Champaign to face Illinois in Week 8.