Sherrone Moore striving to build his own legacy with Wolverines

INDIANAPOLIS — The youngest coach in the Big Ten is taking over the winningest College Football program in the country, which is also coming off an undefeated National Championship season.

Although Jim Harbaugh didn’t leave the cupboard bare for Sherrone Moore, he’ll have somewhat of a rebuilding project with Michigan. After all, the Wolverines set a school record with 13 players drafted off last year’s team, including their starting quarterback, leading rusher and three starters on the offensive line.

On top of that, Moore had to hire new Coordinators, and replaced two assistants in his first 90 days on the job. Despite navigating through all of those obstacles, Moore doesn’t expect the Wolverines to miss a beat as they approach fall camp. His motto is simple, and the goals he set forth are all accomplishable for Team 145.

“Win the big games, beat our rivals, beat Ohio State, win the Big Ten, go to the College Football Playoffs and win it,” Moore said. “For us that’s something we strive to do, tough, smart, dependable, relentless, enthusiastic and together is how I would describe our team.”

The Kansas native is striving for perfection in the new, 18-team Big Ten, and expects competition to be at an all-time high. However, Moore has yet to decide on who’s going to be J.J. McCarthy’s successor. Davis Warren and Alex Orgji held their own in the spring game, and Jack Tuttle is also in the conversation. Moore appreciates what all three quarterbacks bring to the offense, and anticipates the competition will go deep into fall camp.

“I think the number one thing we’re looking for out of any guy that’s our starting quarterback is that they’re a playmaker, they’ll make the right decisions, take care of the football, want to win and will do anything it takes to win,” he said. “The ideal timeline is when we feel like we got the guy that’s going to help us win, there’s not really a date, or time of when we’ll have a good feel as a staff.”

The schedule includes some blockbuster matchups, including tilts against Texas, USC, Oregon, Ohio State and a rematch of the National Game against Washington. Moore understands that the Wolverines are the headliner, and they were picked No. 3 in the Preseason Big Ten Media Poll that was released last week. He’ll have to keep the intensity up in his players everyday if they plan on making another run at a National Title.

“Our goal is to win that, we’re not going to stray away from the goal of trying to win it all every year, and when you’re at Michigan that should be your goal every single year,” the 38-year old said. “For our team it’ll take shape in training camp, then game one, then game two and we’ll see where we’re at.”

Moore has several studs to lean on this fall, including running back Donovan Edwards. He left a lasting impression against the Huskies when he rushed for 104 yards and two touchdowns. Michigan will need to find a receiver that can stretch the field on a defense, but tight end Colston Loveland is arguably the best in the nation at his position.

There is an All-Big Ten caliber defender at every level of the defense. Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant form the best defensive tackle tandem in the country. Not to mention cornerback Will Johnson hauled in seven interceptions over the past two seasons, including four in 2023.

That’s more than enough experience, leadership and production for Moore to pick up where he left off. Moore led Michigan to victories over Bowling Green, Maryland, Penn State and Ohio State during Harbaugh’s suspension, so the momentum is there to make an immediate splash.

“We’re not in the mentality of sitting back and waiting to see what goes on, we’re going to attack our process, work our tails off to make sure we’re doing the best things possible the way we know to be successful.”