Michigan coach Sherrone Moore couldn't have been more upbeat after returning from suspension, saying the vibes are high and his team is trending up.
When Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore strolled to the podium on Monday, Sept. 22, in Schembechler Hall – his first time addressing the media since serving his two-game program-imposed suspension – he did so with a smile on his face and a clear message to share.
He did not want to focus on what he did while away from the Wolverines for eight days this month. Instead, he wanted to discuss the team that rallied together and came away with a pair of wins in his absences, including a 30-27 victory over Nebraska in U-M's Big Ten opener on Saturday.
He also didn't want to comment on the most notable moment of that win, a first-half Hail Mary made possible by a Michigan failure to manage the clock properly – he grinned and simply said, "no comment, I'll keep that to myself" when asked about his reaction in live time – choosing instead to focus on the big picture.
From his vantage, he sees a Michigan (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten) not just ranked No. 18 in the coaches poll, but one that's trending in the right direction.
"It's gonna be fun to go on this adventure for the next quarter of the season," Moore said. "Treating it like we just ended the first quarter of the season. So four games, then you had a bye, four games, then you got another bye, four games and it's the postseason.
"So that was the first quarter, going into the second quarter and we're going to go attack it."
Among the most notable improvements in 2025? The offensive line. Moore, who coached the line before he was promoted to head coach, worked with the unit in practice every day leading up to Michigan's pummeling of CMU on Sept. 13. Players and coaches have stressed the message during that time was about "the how," rather than "the what."
Offensive line captain Gio El-Hadi was out at left guard against Nebraska – Moore had no update on a timetable for his return – and right guard Brady Norton was missing from the right side. And yet the Wolverines rushed for 286 yards against a Big Ten defense. It's a credit to Nathan Efobi and Jake Guarnera, who filled in for El-Hadi and Norton, respectively, though the star of the line was center Greg Crippen.
He got to the second level on a pair of outside zone runs vs. the 'Huskers − one sprung Justice Haynes for a 75-yard touchdown, the other cleared the way for a 53-yard touchdown for Jordan Marshall.
But what warmed Moore's heart the most was the team's 15-play, 77-yard drive that ran 8:46 off the clock in the fourth quarter andgave U-M a two-score lead with less than four minutes to play.
"It was like waking up on Christmas morning, seeing all the presents get opened up and then figuring out you got that last present at the end," Moore said. "That's drudgery for the other team. They just got to watch you do it. ... A lot of pride in the O-line there to do that. ... I loved every moment of it."
Moore had plenty of other kudos. Haynes, for example, whose 537 yards rushing lead the Big Ten, fueled by his FBS-high four runs of at least 50 yards. Or newly converted edge rusher Jaishawn Barham, who has been a force in his move from linebacker and leads the Wolverines with three sacks.
There's true freshman cornerback Jayden Sanders, who's drew high praise from Moore: "You don't notice him out there." – meaning he's not getting picked on by offenses.
And sophomore linebacker Cole Sullivan has 19 tackles (12 solo, three for loss), a pair of sacks, two interceptions and a fumble recovery.
"It's exciting because we do have a young team," Moore said. "You got a lot of guys that haven't played a lot of football, that that have played against really good competition in practice, and so it's fun."
Michigan could've fallen apart after its Week 2 loss to Oklahoma – which has risen to No. 10 in the nation – but instead the Wolverines regrouped for their best two weeks of 2025.
Now, U-M gets a chance for "opportunity week" – time to rest players whose bodies need a breather and give the players fighting for spots on the depth chart time to show why they deserve more playing time.
But more than anything, U-M gets its coach back and didn't lose any ground in his absence. Although the players said they were inspired by Moore, he didn't focus on his own absence. He cared about the team, its bond and its trajectory.
U-M folded in 2024 after a Week 2 loss splintered the locker room, going 1-4 early in its Big Ten run. This year, a Week 2 loss unified the team.
Moore sees that as a clear message, not just to the Wolverines, but to the Big Ten and the entire country.
"The statement was we're not going anywhere, that we're just we're going to keep getting better and better with a young team," Moore said. "Just watching the guys coming here this morning, the 6:45 workout this morning, the young boys, there was so much juice, so much excitement, so they're not satisfied and that's huge to see."
Tony Garcia is the Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football thriving behind youth: 'We're not going anywhere'
Category: General Sports
