The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1517673
62 THE WOLVERINE ❱ APRIL 2024 S herrone Moore is cool, calm and calculated as a coach, evidenced by his demeanor while calling the offensive plays and acting as head coach in four contests last season. But the new full-time Michigan head man is also ag- gressive, which he showed while decid- ing to go for three key fourth downs — all of which were converted — in a 30-24 win over Ohio State last November. Moore is less than two months into his tenure, so it's hard to project what and how he'll do. But there are clues along the way as to how he'll lead the operation, from his time as an assis- tant coach for six seasons, stints as in- terim head coach and the weeks he's been in charge as the successor to Jim Harbaugh. Moore won't just be aggressive in his in-game decision-making; he'll also do so with the way he runs the program, and that's an important piece in today's sport. He showed that as offensive line coach with his use of the transfer portal the last three seasons. Michigan brought in 12 scholarship transfers the last two offseasons, including four offensive linemen. All of them started games, including three that became full-time starters in centers Olusegun Oluwatimi (2022) and Drake Nugent (2023) and left tackle LaDarius Henderson (2023). Now that the entire roster is under his purview, expect Michigan to spot recruit the portal in a similar way. It's not a winning formula to be known for bringing in dozens of transfers on an annual basis, but filling needs through the portal is key. "We're going to be extremely aggres- sive with it," Moore said of recruiting in general, from high school to transfers to his current players. "… They've got to be a great fit, but we're going to attack." Bringing in three transfer offensive linemen almost seemed like overkill at one point last offseason, especially con- sidering that guards Trevor Keegan and Zak Zinter decided to return. But like Harbaugh, Moore is all about competi- tion. There are no guarantees from the guys on the roster that they'll stay, so it's only smart to add as much talent as possible, as long as the imports fit the culture. "He always talks about, 'If you're sca re d o f co m p e t i t i o n , t h e n yo u shouldn't be here,'" former Michigan offensive lineman Karsen Barnhart said last spring. WHAT KIND OF QUARTERBACK COULD BE AVAILABLE? That quote from Barnhart — who, by the way, embraced the competition — pretty much says it all, and it's a phi- losophy that could be (delicately) used with the quarterback situation when the transfer portal opens April 15. There haven't exactly been many marquee signal-callers to transfer after spring practices in recent years, but the Michi- gan job may be appealing enough for one to pursue. "The quarterback that would go to Michigan has not revealed himself yet," On3 national host and columnist Andy Staples said. "The starting job at Michigan is good enough where some- one would leave another starting job for it. [They can] figure out who might be interested in that job and put the feelers out. That goes both ways. "Michigan is one of the most attrac- tive places to go, because you look at the level of talent that's around you and the kind of defense that's going to play on the other side of the ball. So, you know you're going to step into a situa- tion that's good." A month and a half from now, we should have a good read on how Michi- gan feels about its current batch of quarterbacks, who combine for just five total starts in college, and what options are available. COMPLICATED ERA ENDS It's not often that a head coach's rela- tively short stint has so many memo- rable moments, but that's the case with Juwan Howard's five years with Michi- gan basketball. He won early, including with the 2021 outright Big Ten title and Elite Eight appearance, following that up with a Sweet 16 berth the next year. In short order, though, the culture broke, the on-court product plummeted and it was time for a change, which ath- letics director Warde Manuel made by firing Howard, a former U-M All-Amer- ican from 1991-94, on March 15. Howard and his teammates made their mark at Michigan in the NCAA Tourna- ment, going to two national title games and an Elite Eight in three seasons. He also put his imprint on March as a coach, winning five games in the Big Dance, the most in the Big Ten during that span. Howard's five are ahead of Michigan State's three, and two from each of In- diana, Wisconsin, Purdue and Illinois. The lows were low and dark, but the highs were exciting and triumphant. Success versus failure for a season or an era or really anything in sports is hard to define. Howard had success but also failed. But one thing's for sure, he loves Michigan, did his best and remains a "Michigan man." Hopefully, he will go on to do great things and be welcomed back to Crisler Center in the future. ❏ SAYFIE BLITZ ❱ CLAYTON SAYFIE Roster Management Will Be Key Expect Sherrone Moore to be aggressive with his targeted usage of the transfer portal to supplement areas of need on the U-M roster. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL Staff writer Clayton Sayfie has covered Michigan athletics for The Wolverine since 2019. Contact him at Clayton.Sayfie @on3.com and follow him on X (Twitter) @CSayf23.