The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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92 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2024 FOOTBALL PREVIEW BY CHRIS BALAS O ver the decades, Michigan has been a feeder program for the pros, called everything from "Offensive Line U" in the 1980s and 1990s to "Quar- terback U" from the Jim Harbaugh era through Tom Brady's dominance. One group of linemen would leave, an- other would come in and nobody missed a beat — or, in the quarterback's case, he'd wait his turn a few years and then make the most of his shot. When Harbaugh took the head coach- ing job at Michigan, San Francisco 49ers writer Tim Kawakami tried to prepare us that it wasn't going to be the offense that caught everyone's attention on his watch, but the defense — and was he ever right. Harbaugh went through a few coordi- nators, but all had a high level of success at some points in their stays. He finally hit the jackpot with the Baltimore Ravens connection, first Mike Macdonald and then Jesse Minter. Throughout his nine years and four de- fensive coordinators, Harbaugh helped turn Michigan into something it had never been before — Defensive End U. The Wolverines churned out NFL pass rushers like Buckeyes made excuses for losing to Michigan — including Rashan Gary, Kwity Paye, Mike Danna, Josh Uche, Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo — to the point of surplus. Guys patiently waited for their shot, almost always mak- ing the most of it when they got it. Next up: junior Derrick Moore, who's already shown glimpses of the domi- nant player he could become. One of our memories of his freshman year was a game at Iowa in which he played only a handful of snaps. Moore was happy his team won but frustrated in the postgame, itching for more playing time. The next year, he was on the field for one of the biggest plays of the season in stopping Alabama's Jalen Milroe on fourth-and-3 in overtime to secure a Rose Bowl win, also notching a sack on the biggest stage. The waiting was indeed the hardest part … but it was all worth it. "It was a little frustrating, but I feel like if I wasn't able to play behind guys like Mike Morris, Braiden McGregor, I prob- ably wouldn't be able to get a learning experience from the older guys," Moore admitted this spring. "If it wasn't for having them around, I probably never would have gotten my confidence going into this year. "During the offseason, those guys helped me, training with me to help reach my skill level. Now, I'm more comfortable in the scheme, in the defense, even being comfortable around my teammates. "That was probably the biggest thing for me — playing comfortable, being comfortable. If you are, you're able to play fast and physical." EdgE Of glOry Derrick Moore Is Ready For His Next Step Derrick Moore Is Ready For His Next Step — Becoming An Elite Pass Rusher — Becoming An Elite Pass Rusher