The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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66 THE WOLVERINE ❱ NOVEMBER 2024 M ost Michigan football fans — we'll call them t h e " ty p i ca l " va r i e ty — live in the moment, able to en- joy their team and what's in front of them. These folks were able to soak in the bliss and euphoria of last year's generational team from week to week without worrying about "stolen" signs, next year's roster, or anything other than when their national championship gear would arrive after the confetti fell in Houston. Let's just say … we envy them. Then there are those of us who always have to keep an eye on the future (it's part of the job, though there are thousands just like us who share the sickness … er, passion). And while we enjoyed every second of the special 2023 run, we couldn't help but wonder — would the pro- gram be able to sustain success af- ter losing over a dozen players to the pros, including special talents like quarterback J.J. McCarthy, running back Blake Corum and nickel Mike Sainristil? We're already seeing a few cracks in the foundation in 2024. Despite having four possible first-round draft picks in corner Will Johnson, defensive tackles Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant, and tight end Colston Loveland, the Wol- verines are 4-2 and still facing some ex- tremely tough games. And next year when those guys leave? Then it appears really dicey. But planning ahead comes with the head coach's job, and it's one of the rea- sons Sherrone Moore brought in Sean Magee as his general manager. It's been his task to work behind the scenes in this era of free agency to ensure Moore and Co. have everything they need to compete going forward … first and fore- most, the talent. What we've heard is what Moore confirmed for us during a weekly press conference in mid-October — Magee appears to be on top of it. We've always held the U.S. Naval Academy grad in high regard and liked the hire. The fu- ture is almost literally in his hands, and if he and Moore get the help they need from the administration, the program should be able to reload quickly. "He's done a great job," Moore said. "This is a different era of football, and you've got to be forward thinking in what you're doing. We're compiling names and data, not only of college but high school players, and trying to build it from the high school ranks to make sure we get a core foundation of that. "I think we're doing a good job with this [2025] recruiting class, and we'll continue to bring in the pieces that we need to help immediately … to replace and do things and sustain the success that we need to get. "Sean's done a really good job manag- ing the numbers and the roster." It changes next year with a max of 105 allowed on rosters including walk-ons, making it even more challenging. Any spreadsheet they create, though, starts with the players currently on the roster they want to keep. Moore in- sisted there has already been com- munication there, too. "We've got to make sure that our guys are here. That's the No. 1 group we've got to recruit," he said. "We've got to make sure they're happy mentally, physically, and spiritually, make sure the guys here are in a good place." Financially, too, of course. We've been given all types of reasoning why Michigan wasn't better pre- pared, ranging from "We're not go- ing to pay players to come here" to "The NCAA was sniffing around, so we couldn't take any chances." The fact is, they could have had an NIL plan in place that led the country given the resources if they'd been out in front of it — now, they're still playing catch-up. The coaches tried to convince boosters on fundraising trips last year they needed help now to avoid becoming "Blockbuster Video" (on top today, but not set up well for tomorrow). Unfortunately, losing is sometimes the best way to get people to finally re- spond. After seeing the team's quar- terback woes this year, for example, Barstool Sports' multimillionaire U-M alum Dave Portnoy vowed on social me- dia to give Michigan $3 million each year to secure a quarterback. "I'm not talking about that right now," Moore said with a laugh when asked. He will be, though. And he'll have some tough decisions to make when it comes to allocating money via upcom- ing revenue sharing, etc. As of now, though, it appears they have a plan, and that they're going to be ag- gressive with it. We've heard it before — "Michigan is making strides in NIL!" — but now that it's clear the future is upon them, they really have no choice. It's adapt or die, starting immediately. ❏ Head coach Sherrone Moore said the process of planning for next year's roster begins with the players currently on the team. High school recruiting will continue to be core, but in this NIL era Michigan will keep adding talent through the transfer portal for immediate impact. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL Chris Balas has been with The Wolverine since 1997. Contact him at cbalas@ thewolverine.com and follow him on X (Twitter) @Balas _ Wolverine. INSIDE MICHIGAN ❱ CHRIS BALAS Next Year's Roster Starts Now