Everything Michigan HC Sherrone Moore said on Inside Michigan Football pre-New Mexico

On his excitement that the season has arrived

Super excited, it’s like a couple of days before Christmas, and you’re just waiting to open all the presents. Our players have done an outstanding job of preparing themselves mentally, physically, our staff has done a great job. It’s a fun time to be a Michigan Wolverine, and so we’re excited to see what this team looks like on Saturday.

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On whether he made any tweaks to his preparations for his second camp in charge

Yeah, I think really I leaned on a lot of the staff and a lot of knowledge from different aspects, and obviously bringing in a new coordinator with Chip Lindsey, doing things a little bit different, but things we’ve meshed together, I think that’s helped. Using a lot of science-based things to prepare the players, not just from a physical standpoint, but from a mental standpoint, to make sure that they’re in the right place and they’re peaking at the right time. So we hired a director of sports science last year, and I used him even more this year in print and practice, and last year didn’t use him as much, and thought I knew exactly how I wanted to run the practices and exactly what I wanted to do, and figured out that wasn’t exactly what I wanted. And halfway through the year, changed and tweaked things, and then as we got in the spring, had a very clear vision of what I wanted it to look like, and as we got into training camp, had a very clear vision of what I wanted it to look like. And the physicality, the toughness, all that’s still imprinted in it and how we operated, but definitely was just try to be as smart as we can, especially with the numbers being down in training camp.

On things he picked up in sports science that helped him

Yeah, I think really just how we simulate practices, or how we simulate a game in practice, not just having call-it periods and whatever the number of plays you have in a practice, because we could have a lot of plays in practice, but really being very specific by practice what one guy should get, and having a max out of he should have this number of reps versus we get to practice 12, it might be a little bit higher than it’s going to be practice four and five, and I think that really helped the guy’s legs, and I think that really helped him mentally, and you can see the intensity, you know, the catapult system that we have is really awesome. It gets to gauge their intensity, and to see the intensity be extremely high and peaking at the times you want it to be was really successful, and thought we did a good job of that.

On who is coming up witht he playlists at practice

Micah Gelb, one of our strength coaches, who’s a former player, who’s now a strength coach, so I have some requests sometimes for Flex to get the party started a little bit, but really he does a great job, so and then the players, you know, they’ll interject their two cents of what they want, and they always have first grabs of what they want, so but yeah, it’s those, you know, really the combination of those two.

On who is at the top of his playlist

Oh, I mean, it just depends on the day. It could be techno, it could be hip-hop, it could be R&B, it could be country, I mean, it could really be anything. It just depends on the mood, and as you get closer to the game, it gets a little more ramped up.

On how close the position battles were on offense

Yeah, it was great to see them grow, you know, it really started in the spring. There was competition that flooded over into the summer, and then flooded over into training camp, and maybe a few are still working through right now as we get to the end of the week, and see what happens, but those competitions now are guys that are both going to play. It’s going to be like, who steps on the field first? And so I think it’s been super healthy to have those competitions, because it only brings the best out of everybody, and brings the competitors. So it was going on through every position, you know, you start with the O-line, and great competition with all five positions, and all five guys that are going to be starters or have earned that opportunity, and you know, same thing with the quarterback, receivers, running back, tight end, so it goes on and on.

On the starting five OL and the depth of the group

We’ll start out left tackle. Evan Link really changed his body a little bit, and really helped his mindset, and he went back over from right to left, which is his more comfortable position, and he really did a good job, and he really took hold of that position in the last week, and really, you know, gave us a chance to have a really good left tackle there. Gio El-Hadi, one of our captains, he’ll man that left guard spot where he’s more comfortable. He played that here behind Trevor Keegan for years, and then moved to right because we had Josh Priby last year, but he’s going to do a really good job. Greg Crippen solidified the center spot, tough, smart, dependable guy that’s been in the program for a long time and seen guys do it at a high level. Brady Norton will start at right guard. Nate Efobi and him were going neck and neck, and Nate Efobi will play. He’s earned that opportunity, but Brady will start there, and then Andrew Sprague has taken over the right tackle spot. Feel good about guys like Jake Guarnera getting in the game. You feel good like Brady Norton, Lawrence Hattar, Blake Frazier is another guy who will play in this game. You know, a young guy that shows the ability, and he’s put on the right weight, and a guy I know, you know, he’s a legacy guy. His dad played here and takes a lot of pride in wearing that jersey, so you feel like you got a really deep group, and you got group guys that can go in and help you win a ball game.

On where he’s seen Greg Crippen develop with his body

Yeah, I mean, you know, like you said, his body’s changed. He’s gotten stronger. He was already a strong guy, but he definitely put the work in to get a lot stronger, but from a technical standpoint, he’s done a really good job with his pad levels, hip flexibility, his mobility, his hands and eyes, because he’s always had the mindset and the brain and smart in the game, but it was just those little things. So he’s taking his game to the next level to be a guy that, you know, hopefully be an All-Big Ten player.

On the tight end position

Yeah, you know, start off with one of the captains, two-time captain Max Bredesen. He’s one of the guys that you’re going to trust in a foxhole for you, and he’s going to do all the dirty work, but he can make plays that are needed to be. Marlin Klein will be the guy in the passing game that we really expect to take that next step and obviously play wide when we need him to. So I feel like those two guys, and that’s another captain. You know, you got two captains in the tight end room, which is rare, but kind of tells you the mentality of this team where you’re at when you got two tight ends and no linemen on offense. The other guys, Jalen Hoffman and Zack Marshall, have really had a really good camp and stepped it up and gave us the confidence that they can go in and play the game. And then the last guy, you know, well, the last two guys, really, you got Deakon Tonielli, who’s really attacked this thing and gotten better and better and better. And the next guy who’s actually had an impact is Hogan Hansen, and he’s been coming back from something and I feel like he’s in a good place to help the team sooner than later.

On whether he feels he has depth and playmakers at receiver

You start with Donaven, obviously, had a really good camp, and he’s going to be spectacular for us. But, you know, the first three guys that tried out there will be Donaven McCulley, Semaj Morgan, and then the next guy that’s really taken the next step is Channing Goodwin. You know, he’s really stepped his game up and put himself out there to say, like, I’m a starter. And we feel really good about those three. And you feel good about the guys behind him. You feel good about guys like Andrew Marsh. You feel good about Anthony Simpson, like Fred Moore, Kendrick Bell, you know, all those guys that are going to help us. I think we got seven guys that we feel really comfortable with, with guys like Jamar Browder and Peyton O’Leary that can go out and help us as well. So it’s going to be a good group.

On how the team will utilize both Justice Haynes and Jordan Marshall

Yeah, you feel like both of those guys can run inside and out. And, you know, Justice has shown to have that home run hitter ability. Obviously, you saw it on tape from Alabama, but he’s done it multiple times here. And he’s also shown that he can run you over too, where Jordan’s that super violent runner that we saw in the bowl game, and he continues to be that. So it’s gonna be fun to watch them do that in live action. And then guys like Jasper Parker, you know, the freshman has really stepped up and trying to cement himself as that third back with Kuszdahl and Micah Ka’apana. So I think all those guys are playing some sort of fashion, whether it’s special teams or, you know, spotting here and there. But obviously, Jordan and Justice will be the one-two punch.

On what he saw from Bryce Underwood and how he won the starting job

Yeah, I mean, I think it started from the day he stepped on campus. You know, I told him when we had this whole, when we recruited him, I was like, dude, you’re not going to be given anything. You got to go earn it. You got to go take it. And that’s what he wanted to do. When he first got here on campus in December, he was a sponge. He did everything he could do right. He just attacked everything and, you know, went from 212 pounds to 230 pounds from the weight room standpoint. And it looks like he can play defensive end, but still has athleticism and speed. But in, you know, in spring ball, he continued to learn. He made mistakes, but continued to learn in training camp. And you can see the work over the summer. He really took hold of the offense. He took hold of his abilities and never tried to do way too much. I think for a freshman that had the accolades and has the talent he has, he never tried to play above him. There’s days where he made a mistake, but he never made a mistake twice. And he never made the same mistake. And it’s been cool to watch him progress and do the things. And probably the most important piece is he grabbed the team and earned the respect of not only the guys on offense, but the guys on defense. And you saw that about midway through camp and you’re like, OK, I think we got our guy. And you just wanted to keep proving it and keep doing it and stay humble doing it. And that’s what he’s done.

On how a freshman QB demonstrates leadership

Yeah, I mean, I think the number one thing as a freshman, you just have to do your job. You know, don’t try to do too much. He has enough ability where if he’s just him, it’s going to be pretty cool to watch. And if he continues to do that, he’s just going to get better and better and better. So I think that’s the first thing. And then two, you know, as a freshman, when you’re the quarterback, regardless if you’re a freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, if you see something, say it. You’ve now earned the responsibility because you are the quarterback at Michigan that you can say things that other people can’t say. The freshman left tackle or right tackle or defensive end or corner that is not the quarterback, they can’t say those things. But the ball is in your hand every play on offense. So you have the responsibility now to say something to people.

On Underwood’s response to him being told he’s starting

You know what? The guy is just so even-keeled and calm. And I think I got more reaction out of his dad than I did him. And I told dad, you’re really going to feel something when you see his face out there on the starting lineups before the game. He’s like, yeah, I might shed a tear. But well-deserved. I mean, the kid was super happy, super excited. And he’s ready to take the reins.

On how patient he will be with Underwood and how he will be coached up

Yeah, I think for us as a staff, as a team, me, Chip, we’ve got to be patient. We’ve got, you know, there’s going to be growing pains because he’s a freshman. He just turned 18 like two weeks ago. Last week. So like he’s a kid. You know, he was running around here at 17 years old. And he’s going to be out there as a starting quarterback of Michigan. And he’s 18. I think this is the first true freshman starter since Tate Forcier in 2009. So he’s, you know, there’s going to be something that he’s going to do that we’re going to be like, why? Why’d you do that? And then there’s going to be something you’re like,don’t throw it. Oh, that’s a nice play. So both of those are going to happen. So we’ve just got to take it, you know, play by play and coach him from there.

On having Chip Lindsey around the program

It’s so fun to be around Chip. It’s such a breath of fresh air. He’s an awesome human being. It’s great to be around. He’s just a team guy. Let’s do everything for camp for the team. But he’s so innovative. He’s got so many different thoughts and different ways to do it. And I love that. And, you know, that’s why we brought him in here. So he’s done a really great job for the offense and excited to see what happens on Saturday.

On expectations for the defense in week one

Go out there, play fast, play physical. We’re deep. We’re strong. We’re fast. We’re violent. And I just want to, you know, big thing we talked about is tackling, you know, tackling and running the football with effort. Wink will change it up. He’ll have different looks and different things that he wants to put out there. And I trust him, trust the staff and what they’ve done. But I just want to see him play hard and play physical.

On Rod Moore’s status for Saturday

That’s to be determined this week. He’s working and he’s put on pads. He’s done periods and worked. So we’re really not trying to rush it. So we’ll see how this week goes. But you’ll definitely see him sooner than later.

On what he sees from New Mexico

I think the offensive coordinator came from Idaho and he does a really good job with formation shifts and motions. They run an immense amount of trick plays. So we suspect we’ll see some sort of trick play at some point. They just do a really good job. The quarterback also came from Idaho as well. Patient guy does a really good job with all script plays can sit in the pocket and make throws. So it’s going to be a challenge for us defensively. Make sure we get lined up, get set and communicate well to execute.

On New Mexico being competitive with Oregon last year and preparing his players

I think you just said it like we just have to play within ourselves and do our job. I hope none of our players look at spreads because we were — the spread piece we’ve been there. We’ve seen what that movie looks like last year. So we’re just going to take it day by day. We keep harping on this theme of TNT today, not tomorrow and working on being our best selves today so we can go win this game on Saturday.

On the excitement of the players

I mean, I came in this morning at, I don’t know, I think it was like 5:45 and there were guys getting ready to go to their workout and they were screaming at the top of their lungs. I’m like, what’s wrong with you guys? They’re like, it’s game week. It’s game week. And I get done and I’m walking in and Ernest Hausmann comes in and he’s like, it’s game week. It’s game week. So, there’s a buzz. There’s an energy. They’re excited and they’re ready to go hit somebody else.