What can Sherrone Moore do to set up Michigan football for long-term success? (2024)

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Believe it or not, we’re halfway through the 2024 regular season. For Michigan, this midseason break couldn’t come soon enough.

The Wolverines (4-2, 2-1 Big Ten) have a lot to fix for the second half of the season, and readers have a lot of questions. Let’s get to ’em.

Note: Submitted questions lightly edited for length and clarity.

Given this is Sherrone Moore’s first season as a head coach, what are some best practices he needs to do moving forward? What will he need to do to ensure he makes the most of this offseason and sets the team up for a better season next year? I guess I’m wondering how he can learn from other coaches who struggled in Year 1 but righted the ship in Year 2? — Joshua B.

Lots of coaches had tough first seasons and went on to successful careers. Nick Saban (7-6 in his first year at Alabama), Kirby Smart (8-5 in his first year at Georgia) and Steve Sarkisian (5-7 in Year 1 at Texas) come to mind. Those coaches are the exceptions, of course, and plenty of others had rough first seasons that foreshadowed future problems. Moore’s job is to make sure he doesn’t end up in the latter category.

There’s a bigger story to be done at some point about Moore’s offseason priorities and what he can learn from Michigan’s rough transition. But the big lesson is that when you’re the head coach, you can’t afford to ignore a problem. Fixing it later is always harder than fixing it before it blows up. Michigan’s plan at quarterback was shaky from the start, and it felt as though Michigan tip-toed around the issue all offseason. Coaches need to have confidence and belief in their players, but they also need to be realistic about their roster and its potential.

It’s not the most pleasant aspect of the sport, but the best coaches are ruthless for a reason. They’re always preparing for the worst and trying to upgrade their rosters to avoid getting caught in a bind. Michigan is learning that lesson the hard way.

Why is the talent cupboard on offense so utterly depleted this season? Particularly on the offensive line, which was coach Moore’s specialty. — Dave C.

I’ve written a lot about the quarterbacks, and with good reason — that position has been a mess. But the play of the offensive line has been an issue, too, and maybe a more distressing one given the M.O. of Michigan’s program. The offensive line was the foundation of Michigan’s success the past three years. Moore’s work with that unit is a big reason he was chosen to be Jim Harbaugh’s successor. Replacing five starters was never going to be easy, but it’s becoming apparent that Michigan missed some opportunities to recruit and develop its next wave of offensive line talent during its three-year run atop the Big Ten.

Here are the offensive line prospects who signed with Michigan in the classes of 2022 and 2023, their rankings in the 247Sports Composite and how they’ve fared:

• Alessandro Lorenzetti (No. 677 in 2022, now a defensive lineman)
• Connor Jones (No. 1,020 in 2022, appeared in three games)
• Andrew Gentry (No. 88 in 2020, signed in 2022, Michigan’s sixth O-lineman)
• Evan Link (No. 270 in 2023, starting right tackle)
• Amir Herring (No. 287 in 2023, transferred to Kansas)
• Nathan Efobi (No. 347 in 2023, appeared in one game)

For a program that won the Joe Moore Award in 2021 and 2022, this two-year run was pretty underwhelming. We’re seeing the results on the field: Michigan, a team that wants to run the ball at will, has looked average on the offensive line, and it has compounded the problems in the passing game.

Help is on the way from the Class of 2024, which was Michigan’s best offensive haul in several years. But players like Blake Frazier and Andrew Sprague could be a year or two away from stepping into major roles, which means Michigan will be trying to fill holes in the transfer portal again.

Does it seem strange to anyone else that Wink Martindale insists on blitzing and taking away pass coverage help from a weak secondary (namely Jyaire Hill and Zeke Berry), when he has two likely first-round picks at DT (Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant), and the player with the most career sacks of any FBS player (Josaiah Stewart) at edge, who have all shown they are plenty capable of generating a pass rush with just the front four? — Bobby G.

If you want to put Martindale in a bad mood, ask him about his blitz rate. He takes umbrage at the comparisons with former DC Don Brown and the perception that his aggressive play calling is a problem. He’s also said people can’t tell the difference between blitzes and simulated pressures, which involve rushing players from the second level and dropping linemen or edge rushers into coverage.

TruMedia has Michigan’s blitz rate at 28.8 percent, which is the 64th-highest in the FBS. Martindale is correct that he’s not sending extra rushers as much as people think he is. But it’s more complicated than that, because 339-pound Kenneth Grant is obviously not playing nickel on the snaps when Berry is rushing the passer. I assume that’s the gist of Bobby’s question: Are the simulated pressures effective or necessary for a defense that has one of the best front fours in college football? Or are they just putting more strain on a secondary that has given up the second-most passing plays of 10 yards or more in the FBS?

One way or another, Michigan needs to cut down the explosive plays its allowing in the passing game. Some of that comes down to fundamental stuff: tackling, taking good angles, being in the right position. It all goes hand-in-hand, because a team that’s struggling with the fundamentals is going to have even more trouble executing the more complex parts of Martindale’s scheme. With an open date this weekend, Michigan needs to take a hard look at what’s working and what isn’t.

Is it time for Sherrone Moore to take play calling back from Kirk Campbell? Seems like he’s bent on showing Michigan can be explosive through the air and the constant three-and-outs are putting more pressure on the defense. Also the lack of imagination in making sure Donovan Edwards is on the field as much as possible (especially with other RBs) seems like a waste of what could be a match up advantage. — A.J. P.

I’ll defend Campbell in this regard: What are the plays he’s supposed to be calling that have a high chance of success? Has anybody seen them? Maybe the switch to Jack Tuttle will open up some options in the passing game, but until Michigan can do the simple stuff with any degree of consistency, there’s not a lot Campbell can do from a play-calling perspective to juice up the offense.

Getting Edwards and Kalel Mullings on the field at the same time makes sense, and Campbell has done that occasionally. I’m not convinced that having both running backs on the field is the magic elixir that’s going to unlock Michigan’s offense. If it means subbing out Max Bredeson, Michigan would be taking one of its best blockers off the field in exchange for an extra running back who’s not going to touch the ball. Once in a while, sure. But not every play.

That being said, Edwards is one of the players who has a chance to benefit from the switch to Tuttle. Part of getting Edwards involved in the passing game is having a quarterback who can find him when he’s not the first option. Alex Orji missed one of those plays against Minnesota, and Tuttle hit one against Washington. Having more plays with Mullings in the backfield and Edwards split out wide could make sense with Tuttle at quarterback.

When is it appropriate to stop basking in the glory of a national title? Given how this year has gone, I don’t want it to end. — Matt M.

That’s the great thing about winning a national championship: There truly is no expiration date on celebrating it. The 1997 national championship kept Michigan fans warm during a lot of cold winters, and the 2023 national championship might have to do the same.

Part of being a fan is riding the wave from week to week, celebrating the wins and grousing about the losses. Michigan fans have more to grouse about this year than they’ve had at any time since 2020. Losing is never fun, but if thinking about the national championship makes this season easier to tolerate, that’s a perfectly acceptable coping strategy.

(Top photo: Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)

Austin Meek covers Michigan football and basketball for The Athletic. He previously covered college sports for The Topeka Capital-Journal and served as sports columnist at The Register-Guard in Eugene, Oregon. Follow Austin on Twitter @byaustinmeek