Michigan’s feature at Big Ten Media Days is later this afternoon, as Sherrone Moore and a few players will answer questions from reporters. Here are five burning questions we have for the Wolverines’ leaders.
Big Ten Media Day is upon us for the Michigan Wolverines! This afternoon, Sherrone Moore and a few players will take the stage in Las Vegas to answer questions about the upcoming season.
Here are five burning questions we have for the team heading into Media Days (in no order):
No. 1 – (For Coach Moore) College Football is excited for Week 2’s matchup with the Oklahoma Sooners. Big Ten vs SEC. Your alma mater. An early challenge for a young team in Norman. Can you share more about what that game means to you and to the program?
Sherrone Moore reportedly will be suspended for two of the first four games of the regular season via a self-imposed punishment from the program. But seemingly, all parties made sure one of those games was NOT against Oklahoma in Week 2.
This game has massive implications on just about every level for college football. Two blue blood programs; head coach playing his alma mater; the two best conferences in the sport doing battle while fighting over College Football Playoff expansion seats; Bryce Underwood potentially making his first road start. This game has everything.
Michigan had a “Beat Georgia” drill under Jim Harbaugh and the program knows how important big games like this one are. Getting Moore’s thoughts and perspectives for himself, but also for the landscape of the sport, would be extremely interesting.
No. 2 – (For Coach Moore) A couple players have said throughout the offseason there was a difference between the leadership from the 2023 season to last year. What are you as a coach and the players doing themselves to ensure that the championship standard is re-established in the locker room?
In 2023, the Michigan Wolverines had a team full of veterans. There was a reason that team was so great and was able to achieve all that it did. The stakes of playing Penn State on the road and Ohio State aren’t there, but the expectation is making the College Football Playoff.
The program didn’t have the same level of veteran players in the locker room last year as it did during the 2023 run. Players and coaches both have said as much in the last year or so. Having an idea of where that is expected to come from in 2025 with a younger team would be interesting to hear more about.
No. 3 – (For Coach Moore) – Can you talk more about the battle at the quarterback position? Has Mikey Keene’s spring injury changed any perspectives? Is Bryce Underwood going to be the starter?
From the No. 1 overall recruit to the No. 1 topic of interest in the conference, Underwood is the talk of the Big Ten. His development and path to being a starter is on the minds of just about every analyst and reporter that covers the conference.
It’s unclear if Underwood will be the starter come Week 1, but Mikey Keene could very well push for playing time during fall camp. People may not like hearing that, but Keene knows the Chip Lindsey offense better than anyone else on the roster. He’s been a starter under Lindsey in the past and brings a wealth of experience to the quarterback room.
The injury Keene sustained in the spring was surely a setback to him being the starter, but it is far from being out of the question.
No. 4 – (For Derrick Moore and Ernest Hausmann) The defense really started to dominate late last season. Several starters are returning, and there seems to be depth that can make this defense special. The two of you have been a part of some great defenses. How does this group compare?
Moore and Hausmann are two of the few players on the defense who remain from the 2023 national championship run. They saw the leadership, skill, scheme, depth and toughness it took for that team to reach the mountaintop of college football.
The 2025 Michigan defense has some similar characteristics. The front seven could be one of the deepest in the country, with defensive line coach Lou Esposito saying they view almost everyone in the rotation as a starter.
More questions, however, come from the secondary. There is a lot to prove here, particularly at cornerback. This question should help glean if safety Rod Moore is expected to play right away.
It took a while for the 2024 defense to get hot, but once it did, the Wolverines were able to beat Ohio State and Alabama. If more of that is to come in 2025, it could be one of the nation’s best. Insight from the players here would help gauge if those kinds of expectations are realistic.
No. 5 – (For Max Bredeson) What’s the most significant difference in offensive play calling under Chip Lindsey?
Last year’s offense was a disaster, so drastic changes are needed across the board.
At the same time, the last thing any fan wants to hear is the Wolverines are reinventing the wheel. There is a framework for this team to play smash mouth football and win at an extremely high level. Bredeson (and his family line) have been a part of so many renditions of that throughout the last decade.
Bredeson himself is a hard-nosed individual. But with the unique skillset of Underwood (assuming he is the starter), the running backs and a wide receiver group that has promise, there could and should be more leniency to be more flexible in play calling.