On last night’s “Inside Michigan Football” radio program, head coach Sherrone Moore hinted at who is in the lead to start at QB for the Wolverines this weekend against MSU:
The Michigan Wolverines are coming off their worst loss in quite some time, falling to Illinois by a 21-7 final score.
On Monday evening, head coach Sherrone Moore sat down for his weekly appearance on the “Inside Michigan Football” radio show to sift through the damage. In this week’s edition, Moore spoke with Jon Jansen about the state of his program, provided some injury updates, and talked about the meaning of the rivalry with Michigan State .
Here’s a brief rundown of everything the coach had to say:
- After its third loss of the season, Michigan is in as vulnerable a state as anyone could have foreseen. When asked what the priorities are right now for himself and the team, Moore mentioned it’s time for a lot of “self-reflection,” adding they need to re-evaluate how they practice and play.
- One of the lone bright spots in the loss to Illinois was the play of the defensive line and pass rush. When asked about the pass rush’s performance thus far, Moore said, “I thought it’s been good,” and emphasized he thinks the coaching staff has done a good job of putting guys in positions to be successful. One of those guys is senior edge rusher Josaiah Stewart, whom Moore praised after being elevated to team captain. Of Stewart, Moore said he’s seen both vocal leadership and, “The leadership as a worker.”
- Speaking of the defense, Wink Martindale’s unit played pretty well overall against Illinois, and it’s fair to attribute some of Illinois’ scoring to the bad situations that Michigan’s offense and special teams provided the defense. Moore said, “I think our defense is definitely progressing,” and that it played well enough to win the game.
- The secondary mostly held its own without Will Johnson, but was called for a few penalties. Moore mentioned the coaches preached a more aggressive style, and the penalties are merely, “A cost of doing business,” to prevent big plays.
- On the Will Johnson front, Moore described the star corner as, “questionable” for Saturday’s game against Michigan State. He also said tight end Marlin Klein was also “questionable,” while senior offensive tackle Myles Hinton was “probable.”
- With Jack Tuttle struggling mightily against Illinois, the quarterback position is going to be a topic of discussion all week. Moore said in terms of who will start, “I think right now, Jack would be the guy, but you have to go through the week and see what happens.” When asked about true freshman Jadyn Davis, Moore mentioned he was progressing well and he was excited to see him get into the mix this week.
- When asked what he’ll be looking for at the quarterback position this week, Moore mentioned once again that protecting the football would be a priority. For the offense as a whole, he put an emphasis on, “Keeping it simple,” and that he wanted to focus on concepts he knew the offense could execute at a high level.
- Andrew Gentry got the start at right tackle last week for a struggling Evan Link. Moore described Gentry as, “A guy who’s been practicing really well — played well in the game.” Gentry will continue to be the starter based on his performance.
- Looking ahead to the matchup with Michigan State, Moore mentioned he has always had a lot of respect for the rivalry, even going back before he was on Michigan’s coaching staff. He recounted his first taste of the rivalry was the 2018, “All-weather game,” Michigan won 21-7 in East Lansing. If you recall, that’s the same game that featured a lengthy weather delay, Devin Bush’s pregame scuffle with the Spartans, and Donovan Peoples-Jones’ debut of the now iconic Paul Bunyan pose in the end zone.
Who could forget this one?#OTD in 2018, @dpeoplesjones hit them with the Paul Bunyan pose, and then @UMichFootball hoisted the Paul Bunyan trophy at Spartan Stadium. pic.twitter.com/NaUDkOPBMY
— Michigan On BTN (@MichiganOnBTN) October 20, 2021
- Above all though, Moore knows this week is about getting his team back on track, reiterating that, “From a confidence standpoint, this is a huge game.”