Everything Michigan HC Sherrone Moore said during his pre-USC press conference

On heading to the West Coast early to adjust

Yeah. Yeah. We’re going to leave Thursday. Last year, the West Coast trip to Washington, we felt a little groggy, a little slow start. Guys played well, but felt like we just needed a little time to — talk to a lot of people in the off-season, obviously having Wink here, NFL background. So we’re going to leave Thursday.

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We’re going to do everything normal on Thursday. I know guys probably would want to leave early Thursday, but they need to go to class, still student athletes. So they’ll go to class, do all that, and then we’ll leave Thursday, be there Friday.

We’ll get a chance to practice at the Bolt, which is cool. So I know they got an away game, so that’s another great Michigan connection, Michigan West. So we’ll leave Thursday, get there Friday, spend all day Friday, and make it as normal as possible for the kids, and then play on Saturday.

On the challenges of college athletes playing games on the West Coast

Yeah. I mean, I think it’s the same thing, like when you travel just in general, when you’re going in time zones and you’re adjusting to the clock and you’re adjusting through the air, flying dehydrates you, that’s one thing. And then you have to recover a little bit more.

So I think it’s just different atmospheres, not necessarily just being away. So I think it’s just a challenge you have to attack, because if you go to the NFL, you got to do the same thing, and the team’s flying this way, you got to adjust as well. So I think you can’t make those things an excuse, you just got to go attack them and figure out ways to get better with it. So that’s why we’re flying out Thursday to hopefully have a better grasp on — try to make that like it’s Ann Arbor over there.

On Bryce Underwood’s touch on his passes leading to drops

I never played receiver or tight end. But I know our guys don’t make an excuse about where the ball is and how it’s coming and all that, we just know we got to make the plays when they’re there. And if you hit your hand, you should catch it, so Bryce will continue to get better and touch and all that, all those things, but seems pretty accurate to me.

So we’ll just continue to emphasize the accuracy of the football and us being consistent catchers. But yeah, I mean, to add, the Donaven McCulley career game here, I think first receiver over 100 yards since Purdue in 23, just continue to make big plays, doing what we thought he could and doing it at a high level, making some acrobatic catches, some high point catches, yards after catch. And then same thing with Andrew Marsh, kind of what we echoed, what we thought was going to happen. Played consistent, played fast, played physical.

So happy with how those guys played and Semaj had the drop, but he also had some really big plays and all those guys are really stepping up. So excited for the group and what they’re doing.

On USC’s offense

Yeah, explosive, you know, Makai Lemon is explosive as any receiver you’ll see in the country. Jacoby Lane, same, big, strong, physical. The two tight ends are explosive.

Lincoln really wants to run the football and then play action and RPO and do things off of it. And then the quarterback does a really good job of taking care of the football for the most part. I think that was his first pick in the last game against Illinois. So we got to do a good job of really controlling the line of scrimmage up front first. And they’ve got a really good line, but I feel like we’ve got a really good D-line. So it’s gonna be a battle.

It’s gonna be a four-quarter battle in the Coliseum, which we’re really excited about.

On whether he could’ve forseen Cole Sullivan’s impacts and what stands out about his instincts

I could have. Yeah. I said, and I remember, someone asked me, like, who’s the guy that I think’s gonna have a breakout year?

I said, Cole Sullivan. He’s the guy that we’ve seen since spring ball do this, and he just continued to do it in fall camp. So, so proud of him, because he’s just such a hard worker.

He’s such a great human being. Just puts his head down and does it right all the time, on the field field, off the field. So, yeah, I could be Nostradamus in those terms of predicting Cole Sullivan, but he made it easy because of his work and what he’s done and how he attacks everything physically and mentally.

On avoiding the last year’s slide after a 4-1 start

So this year, not last year, and we’re not — last year, there was a lot of lessons that we learned from. And I think the first one we’re doing different here is traveling, just the first thing is traveling on Thursday. But this is a different team, I think, with a different mindset and different focus.

And we understand we’re in the second quarter of the season, and all we got to do is take care of today. Can’t even worry about the game yet, we got to worry about what today brings and how are we going to get better today. So I think that team is different from the one that we got now.

On the advantages of going out west early

I think just it’s like when you travel recruiting, you travel recruiting, you go out there for a day, and then you leave the next day. It’s like you don’t really understand where you’re at, what day it is, and all the things happen. So I think those guys getting some time in a place, usually you travel out a day before for an away game, but you also don’t travel that many time zones.

So allowing them some time to, one, sleep, because we’re going to get there later. So sleep in that day, and then have another day to get used to that time. It’s gonna be huge for us.

On avoiding slow starts on defense

I think the number one thing we talked about, Wink brought up soon as it happened was tackle. It was tackling the ball carrier, finish on the ball carrier. We’re trying to get the ball out all the time, but you gotta get the ball carrier down first.

It’s little pieces, little things. The first play, if one person is underneath the blitz instead of outside the blitz, it’s stopped. So what I admire and I love about our defensive guys, coaches, and players is that there’s never a panic, and they just adjust and go, they just adjust, they just adjust and go.

And right after that drive, it was, what, eight punts and an interception. And then the field goal at the end. And even for that, that field goal, that drive down the end, that just tells you like what this team’s all about.

It’s like, okay, we’re gonna play until the end of the game. And held them to the field goal, knocked them out of a close field goal, or knocked them out of maybe even trying to go for a touchdown with the sack, and just kept playing. So really proud of that defense and how they played.

And you watch the film, they’re physical, they are tenacious, they’re fast, they want to hit you. And it’s fun to be a part of and fun to watch.

On the coverage on Saturday and Rod Moore’s impact

Oh, man, the coverages were tight. Had a couple, and we talked about the tackling, which we cleaned up, we fixed, and there was one, maybe one or two plays throughout the whole game. Like, man, that could have been a little tighter, that could have been a little bit better. But they’re in sync.

And it helps when you got a good rush, it helps when you got guys getting to the ball, it helps when you can scheme guys open on blitzes. But those guys are doing a really good job of just handling coverages. Now, this is going to be a different challenge this week, right?

These are different receivers. And I thought Wisconsin’s receivers were underrated. They got some good players, number eight and four, they’re good receivers, but our guys did a really good job of handling them. But it’d be a big challenge this week for us.

On whether Andrew Marsh has earned more opportunities and players battling for WR3 snaps

Yeah, 100%. He definitely has earned that right with four catches for, I think, 80, and four targets on those four catches. So, like, yeah, absolutely. He’s earned all the right to continue playing, continue to do what he’s been doing. And we’ll see as, again, it’s still open competition for everybody else. Channing will still compete, obviously Semaj is in there competing. Kendrick Bell, Jamar Browder’s a guy where we think, we’ve been talking about him, about his ability.

So you can see him start to get in the mix a little bit. So we’ll see this week and how those guys compete. But yeah, 100%, Andrew Marsh has definitely earned the right to be a starter and play.

On the lack of consistency with the field goal unit this year

Yeah, I think that, on that play, exactly what it was. It was a low snap, and then how you did a good job of getting it down. But there’s a rhythm to it, rhythm to kicking, rhythm to how you do it.

So there’s got to be timed up. So we’ve got to fix that. And we’re attacking that head-on like we do every other problem. So we’ll continue to work on that.

On his evaluation of the secondary and its growth

Yeah, great. I mean, we play so many guys in the whole defense, first of all, but in the secondary, especially. LaMar does a great job with those guys, and Coach Stokes and B-Hawk, obviously Wink on how he calls it, but doing a really good job of mixing coverages, mixing looks and helping guys whenever they need to be helped and doing things that we need to do to just be a successful defense. And guys are really challenging each other.

Jayden’s challenging all the older guys, the older guys are challenging the younger guys. So it’s great competition to have because if you don’t practice, well, you’re probably not going to play. And that’s what you want. You want that competition throughout the year.

On what he’s seen from Cam Brandt’s play

Yeah, consistent. Those guys up front, they all play a lot. I think we played 59 plays on defense last game, and you probably cut it all in half every room. You just cut it in half. This guy gets about 30, this guy gets about 29, this guy gets about 28 and then we have packages where different guys play.

So that’s everybody, everybody has a chance to go make plays, and he’s just done a really good job in his role and what he’s done and continues to be successful. I know he’ll be hyped this week. We’re going back home, going back to Cali.

So he’ll be geeked up this week. I think I asked him last week, how many tickets he’s going to need this week. I said, I’m gonna need a lot. So I’m sure he’ll be ready to go and as well as the other guys.

On Gio El-Hadi and Hogan Hansen’s status for USC

Yeah, I think both of them are probable, you know, that’s where I’d state them right now. So we’ll see as we go through the week, feel good about their status and where they’re going to be. But we’ll just, you know, progress as we go through the week.

On the offensive line play against Wisconsin

Yeah, consistency and it’s all very fixable things that we can correct. Whether it’s a frontside base block on two plays, whether it’s just the idea of where we’re going, and it’s not nothing earth-shattering that you have to fix.

But what you do love to see is, is the big plays and the big holes happening. That means there’s the progressions there and you still rush for 175 yards, with Justice and you feel like, dang, there’s so much more out there. So continue to grow, continue to get better.

And I think if you can get Gio back and Brady Norton back too, that’s going to help even more with two guys that are starter-quality players.

On whether El-Hadi and Norton go back to the starter role

Yeah, we’ll see, right now it’d be the guys that were playing, but I think if Gio and Brady can go, they’ll challenge. Obviously, Gio’s a starter and we’ll see what Brady can do to push a guy to get his spot back.

On the team not paying attention to the outside noise and being an underdog against USC

It’s great, isn’t it? We just stay in this little cocoon. I love it. It’s great. I don’t care, that stuff don’t matter to me. Like, it’s great. I don’t even know the people that make the, whatever they call it, the odds, whatever it is.

So we can be underdogs, we can be favorites, they can be whatever, it doesn’t matter to me. So I know we’re playing a good team and we got to be ready, ready to go play. That’s all I know. So regardless of who are underdogs and guys might look at that, that’s great, but it don’t matter. The lines don’t matter. The logos don’t matter. Nothing matters but the people playing on the field and us being prepared for the game. So that stuff’s great. It’s great.

It’s a great story, I guess, and they’ll use it on ESPN or something, but I don’t care about that.

On whether Justice Haynes has exceeded expectations

Animal, animal. He should be up for the Heisman. Yeah, I mean, fifth game with 100-plus yards. Is he the first running back in Michigan history to do that?

Ablauf: Blake did it a few years ago, eight.

Dang it, in a row in the first five games?

Ablauf: Eight games in a row.

Oh, he’s a beast too. Yeah, he was just here. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, he’s pretty good. This dude is what you saw on film, an explosive player. Because I remember we were watching him, and I think it was, I can’t remember what the team was, but he ran over somebody, and he took it like another 60 yards or something. And then I think he had the most explosive runs on their team. So yeah, I saw it. I knew it.

And obviously, Tony had a relationship with him. Soon as he called, you know, as soon as he got in the portal, the first person he called was Tony. And yeah, and what you saw even more is when he got here in the spring, like, just telling you, he never got caught ever.

I’m glad he’s on our team because he never got caught whenever he had those explosive runs. So, but he just, he’s consistent. He works his tail off. He’s a great human being. He’s becoming a leader in the right ways. So yeah, I’m glad we got just his hands on our team.

On what Jamar Browder could bring to the receiver room

Yeah, we’ll see. Just first of all, he’s about six three and a half, six, four, 200 something pounds. He’s got great ball skills. He’s fast. The biggest thing is just understanding the concepts and learning where to go and how to do it. We’ll continue to help him with that.

So we wanted big receivers, man. It’s something we’ve really attacked as we’ve gone through this process of getting bigger and obviously see what happened with McCulley, having a guy like that. So, you know, put Jamar in places to help him, and he’s a freshman too, right? So we’ll see what he does and how he practices this week, and that’ll determine the game plan.

On his thought process of benching a receiver after a dropped pass

I think there’s a fair balance. You don’t want to suck the confidence and take the confidence away from anybody because then you’re going to need everybody at some point during the season and during the game. So it’s not a knee-jerk, pull them out the game and don’t ever throw the ball again.

Like you want to give them that, you want to give them that chance because I mean, you watch NFL games, guys drop balls and they’re right back in there. So you want to give them a chance. But if it’s a consistent thing that’s happening, then you have to make those changes.

You got to do what you got to do to help the team win. And that’s really all the ultimate goal, feelings aside. So don’t want to just take the guy’s confidence away. But at the same time, you got to make sure the guys that are in there, they’re going to make the plays possible that are there in the game.

On whether Haynes reminds him of any running backs he’s seen

Yeah. It seems like it’s like 22 when Blake would get the ball, and all of a sudden he’d be gone. He’s got a little bit of that in him. He’s got a little bit of DeMarco when I played with him. Maybe not as shaky, but the speed and just a long-stride ability. But he’s strong. He’s physical. He gets those extra yards he needs, and obviously super explosive.

I think just the way he carries himself and what he does and how he attacks the weight room, how he attacks his recovery, everything he does off the field is awesome. And he just continues to get better.

On handling players returning to California

Yeah, I do more of that, like talking to them individually. We’ll talk about a little bit as a team on guys going back to California, back in their home state, and the families there, but I don’t make it too much of a deal because at the end of the day, we’re going to somebody else’s place and we’re not celebrating going to the Coliseum. There’s no pictures and selfies because we’re at the nice Coliseum.

It’s sold out, but it’s sold out because Michigan’s coming. So we’re excited about the opportunity for guys to get to go back home and see family and be closer and friends, but not make it too much of a deal there.

On Davis Warren’s recovery and his role with the team

Yeah, it’s going good. I mean, he’s been throwing, doing stuff, running. But I mean, he’s just such a great, just a team player. He’s being a great team player, doing everything he can to help Bryce and help all the other guys in the room. And he’s been awesome.

On whether there’s a talking point about getting off to a slow start after seeing Penn State lose to UCLA

Nah, I’m not. That was their game. That’s what happened to them. I’m not going to refer back to that. And they all saw it. They all know. They all understood what happened. We’re not them. So our narrative and our focus will be on us and how we go in this game.

Execution and our plan and our goal of what we’re going to do. So yeah, I can’t speak to what they did and how they played. So we’re just going to be worried about us.