Michigan football: Sherrone Moore updates injuries heading into Northwestern game

Michigan was without several key players in a closer than expected, 21-16 win over Purdue last game, but head coach Sherrone Moore gave a somewhat optimistic update on some of the heading toward a Saturday game with Northwestern. The Wolverines could get some of them back for the contest at Wrigley Field against a plucky Wildcats team that plays extremely hard. 

As mentioned in this morning’s column, Michigan really needs one of their starting linebackers to return, either Cole Sullivan or Jimmy Rolder. Both have played at an extremely high level this year, and U-M’s defense is better when one or both are on the field. Edge and linebacker Jaishawn Barham, too, left the Purdue game early with an apparent upper body injury.

“Getting guys healthy, that was the number one goal,” Moore said at his Monday press conference. “We want to make sure we’ve got guys healthy … trying to get guys back, and we’ll see what their status is as we go through the week. 

“But I feel good about it. I feel good about where Cole is. We’ll see where Jimmy is, we’ll see where Jaishawn [Barham] is, but feel like we’re in a positive place with all of them, and I feel like we just keep getting more guys healthy.”

Running back Justice Haynes is “week to week,” he added, after suffering a foot injury at Michigan State and choosing to undergo surgery. Most believe he’d be back for Ohio State at the earliest. Tight end Hogan Hansen “feels like he could be this week, could be next,” Moore said, adding, “we’ll take it day by day on Hogan, and same thing with [veteran safety] Rod Moore.”

Both Hansen and Moore have appeared in only three games this year. That’s raised the question — could they or other veterans apply for medical redshirts if they appear in four games or less given the new NIL climate, and do they have those conversations?

“The other piece of that is how we’ve recruited and how well we think we’ve recruited and the guys we brought in,” Moore said, noting it was “100 percent the same thing” with players who might be better served rehabbing than trying to come back too soon. “Some of these guys might not be here for 5 years. I think there are some talent pieces that when you recruit and bring in high-level players. they might not be here for 5 years with the old school thought that you come and you develop them and. We still want to do that and, and there might be some guys that we have to do that with and they’re not ready.

“But those talks are real. We have them with everybody individually and I’ve had them already, but some guys, it’s, ‘should I redshirt?’ or, ‘I want a redshirt.’ All those are on an individual basis, so we’ll have those, and we’re very open and with them.”

Finally, receiver Donaven McCulley and tight end Marlin Klein were banged up during the Purdue game, but “they’ll be good” for Northwestern, Moore confirmed. 

Watch TheWolverine.com for more updates on the banged-up Wolverines throughout the week.