Michigan HC Sherrone Moore takes the stage at Big Ten Media Days: 'We're ready to put on a show'

Michigan Wolverines head coach Sherrone Moore was the last of the 18 coaches to speak on the dias at Big Ten Football Media Days in Las Vegas on Thursday, using his opening statement to turn the page from last year’s 8-5 campaign and speak on his excitement for 2025.

Moore and the Wolverines started last year 5-5 before rattling off three-straight wins, two of which included upsets as three-score underdogs against Ohio State and Alabama to end the season. There were plenty of lessons learned, but Moore and his program stayed together and stuck it out.

Now, his team is out to make sure it does not happen again.

 ”Last year, we hit a couple of speed bumps, but we didn’t allow those to become roadblocks,” Moore said on Thursday afternoon. “We overcame a lot of adversity and had a successful end of the year. But really, we’re not living on that. We know that’s done. We know that’s past us and our jobs now are to write a new story on what the University of Michigan and Team 146 is all about.

“We’re really thrilled to be in the phase we’re at right now with our student athletes ending our summer conditioning phase. We fly home tonight and tomorrow morning, we get there at 6 a.m. We have a conditioning test with our football team. They’re all gonna pass it with flying colors. I’m really excited for them and what they’ve done.

“They’ve done a tremendous job changing their bodies, building a true team this off-season… Team 146 is excited and ready to go. We’re geared up, like I said, we’ve got the conditioning test tomorrow, next Wednesday we kick off camp and we’re ready to put on a show.”

Moore was asked by a member of the media contingent about the quarterback room taking steps forward after last season. He said Michigan learned its lessons as a team last year, not any one group in particular.

“ Lesson is the right word,” Moore said. “We talked about that as a team continually about not losses, but lessons. Take everything with a grain of salt, and make sure you attack every moment. But really, it’s just to stay in the moment. You can’t worry about what happened yesterday and tomorrow’s not owed to you. So everything we do is what we can do to get better now. It’s not just the quarterback room. It’s every room.

“We’re a team. It’s not one person who wins or loses a game; it’s a team. So for us, we’ve done a really good job of being a cohesive unit and like I said, team over me and gaining trust with each other and being in the battle. We’re just gonna be a better team this year.”

Moore talks Michigan/Oklahoma, Bryce Underwood

Michigan’s early tests in the 2025 schedule include a trip to Oklahoma in Week 2, Moore’s alma mater and a potential College Football Playoff contender. He is looking forward to the contest, but not overemphasizing the stakes.

“ I think it’s gonna be a game that’s gonna be fun,” Moore said. “It’s gonna be our first away game for our team. It’s gonna be a test to see where we are when we can overcome some adversity, when we’re not in a comfortable environment. So it’s gonna test us. It’s gonna test the willpower of who we are and what we’re gonna be.

But it’s gonna mean a lot because it’s gonna be the next game [after the opener vs. New Mexico]. So hopefully help you win the first game and that means you’d be 2-0. That’s really what it would mean for the team.”

Michigan is expected to start Bryce Underwood as a true freshman at quarterback this season, and Moore says that the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2025 class has taken steps needed to position himself for the opportunity.

“ I think he’s grown every single day since he’s been on campus,” Moore said. “He’s been with us since December. Continues to do everything he can to be the best teammate he could be, to be the best student he could be, and then to be the best football player and quarterback that he could be for our football team.

“He does everything the right way. He makes sure that he attacks everything the best way. I literally just got off the phone with him, asking me what time he has gotta be at the team meeting on Tuesday. So he wants to make sure he is on time to do everything right. So he’s a great teammate, great kid, great young man. Jay and Beverly, his parents, have done an outstanding job raising him, but I consider that for all our student-athletes at Michigan.”

Moore and three Michigan players – linebacker Ernest Hausmann, EDGE Derrick Moore and fullback/tight end Max Bredeson – are representing the program at media days in Vegas. They will speak at separate breakout sessions on Thursday afternoon.