Sherrone Moore quick-hitters: Michigan offensive play calling, Notre Dame rivalry, more

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan Wolverines football head coach Sherrone Moore met with the media Monday morning to kick off Purdue week. Here are bullet points on the most notable things he said.

Sherrone Moore quick-hitters

• Michigan graduate safety Rod Moore is still working through his knee injury, after playing quite a few snaps in the USC game. He’s missed the last two contests. It’s still not 100 percent. He’s able to practice some but isn’t “all the way there” yet.

• Moore didn’t have an update on injured sophomore linebacker Cole Sullivan, only saying that he will have “more information” later in the week.

• Here’s what Moore said when asked how involved he is with Michigan’s offensive game planning: “I help out, but [offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey is] calling the plays. The offensive staff has done an unbelievable job. I thought [offensive line] Coach [Grant] Newsome really stepped up this week in the game planning and put together some plays and things that we executed at a high level in the game. No, I’m just there to help out and help with things that I see, but yeah, I’m not calling the plays.”

• Moore hasn’t addressed with his team the new rule that college athletes can bet on professional sports, but he might during Michigan’s bye next week.

• The protection and coverage didn’t get “synced right” in the pass game against MSU, but Moore was pleased with some of the passes the Wolverines executed, singling out freshman wideout Andrew Marsh‘s catches as examples.

• The film “confirmed” how well Moore thought senior linebacker Jimmy Rolder played against Michigan State. During the spring, Moore knew he could have a good season, and the staff trusts him at a high level. He’s also playing with confidence and belief in the defensive system.

• “We’ll see” if junior Semaj Morgan will continue as Michigan’s punt returner, because “it’s always competitive.” Some of the issues aren’t Morgan’s fault, Moore said, pointing to blocking as one example of something he doesn’t control.

• Gradaute left guard Giovanni El-Hadi “looks like he’s in his 30s” and Moore has known him for a long time. What he does as a leader off the field aligns with on the field, and he’s done so much growing and maturing since becoming a Michigan player.

• The offensive line was “pretty good” since Michigan rushed for 276 yards against MSU, with Moore noting that’s “hard” to do. There’s “plenty” to fix, however, but the Wolverines “asserted” their “dominance.”

• Freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood hasn’t been as effective on the road this season, but Moore said part of it is just how the games have gone, and that the Wolverines faced an elite Oklahoma defense in his first-ever road start.

• Moore agrees with Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman that Michigan and the Fighting Irish should play more often and perhaps before they’re scheduled to in 2033.

• There were some plays that Michigan designed for the tight ends against MSU, but they were covered. Once, senior tight end Marlin Klein was “tangled up” when the Wolverines were looking to get him the football.

• Sophomore right tackle Andrew Sprague graded out the best among Michigan offensive linemen against MSU, and at the highest he has at any point in his career.

• Moore thought about a Hail Mary instead of running out the clock before halftime at MSU, but the Wolverines didn’t get it to where he wanted to on the field.

• Sophomore running back Jordan Marshall would start at “95 percent” of other college football programs.

• The “tackling, physicality up front and the run wall” are the three things Moore has liked most about the Michigan defense over the last two weeks, in wins over Washington and MSU. The Wolverines are also playing blocks better on the perimeter, with defensive backs playing “like linebackers.”

• Graduate fullback / tight end Max Bredeson graded out at a 97 according to the Michigan coaching staff against MSU. Moore said he can’t even quantify his actual impact on a game.