What they're saying about Sherrone Moore, Michigan football after Big Ten Media Days

Michigan Wolverines football just wrapped up Big Ten Media Days in Las Vegas and is preparing for fall camp to begin this week. Here’s a look around the internet at what they’re saying about head coach Sherrone Moore‘s group before preseason practices begin.

RJ Young, Fox Sports: Who Really Runs the Big Ten: Ohio State or Michigan?

Not only has Michigan — Ohio State’s enemy now and forever — won three of the last four Big Ten titles and claimed the 2023 national title, but the Wolverines have watched an entire class of Buckeyes go winless against a program they refer to as “That Team Up North.”

The best tact, the best take, in any conversation where points must be made, is sharpening the truth into an iron point, especially when sliced at a rival. And that is what Michigan defensive end Derrick Moore did on Thursday when asked what he thought about Ohio State winning its most recent national title.

“First, I’d like to congratulate them on the win,” Moore said. “But you know it’s not a real win if y’all [Ohio State] ain’t beat us.”

Moore went on to elaborate on his statement, noting the first-year 12-team College Football Playoff and where the Buckeyes would have ended up had it not been for the expanded field.

“If the playoff expansion wasn’t around, they wouldn’t have won the national championship. So we pretty much look at it like, y’all had a nice, little, easy run. But we helped y’all along the way. We pretty much helped y’all build back up. But after that, they dominated everybody that came in front of them, so, I’ve got to give all the credit to them.”

Ahem: Where’s the lie? Ohio State, being the No. 8 seed, would likely have been left out of a four-team playoff. And that loss to an unranked seven-win Michigan team would’ve slammed the door on a conversation to get the Buckeyes in among most rational fans and, more importantly, a rational selection committee.

Shawn Windsor, Detroit Free Press: Michigan football has an image problem. Sherrone Moore knows one thing that’ll help

“Shake hands after the game,” [Sherrone Moore said]. “Show sportsmanship. Speak cordial. A lot of the guys know each other. They’re kids at the end of the day, 17- to 22-year-old kids, and most of them are friends. Lot of them talk before the game. Let them have that. But then as a team, go be together as a team, and then leave as a team.”

Moore is referencing the flag planting at Ohio Stadium last season, after U-M beat the Buckeyes. The aftermath involved cops, pepper spray, a $100,000 fine for both schools and, well, a general mess.

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The new rules should also help avoid a repeat of the ugly ending of last season’s Michigan State game, when a shoving match between U-M tight end Colston Loveland and MSU defensive end Anthony Jones led to a headbutt and then a wider scrum between the teams.

Neither incident hurt U-M’s football brand like the sign-stealing scandal, obviously. But such dustups add to a negative perception.

Moore may not be able to do anything about how others view the “Block M,” but he can control how his team competes and acts after it competes. That should help.

So should winning, though the last couple of years have shown that even winning can’t hold off all tarnish. That’ll take time.

To get time, of course, Moore will have to win. After a mostly tough first season, he’s ready to do that.

And as long as he does, the stories will eventually just be about what happens on the field during the games.

His new decorum manifesto should help.

Michael Cohen, Fox Sports: Mature, Focused, Humble: Michigan’s Bryce Underwood Isn’t Your Average 17-Year-Old

There was a fascinating juxtaposition on Thursday between the way Moore and Michigan’s upperclassmen spoke compassionately, almost tenderly, about [freshman quarterback Bryce] Underwood’s numerical age — he’ll finally turn 18 next month — and the slack-jawed reverence with which they described his maturity as an athlete, likening his habits and disposition to those of seasoned veterans.

On one side of the room was [Max] Bredeson, a fifth-year senior and one of the program’s longest-tenured players, telling reporters that he takes “a little bit of pride and responsibility in being like the older guy who can kind of calm college football down for him,” while also admitting that nobody else in Michigan’s locker room can understand the life that Underwood currently leads, from the sheer attention generated by his every move to the opportunities that land at his feet. 

On the other side of the room was Derrick Moore, a former blue-chip recruit in his own right, expressing genuine awe about how someone so young can display such unwavering focus and concentration, traits Moore said he never came close to matching at that age. 

Underwood, who grew up a half hour from Michigan’s campus, has already developed a reputation for being one of the first to arrive at Schembechler Hall each morning and one of the last to leave each night, a classic football cliché bestowed upon a team’s hardest workers. He’s known for taking the field alone 20 minutes prior to every session, headphones wrapped around his ears, to study that day’s practice script and visualize the drills in his mind. He builds chemistry with the wide receivers and tight ends via extra throwing sessions that often run until the wee hours of the morning. He competes maniacally in the weight room and has packed enough muscle onto his 6-foot-4 frame to reach 230 pounds. He accepts constructive criticism from anyone in the building and carries out menial tasks without a hint of rebuttal.

Ryan Roberts, A to Z Sports: Mikey Keene holds off Bryce Underwood longer than expected, and a new defensive star highlight Michigan Hot Takes heading into 2025 season

Mikey Keene holds off Bryce Underwood
There are many people who believe that the [graduate quarterback] Mikey Keene bridge conversation is nearly lip service, and insurance from the Michigan staff. When you have a five-star signal caller to the level of Underwood, they tend to get on the field very early. While I expect to see a lot of the 6-4, 214-pound freshman passer in 2025, I do think the Wolverines will remain patient with him and develop him properly. I do believe that Keene will start several games for Michigan, and people will have to try and be as patient as possible. Underwood is the future, but like most true freshman, he might need some time to develop. 

Brandon Marcello, CBS Sports: Freshman phenom Bryce Underwood already has all the tools, but Michigan QB battle won’t be won on paper

Not every decision in football is scientific or complex. For fans and media, assumptions and projections often lead to preconceptions. As many as 13 Big Ten programs are expected to start a new quarterback this season. While many battles remain unsettled, the media have already penciled in presumed starters.

At Michigan, that assumed QB1 is a freshman: the nation’s No. 1 prospect, a 17-year-old Michigan native with the weight of the program on his shoulders. Bryce Underwood wasn’t at Big Ten media days this week, but his presence loomed large.

“Before anybody asks, it’s an open competition,” Michigan coach Sherrone Moore said with a smile. “He is not the starter right now. There is not a starter.”

If testimonials and intuition offer a preview of Moore’s eventual decision, Underwood may already be on his way to becoming the next Michigan Man.

Underwood has already earned the respect of Michigan’s upperclassmen. Teammates praised his humility and tireless work ethic in the weight room and during offseason practices.

“Every person sitting up here is going to tell you this guy is a great person,” said veteran tight end Max Bredeson. “But as soon as Bryce — a 17-year-old kid — walked into a college football locker room, not looking for approval but just showing what he does, and basically saying, ‘This is me. I’m not putting on anything fake, I’m ready to go work.’ Through that, he’s gotten what you’d say is the approval of people.

“It’s earning that trust. It sounds kind of dumb, but you’ve got to earn it by doing what you’re told by the coaches and doing everything the right way.”

Jimmy Watkins, Cleveland.com: Ohio State football fans should avoid the worst response to Michigan’s title trash talk

Michigan edge rusher Derrick Moore says your championship is fake. He thinks your flag laws are dumb. And Moore will be darned if you think a “nice little easy run” will stop the flapping of gums.

To hear senior Moore talk at Big Ten Media Days this week was to realize that a national title is not the trump card that Ohio State football fans think or want it to be.

The Game’s scoreboard, which exists on its own jumbotron, still reads 13-10 Michigan at Ohio Stadium, the unlikeliest of UM’s four straight wins in this rivalry. And before Buckeye fans respond, I’d urge them to choose their words carefully. Because the wrong response can —

Beating us was your natty! We had bigger goals.

Ah, OK. Guess we have to do this.

I understand why Buckeye Nation might think their title run outweighs any Michigan bragging rights. Championships define legacies. The 12-team college football playoff saps a bad loss’s urgency. By the natty or bust calculus, losing to Michigan last year did not “ruin” Ohio State’s season.

But we all know this rivalry runs deeper than that. And we all know how it’s measured. As much as both schools compare resumes, one bullet point beats the rest.