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Michigan
Wolverines head coach Sherrone Moore met with the media on Monday to preview the game this Saturday vs Washington at the Big House (Noon, FOX). Here is a recap of the key things he had to say.
- Running back Justice Haynes left the USC game halfway through due to injury, but Moore “feels good” about his chances of playing on Saturday at Washington. More on that news here.
- Backup quarterback Mikey Keene is healthy and “feels really good” but Moore seemed to downplay him jumping to the QB2 spot at some point this year. When asked about him later on by a different reporter, Moore said he has been doing everything he can to help the team and has “been outstanding.”
- Michigan missed 14 tackles on Saturday at USC. Moore said it “really comes down to angles” and the angles the defenders are taking when attempting a tackle. This is something that the team will continue to try and get better at week over week.
- Moore’s message to the team going into the second half of the season: “The message really is simple: we have to go back to work … there’s no pouting, there’s no worrying about it, there’s no making excuses for it.”
- After evaluating the film vs USC, Moore noted that tackling is what they are kicking themselves the most about defensively. “We’re much better than we played.” Offensively, he said it was the lack of finishing drives. “Against a team like that, you gotta go score … the big moments you have to execute the little details, and that’s what those big games come down to.”
- On Bryce Underwood midway through his first year as a starting college football quarterback, Moore said the things that have stood out to him the most are his poise, playmaking ability (“you see that flash”). The areas he needs to improve the most are the little decisions — the sack on 3rd-and-9 that took Michigan out of field goal range was brought up, specifically — and throws he doesn’t need to make like his interception on Saturday.
- When asked about Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr. and his dual-threat abilities, Moore said “you have to be ready” when you face a player like him. “He’s dangerous running the ball, he’s dangerous throwing the ball … you have to do a great job containing him and making him feel uncomfortable.”
- At this point in the season, Moore believes he has found his best 11 players on defense, but he did note that number goes up when guys like Rod Moore comes back healthy and Jaishawn gets moved to edge, bringing guys like Jimmy Rolder and Cole Sullivan on the field more often.
- Hudson Hollenbeck has had an up-and-down 2025 season. Moore was asked about what they can do to fix things, Moore said they have to continue challenging him. His punts have been good in practice, but they haven’t been translating to the games. “Continue to challenge him, like we do at any other position.”
- Moore said “you could say that” when he was asked if they have been too aggressive defensively. However, there have been times when the aggressiveness has worked (he brought up the Alabama game last year and the Wisconsin game two weeks ago). It all boils down to executing properly, per Moore.
- Stepping up on Saturday for Haynes was Jordan Marshall, who Moore thought “ran hard, ran physical” and made plays when they were needed. He also noted Marshall did well in pass protection.
- Wide receiver Andrew Marsh has shown consistency and started to do that during the bye week, which helped him get into the starting lineup. He will be a key piece of the offense moving forward.
- Finally, when asked if Barham will remain at edge, Moore said “absolutely” and that he has been a “game-wrecker” at that spot.
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