Big Ten coach on ’24 Michigan football: ‘They’ve got to rebuild’

After winning a national title, the feeling around Michigan football isn't all that high

Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore watches a play during the second half of the spring game at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, April 20, 2024. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

Not too long ago, Athlon Sports went around and talked to different coaches around the Big Ten Conference and they weighed in on the state of the different programs. The caveat to this is you don’t know which coaches — assistants or head coaches — are saying what. Everyone putting in their quotes is anonymous.

“The trick for Sherrone [Moore] is to keep the momentum of a national championship culture through all the roster turnover. I think you’ll see a lot of familiar [Jim] Harbaugh practices and ideas this first season, because they’ve got to rebuild before they can put a new signature on the program.” 

Michigan is coming off of a complete season in which it didn’t lose a game, but after losing Jim Harbaugh, this coach believes the Wolverines will replicate the philosophies Harbaugh has done for years — even with Sherrone Moore at the helm. This coach says Michigan will have to rebuild before Moore can put his signature on the program. With what Moore has done via the transfer portal, this coach could be surprised by what the maize and blue do.

“The defense will lead the way for them; that can help bridge the rebuild on offense. Will [DC] Wink [Martindale] just rip it and blitz? That will be interesting to see.”  

The above quote from a Big Ten coach sounds pretty spot on. They say that the Wolverines’ defense will lead the way for Michigan in 2024 and it’ll be interesting how Wink Martindale handles the defense. Agreed. Martindale is the O.G. of the defense Michigan has run since 2021. Also, the Wolverines return so many playmakers on that side of the ball like Will Johnson, Mason Graham, and Kenneth Grant, among others, that it’s bound to be a top-five defense once again.

“They’re basically turning over the entire offense, and they need to find some receiver talent for whoever wins that starting job at QB.” 

This seems like a fair statement. Outside of the QB position, wide receiver is one of the bigger question marks. But it may not be as questionable as you think. Michigan lost Roman Wilson and Cornelius Johnson, but the Wolverines return an electric playmaker in Semaj Morgan and a reliable target in Tyler Morris. While both are somewhat unproven, both have shown enough that make you believe Michigan will be just fine in the receiving room. The Wolverines also brought back Amorion Walker and brought in Youngstown State’s C.J. Charleston for more help.

“This is going to be a massive transition even though they kept on the interim from last year. They’ll take a step back, but maybe not as far as you think.”

This coach above believes Michigan will take a step back with Harbaugh leaving and keeping Sherrone Moore. While I don’t agree with that — Moore went 4-0 last season with massive wins against Penn State and Ohio State — it does feel like Michigan has nowhere to go but down. The Wolverines are coming off of an undefeated season, so one loss is technically a step back. Michigan has a loaded 2024 schedule and mimicking that will be a challenge.

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