Sherrone Moore has confidence in the O-line: 'Expect those guys to be a lot better'

Trent Knoop | Sep 2, 2024

Michigan celebrates the touchdown by running back Donovan Edwards (7) during the 1st quarter against Fresno State at Michigan Stadium at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. / Kimberly P. Mitchell / USA TODAY NETWORK

Michigan clung to a 10-3 lead at halftime on Saturday against Fresno State where the Wolverines had just 89 yards of offense. But after some adjustments and players jelling better, Michigan had 180 yards of offense in the second half, along with 20 more points. Starting quarterback Davis Warren found his groove and hit Colston Loveland for an 18-yard score in the fourth quarter.

Sherrone Moore, speaking with the media on Monday, was happy to see the offensve connect in the second half. But with Texas looming on Saturday, the Wolverines' head coach says there is plenty to clean up as an offense. He noted there are 11 starters on offense and if just one guy doesn't do his assignment, it can mess up everything.

"You saw guys weren't scared of the big stage," Moore said of his team's effort on Saturday. "Obviously, a great atmosphere in the Big House, but I think players played extremely hard offensively. We got a rhythm at the end of the game, really felt the line jelling, got a rhythm of everything going on. I thought offensively, they definitely picked it up there. Got things to clean up as we always will and run game technique, fundamentals. It's the tale of 10 guys and you got one guy that doesn't do the job and then the play fails. So, we gotta continue to get better at that, but we will. This week, we're gonna put our hard hat on and we're gonna work our tails off this week to have a great week of prepping."

Part of the issue for the Michigan offense was its offensive line. The Wolverines lost all five of their starters to the NFL this offseason and while Michigan returns starting experience such as Myles Hinton, Josh Priebe (Northwestern), and Gio El-Hadi -- it's a brand new line for the first game of live football. Sherrone Moore also opted to start former defensive lineman Dominick Giudice at center and sophomore Evan Link at right tackle -- both players had tremendous camps -- there are going to be growing pains.

Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore looks up during the first half against Fresno State at Michigan Stadium at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. / Kimberly P. Mitchell / USA TODAY NETWORK

Moore believes from Week 1 to Week 2, people will see a huge change in the offensive line. It's something that he believes we see on a yearly basis, how much an O-line will improve from game reps.

"Yeah, never where you want it to be," Moore said of his O-line "And I think it's probably -- it's definitely got to get better. But I thought the attitude, I thought the strain was there. The details and the technique have to continue to get better. And that's a product of your first game as an offensive line. And even the first year is last year, the year before that, where I'd say the exact same thing. I went back and watched the past three years in the first game, then watched the second games, and it looks like two different lines. So I expect those guys to be a lot better. I know Coach Newsome will coach them really hard this week."

During spring, Greg Crippen appeared to have the inside track of starting at center for Michigan with Raheem Anderson backing him up, but Giudice ultimately won the job. After having a shaky start, Crippen came in for Giudice. But according to Moore, that was the plan, to allow both players to play with Giudice taking the majority of the snaps. Moore believes a healthy competition is best and both players will continue to compete moving forward.

"No, the decision we made pre-game, we were gonna play both him and Crip," Moore said of taking Giudice out for Crippen. "So, you know, keep competing. Everybody's always competing. Everybody's seen it through the years. Just because you just started one game doesn't mean you're gonna start the next game. Competitive atmosphere is the best. So, everybody has a chance to go compete. How'd he get it done? He did well for his first game as a starter at center. Got some communication things to clean up and protection. But, pretty dang good."

Michigan will host Texas on Fox at Noon ET on Saturday.

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Takeaways: Michigan takes down Fresno State with a rather lackluster offense