Michigan's Sherrone Moore singles out two Wolverines who could surprise in 2024

With the loss of many veterans from last year's national championship-winning team, there's opportunities for young guys to make a name for themselves in Ann Arbor this fall...

Michigan wide receiver Fredrick Moore (3) warms up before the Indiana game at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

Michigan enters the 2024 season with only four returning starters from last year's national championship-winning team. Despite the loss of all that talent, the Wolverines bring another quality roster to the gridiron this fall, and there are opportunities for many young guys to step up and make a name for themselves.

In an interview with Big Ten Network, U-M head coach Sherrone Moore singled out two players, one on each side of the football, who he expects to surprise onlookers this season.

"I think every single year it's a different team, and there's definitely different places, different faces that you're going to see on each side of the ball," Moore said. "Every single guy is going to do something that's going to be a 'wow' moment at some point. Guys that have taken a step forward, a guy like T.J. Guy has really taken a step forward in what he can do on defense. And then, a guy like Fred Moore on offense."

Dec 31, 2022; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Michigan Wolverines edge TJ Guy (42) against the TCU Horned Frogs during the 2022 Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Entering his redshirt junior season, Guy has appeared in 23 games thus far in his career, recording 16 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and two sacks in limited playing time. The 6-foot-4, 250-pounder drew a lot of praise during spring practice and over the summer however, and is expected to be bigger part of the Wolverines' rotation at defensive end behind starters Derrick Moore and Josaiah Stewart in 2024.

Moore, meanwhile, is a little more green entering his true sophomore season. He played sparingly across 13 games for Michigan last season on offense and special teams, but had only two catches for 14 yards on the year. However, the second-year Wolverine flashed his speed and big play potential in U-M's spring game back in April, taking a reception on an intermediate slant route and turning it into a 42-yard score. With former starters Roman Wilson and Cornelius Johnson off to the NFL, Moore has a chance to crack the starting lineup in 2024.

Maize Team wide receiver Fredrick Moore (3) runs for a touchdown against Blue Team during the second half of the spring game at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, April 20, 2024. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

Michigan saw its top six offensive lineman depart this offseason, with Zak Zinter (Cleveland Browns), Trevor Keegan (Philadelphia Eagles) and LaDarius Henderson (Houston Texans) getting selected in the 2024 NFL Draft. Trente Jones (Green Bay Packers), Drake Nugent (San Francisco 49ers) and Karsen Barnhart (Los Angeles Chargers) were picked up as undrafted free agents. Despite an entirely new starting offensive line for the Wolverines this year, Sherrone Moore believes that unit will turn heads in 2024 as well.

"Even all those guys on the offense line who haven't really played to the roles of the Zak Zinters and the Trevor Keegans of the past, those guys are going to really surprise people," the head coach said. "They've really gelled over these last couple months, and watching them in summer workouts has been really cool and how they've pushed each other, how they've pushed the D-line even. And, we have arguably the best D-line in the country, so to watch those guys work out together and push each other has been really cool."

Michigan is expected to start Myles Hinton (left tackle), Josh Pribe (left guard), Greg Crippen (center), Giovanni El-Hadi (right guard) and either Andrew Gentry or Jeff Persi (right tackle) at offensive line this season. That group will get their first opportunity to establish themselves when the Wolverines' host Fresno State on Aug. 31 (7:30 p.m. / NBC) for their season-opener.

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