Sherrone Moore insists Michigan will be balanced and versatile

Michigan enters the 2023 football season with talent all over the field, and on both sides of the ball. Offensive coordinator and line coach Sherrone Moore calls the running back room the “most talented room he’s ever been around,” at any position, excited to see what they can do. Senior Blake Corum might be the best runner in the country, Moore said, Donovan Edwards one of the most dangerous players overall.

They’re not alone, he said. Having seen what the skill position players accomplished in the spring behind a line that wasn’t at full strength, Moore can’t wait to see what they all bring to the team this fall. He’s said it repeatedly — they have “rich people problems” when it comes to figuring out how to get guys touches — and it starts with the backs.

“That room alone added with all the other weapons on our offense — [quarterback] J.J. McCarthy, our tight ends,” the Michigan assistant began. “Everyone knows about the top two [Colston Loveland and AJ Barner], but we have four or five who will play. The receivers … just everybody. It’s a very dangerous — very dangerous — offense.”

One he knows needs to be balanced to accomplish the goals they’ve set in 2023. Head coach Jim Harbaugh predicted the run/pass ratio would be closer to 50-50 this year. While that seems optimistic given his propensity to run, the talent at running back, and the fact that his better teams have been run heavy, there’s no question McCarthy made huge strides this spring. They can ride him more, as necessary.

That’s the goal, Moore said. At the same time, they are going to play to their strengths. If Corum and/or Edwards is going off, they’re likely to stick with it. If teams don’t respect the Michigan run game, odds are the Wolverines will continue to ram it down teams’ throats without apology.

“At the end of the day, we want to be balanced,” Moore said. “That’s very cliché to say, but if you’re not, you’re predictable. We don’t want to be predicable. I want to do everything we can to attack defenses, attack weaknesses in different ways whether it’s the run, pass, play action, screen, perimeter run, downhill run, over the top, or intermediate. We just have all the tools available to us to attack defenses any way we need to get the ‘W’ at the end of the day.”

He kind of laughs, he said, when he reads the “we don’t win right” comments or hears people complaining about last year’s squad. Michigan dominated on the ground and didn’t lose a game with their formula, crushing Ohio State for the second straight year. Still, that wasn’t good enough for some.

It was plenty good for the guys in the Michigan locker room, Moore said. When they celebrated on the OSU field and planted the flag, nobody was worried about who got what. They were all just thrilled to be champions. That’s the goal again in 2023, and they’ll do whatever it takes on offense to get there.

“We were as happy as we could be when we were 13-0. I’ve never been 13-0 in my life, in any sport … in anything,” Moore said. “I scratch my head, but more I kind of laugh. Fans are fans. They’re going to have their opinions, which is great.

“I love the Michigan fan base. But I think every fan base is like that in a sense. Everybody wants the sexy way to win. Sometimes it’s not that sexy. But as long as we get the win, we’re happy.”

And for some segments, there’s nothing sexier than destroying opponents for 300 or 400 yards on the ground and dominating the line of scrimmage. If that’s the way it is this year … great. But Moore and the Michigan coaches will have plenty of ammunition if teams line up to stop it, and they’re ready to do what’s necessary to win.

Expect a heavy dose of the run game again in 2023 … and a lot of wins with it.

The post Sherrone Moore insists Michigan will be balanced and versatile — ‘It’s a very dangerous offense’ appeared first on On3.