Michigan’s ‘Team 145’ is ‘hunting’ more success, even with a ‘target on our back’

On Jan. 8, 2024, in Houston, Texas, the 2023 Michigan football team realized its destiny by winning the national championship, and running back Blake Corum proclaimed that “business is finished.” The Wolverines reached the top of the college football mountain, to use a phrase from Lloyd Carr , for the first time since 1997.

Following the 15-0 season, head coach Jim Harbaugh went back to the NFL with the Los Angeles Chargers, one of many changes for the Wolverines. A program-record 13 NFL Draft picks and several staff members — including defensive coordinator Jesse Minter and director of strength and conditioning Ben Herbert — also departed.

What now?

Seven new assistant coaches, nine transfers and a 25-man freshman class joined the team, yet many of the same faces remain, including head man Sherrone Moore , who was promoted from his role of offensive coordinator and served as acting head coach during four games last season.

The Wolverines, many of whom possess championship rings, insist that there’s more work to be done, that they’re not satisfied. Harbaugh didn’t leave the cupboard bare, either. In fact, there are still plenty of talented players on the roster and proven coaches in the building. And while it’s human nature to let complacency seep in, the Wolverines have been consciously guarding against it — not just this offseason but while enjoying past success, too.

Moore pointed to junior cornerback Will Johnson as a ring leader in that regard, providing a great example and pushing his teammates to reach higher.

“I think it’s just the culture we built, really just establishing that — that hard work mentality, that none of the outside circumstances really matter,” Johnson explained. “Just willing to work, willing to be better, willing to be coachable. Just lead by example, rub that off on other guys and put my head down and work. Everything else will work itself out after that.”

“We know that once you’re wearing that crown, you aren’t as hungry anymore,” added sophomore wide receiver Semaj Morgan . “Being the team that we were last year, we wanted to fight off [complacency] even when we weren’t on top yet. They were pretty good the two years before we won the championship — they could’ve been OK with that. But nah, that’s what they wanted to keep away.”

Moore, the first coach to take over a program that just won the national championship since Frank Solich at Nebraska in 1998, shares many of the same philosophies as Harbaugh, and new director of strength and conditioning Justin Tress has been with the program since 2018, working and learning under Herbert. The expectations are the same, and the culture is intact, one of the major pluses of hiring from within.

“We all have a standard, and we’re gonna keep it that way,” Morgan said.

“There’s been no drop-off,” junior defensive tackle Mason Graham noted.

Last season, Michigan was attacked by rival fans and hostile media over allegations of illegal off-campus scouting. The Wolverines blocked out some of the noise and used the rest as motivation, with Harbaugh even calling the scrutiny a “priceless gift.” Now, the naysayers believe U-M can’t reach championship heights without Harbaugh or its stars who are now in the NFL, but they’re just adding fuel to the fire, too.

“Everyone doubts Michigan, so we’re always going to have a target on our back even after a national championship — even more,” junior defensive tackle Kenneth Grant stated. “So we gotta take every day like we’re being hunted, but we’re really hunting. Thinking about what other people are doing, we gotta do 10 times better than what they’re doing.”

“That’s kinda the culture here, to always have a chip on your shoulder,” junior wideout Tyler Morris said. “After we lost so many people, there are a lot of people saying that we’re gonna lose however-many games, and we’re not gonna do this or do that or whatever. It’s just us wanting to prove ourselves right, because we believe who we are, and we have that opinion of ourselves, but unless you go out and do it, it doesn’t really matter.”

Michigan has more than enough reason to keep pushing forward rather than dwelling in the satisfaction of past victories. The Big Ten has expanded to include West Coast powers, the 12-team playoff begins this season and there are programs across the nation looking to knock the Maize and Blue off their perch.

“You gotta work like you’re losing,” Morris said. “That’s our big thing: always work like you have nothing.”

“You can never get complacent at the top, even though we are at the top,” Graham explained. “But it’s a new year. This is team 145, not team 144, so we have our own destiny.”

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