Michigan football knows 'the blueprint' — and knows its depth players are ready to step up

INDIANAPOLIS — A reporter merely mentioned a conversation recently finished with Michigan football 's Max Bredeson to Sherrone Moore and he immediately couldn't contain himself.

"Gosh, isn't he awesome?" the H-back's new head coach interjected before Bredeson's name was even finished. "He's the best."

And indeed, by the time the question was repeated, Moore loved what he had to say.

See, the Wolverines are at a rather peculiar crossroads.

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They have the longest active winning streak in the nation — 15 straight wins last season en route to the program's first national championship since 1997 — but they haven't been found this summer on pundits' lists of College Football Playoff contenders.

In fact, U-M was picked by the media this week to finish fourth in its own conference — a product of the strength at the top of the newly expanded Big Ten (hello, Oregon), as well as the questions surrounding a roster that saw more than two dozen players leave (including a program-record 13 of whom were selected in April's NFL draft).

From the outside, the turnover seemingly left holes throughout Schembechler Hall: U-M has to replace 10 starters on offense (including the entire starting offensive line), another seven on defense, as well as the entire defensive coaching staff.

But Bredeson said he doesn't see a team turning to players without experience. He sees teammates who were the depth behind a magical championship run now getting the chance to write their own story.

"The theme I’ve been thinking of is, we have the blueprint, but you can’t be happy with that," Bredeson began. "Like, you have to find ways to make it better. There are new faces and ideas that are all in the same pursuit of what that next best way to do something is.

"The beauty behind it is just the Michigan staple is developing. There’s been so many guys who you haven’t got to see yet that have been working so hard for so long that you just know wholeheartedly they’re ready to do what they have to do. There’s confidence in every guy that steps on the field, and we’re grateful to be on the field."

It's one thing to note that Moore feels the same way; he spent his 45 minutes at the podium in Lucas Oil Stadium describing more than three dozen players across various position groups with terms such as "beast," "freak," "monster," "animal," and more as part of his first roster.

But when it comes from someone in the trenches, day in and day out? That really gets Moore's juices going, even more than his own belief in his team.

"It's awesome to hear that from him, one of our leaders," Moore said. "They're in the thick of it with our players every single day, they see it, they understand it, they get it, they see what it looks like, so he knows and they all know what it's supposed to look like, so we're excited."

So who's the next Wolverine to break out? Among the many, many names proffered, one stood out on defense: edge rusher TJ Guy.

A senior who "could've left a thousand times," according to Bredeson, the 6-foot-4, 250-pounder from Mansfield, Massachusetts, instead bided his time behind players such as Aidan Hutchinson, Mike Morris, Jaylen Harrell and Braiden McGregor. .

"Couldn't talk about TJ enough," Bredeson said. "In the world of college football now, TJ could've left so many times, but he's waited his turn and worked so hard to get his opportunity. I've practiced against him since I first got here and the way that guy works, he's developed every pass rush move and everything in the run game."

The offense has a pair of players who've shown a similar perseverance — and they're in a position battle with one another: centers Raheem Anderson and Greg Crippen.

Both are in their fourth year in Ann Arbor without a start, thanks to a steady stream of stars in the middle of the U-M line (including Olusegun Oluwatimi, named the nation's top center in 2022, and Drake Nugent, an All-Big Ten honorable mention last season).

"They have a great battle going on right now," Moore, their former position coach, said. "Those guys have been waiting in the wings, but they've been around really good players. ... Those guys have sat back in the shadows, and in the world of the transfer portal, for them to not leave tells you the dedication and love they have for Michigan.

"They both deserve the right to go get this job."

Simply put, these Wolverines aren't yet known on the field, but they have seen the way things are done around Ann Arbor.

Likewise, when former strength and conditioning coach Ben Herbert (long referred to as the team's X-factor) came back to check on the program and his mentee Justin Tress, he had two words of observation: "Nothing's changed."

That's one reason the Wolverines — though they won't say it out loud — feel they're in a sneaky-good position: the rare defending champion not being picked to repeat, or even challenge.

It's right where they want to be, underrated once again — just like last season, when they didn't reach the top of the rankings until the final week.

"Yeah, I mean for us, we like staying there," Moore said. "Staying in that little perch while we're getting ready. Then, when it's time and it's gameday, Aug. 31st, we get ready to strike."

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football knows 'the blueprint' — and knows its depth players are ready to step up