What a season for the Michigan Wolverines! Fans are probably still licking their wounds after that playoff snub, but Sherrone Moore just gave them something to smile about. He pulled a major heist, snatching five-star recruit Bryce Underwood right out from under Brian Kelly. That’s quite a statement move!

Even after that, the man is not willing to hit the settle button. Moore already has his eyes on a new two-way target, which might even shift some of the spotlight away from Underwood. At the same time, the Michigan HC is making the most use of the transfer portal. With this, he has been lucky enough to land an ‘unguardable’ talent from his Big Ten rival.  

Sherrone Moore’s transfer portal prize

Yes, Moore is still not done cleaning up the mess left by Jim Harbaugh. Before stepping into the NFL, Harbaugh had created havoc in the recruiting scene. And we got to see the aftereffects. The Wolverines have been severely limited in their passing attack throughout the 2024 season. What added to the passing woes? The mass exodus.

However, Landing Underwood secured the QB room quickly. And it was high time to add some oomph factor in the wide receiver room. That’s when Moore landed the first commitment out of the transfer portal, Donaven McCulley. He is the quarterback-turned-wide-receiver who played for ‘Google Me’ Man, Curt Cignetti’s Indiana Hoosiers. Now this has not been the first try. As the host shared on the Michigan Sports Talk podcast, “They went after him last off season but he remained at Indiana.”

Standing tall at 6’5” and weighing 210 pounds, Moore’s new WR is big and athletic. As the podcast host stated, “Michigan obviously really needed to get him a tall receiver on the outside and at times can be unguardable, according to Zach Osterman of the Indy Star.” Coming out of high school, the Hoosiers recruited McCulley to play quarterback. However, during the spring practice in 2022, he moved to wide receiver. In 2023 he had a breakout season, coming on strong with catching 48 passes for 644 yards along with six touchdowns.

It’s good that Moore and Co. got McCulley as the WR. After all, doubts prevailed about his skills of playing in the pocket. However, playing for the wide receiver, McCulley got rid of all doubts. Here are some tips for Moore. “Osterman said that he’s very much the prototypical outside receiver. Really good in red zone situations. Really good one-on-one.” So, in a way, the WR room looks sorted. Now what about the QB room?    

Sherrone Moore continues to fix his QB room

The term ‘quarterback’ must be enough to trigger the flashbacks for Moore from last season. After all, who knows what QB dilemma is better than him? This program used to churn out elite QBs, guys like JJ McCarthy. Now? They’re really struggling at that position. The Wolverines have tried trial and error with five quarterbacks. Davis Warren, Alex Orji, and Jack Tuttle: nothing worked. This made Moore even more desperate to fix this. 

So, he did not think twice before dishing out a hefty amount of more than $10 million to land Underwood. But maybe even after that, the HC could not get a good night’s sleep.

Michigan is now making an aggressive push for 2026 in-state recruit CJ Sadler, a 4-star talent. Coming off strong with a No.1 rank in Michigan and No. 98 nationally by On3, Sadler could redefine the Wolverines’ offense. 

Even though Bryce Underwood has gotten on the hype train, do not forget that, with his cannon of an arm, he can’t thrive without elite weapons. That’s when CJ Sadler is likely to hold the reins, as his speed and agility are likely to complement Sherrone Moore’s QB. Well, taking away the spotlight from Underwood, will Moore have to pay the cost?

Analyst Aidan Sen has raised an alarm for Sadler, “under-sized in comparison to Michigan’s regular prototype corner.” Now that’s true. Where cornerbacks like Will Johnson stood at 6’2”, Sadler is only 5’10.” So, for Moore, the margin for error is razor-thin—caution is a must.