Finally, FINALLY, things have started to look a bit better for Sherrone Moore’s Michigan Wolverines. The 2024 season has been pretty rough for them! Moore had big shoes to fill. Yet at the same time had to make up for the havoc that Jim Harbaugh left Michigan with before parting ways. Yes, Moore and the Wolverines did stoop low in their fans’ eyes. But can the fans be really blamed? Not at all. After all, Michigan stepped into 2024 as the defending champions.

And when they saw Moore falter at his role and his boys could not even make it to the playoffs, he landed in a hot seat. However, now they are surely going to be proud of their HC. After all, a 296lbs surprise is waiting on the defensive line. But what about the Wink Martindale scenario? Things look positive there too.

Sherrone Moore has been lucky to keep his defensive powerhouse close

Well, the last season did expose some cracks in the football program. The biggest issue has been Moore’s defense lacking depth. The issue has become more prominent, since in the 2023 season, under defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, they were historically deep and had multiple starting-caliber players at every position. Back then, it was a rare sight for a player on defense to come up with more than 30-40 snaps. After the Wolverines lost J.J.McCarthy, and Roman Wilson, Moore’s squad struggled with their pass defense. Through the first six weeks, they were ranked at No.15 giving up 259.8 yards per game. Surprisingly, back in 2023, they were the second in the nation. But this picture is going to change super soon.    

On the Michigan Sports Talk podcast, the host revealed, “Michigan football just got some great news on the defensive side as has been confirmed by M Live’s Ryan Zuke as he spoke with Michigan defensive line coach Lou Espocito and he said that the defensive tackle Rayshaun Benny will be back next year.” Benny was “absolutely” the anchor of the defensive line in the ReliaQuest Bowl win. Even though he has yet to officially announce that he is not committing to the 2025 NFL Draft, his stats are enough for fans to go gaga waiting for the big day. 

At Michigan, he played in 39 games. Standing tall at 6’4” and weighing 296 lb, within that span he racked up 71 tackles, nine tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, and three pass deflections. So this time, Benny looks forward to bagging his second championship and gifting it to Moore. With this, the phenom would be joining defensive end duo TJ Guy and Derek Moore and linebacker Jaishawn Barham who also did not commit to the NFL Draft. Besides, the player’s roster, things look good on the coaching front as well.    

Sherrone Moore’s take on the Wink Martindale situation

Now that the players are back in the fold, it’s an absolute WIN-WIN situation for Moore. The only thorn that is there on their road to success is the Martindale hoopla. While all other things look to be sorted, there has been confusion about the defensive coordinator’s status. This obviously came off as a blow since it has been a year since Martindale stepped into Moore’s program. But within this one year, the DC did spread enough magic to now leave fans in panic thinking about him moving out.

One of his best feats came with the Wolverines defense holding Ohio State’s high-flying offense to just 10 points. However, it’s Moore. When is life ever less of a plot twist for the Michigan HC? Rumors started to do rounds that NFL programs are eyeing Martindale. Specifically, the Atlanta Falcons reportedly interviewed the Wolverines DC. Heavyweight programs like Indianapolis Colts, and Cincinnati Bengals are said to be in the line. Now what does Moore feel about it? 

As reported by Angelique Chengelis from Detroit Press, Sherrone Moore said, “Don’t want to lose him. Don’t want him to go anywhere. Want him to be here at Michigan, and I think he does, too, but he has opportunities he has to look at.” After all the program can not afford another Mike Macdonald and Jesse Minter mishap.