Sherrone Moore Puts Struggling B1G Rival on Notice After 200-LB Target’s Big Michigan Admission

Sherrone Moore’s off-field woes don’t seem to end at all, even after 2 years of the Connor Stallions scandal. The head coach was just going to get ready for the 2025 season, but in June, there would be a stern test coming. The 52 deleted text messages will come haunting, and Sherrone Moore will have no place to hide. Michigan has already proposed a self-imposed punishment of 2 two-game ban. But will it guarantee or persuade the COI? We don’t have a definite answer. But what we know is that Sherrone Moore is making his moves aggressively without too much worry about the verdict.

Last season presented several challenges for Moore, which ranged from the NCAA violations to Jim Harbaugh’s departure, and massive attrition. But did it stop the head coach from backing down from the challenge? Heck no! Sherrone Moore, with all the troubles he had, finished 8-5 overall. He slayed the Natty winners, Ohio State, and along with all of this, produced a 6th-ranked class nationally. That’s no small feat. But wait, Moore didn’t stop here.

Bryce Underwood came to Michigan in a sensational move after Moore pulled off a video call with the legend Tom Brady and the backing of Oracle’s founder, Larry Ellison. Brian Kelly didn’t even know what hit him as his long-term commit came quickly to Ann Arbor. Cherry on top? In came Andrew Babalola, the 3rd-ranked OT, and Shamari Earls, the 13th-ranked CB nationally. The head coach even added 17 transfers that included Justice Haynes from Alabama and T.J. Metcalf from Arkansas. But now that the 2025 class is wrapped up, the head coach is pulling strings even deeper for the 2026 one.

As per recent reports by On3, Mason Bonner, the 21st tight end in the country, had some esteemed words of praise for Michigan and Moore. “I love hanging out with them. They just made me feel like family. It’s really what they want to do with that program—’ team over me’ is what they say—and I just loved my trip up there. It was awesome.” The 3-star rated On3 prospect had his destinations narrowed down to two, finally the second one being the Minnesota Golden Gophers, but now?

Well, considering the statements, the player is coming up; it seems hope may be lost for Minnesota after all. Moreover, losing him would be detrimental, too. For starters, standing at 6’6″ and 200 lbs, Bonner is incredibly athletic as a tight end. Moreover, the player’s experience to play as a DL in the trenches will also help in pass protection for Bryce Underwood. And still he has more to offer. The player is a natural pass catcher and possesses great spatial awareness when competing against relatively smaller DBs. His running routes, too, look smooth, and this is the reason why he is widely sought in the TE market. A native of Mullen High School, Denver, the player notched up  617 yards and 8 TDs in just his junior year, averaging a stellar 18.7 yards per catch.

Sherrone Moore facing potential ban, as verdict nears?

As discussed earlier, Sherrone Moore is facing potential sanctions as the latest date of the hearing is scheduled to be June 6th and 7th. Moreover, ESPN had also reported that since there is no precedent for the NCAA violations that Moore is facing. He could face at least 4 four-game ban going into the 2025 season. Earlier, Harbaugh had faced a similar ban of three games and was later suspended for a full year. In the recent episode of Josh Pate’s podcast, Pete provided a more grim scenario.

“The NCAA is powerful enough to diminish their value as an asset, and there’s only one way to do that: remove postseason participation, you call it a bowl ban, call it whatever you want to“. Josh then added his take, “If they remove Michigan’s ability to compete in postseason play for multiple years, therefore diminishing and diluting their value as an asset that multiple networks have paid billions of dollars for.”

All in all, it seems like the NCAA is tightening its screw and is leaning towards punishing Michigan. We do not know the full extent of the punishment. However, if any such severe sanctions are put in place, Michigan as a brand and program will suffer. The big money deals with Fox, ESPN, and NBC will have to be shelved. That again will not be too financially healthy for the Big 10 as a conference.