What the quarterback rotation tells us about Sherrone Moore

While a big rivalry win against Michigan State has lowered the temperature a bit, there is still a large portion of the Michigan fan base that is completely dissatisfied with the current coaching staff, including head coach Sherrone Moore.

Some of the criticism of Moore has to do with the lackluster performances we’ve seen from Michigan quarterbacks for most of the 2024 season. Those critics often point to the belief that Moore should have gone after a quarterback in the transfer portal this offseason. While the jury is still out on whether or not Moore pursued a QB in the portal prior to the season, the end result was that he ultimately settled for several unproven options already on the roster.

Moore opted to start the year with senior Davis Warren after winning the battle during fall camp. But Warren struggled during the first part of the season and committed six turnovers in three games as a starter, prompting Moore to make the move for junior QB Alex Orji. While Orji largely avoided committing costly turnovers, the passing attack was still virtually non-existent through two and a half games. As a result, Moore made another quarterback switch to seventh-year veteran Jack Tuttle. Early results on Tuttle looked promising, but his inability to protect the ball proved costly in two of Michigan’s three losses this season.

After the Week 7 loss to Illinois, Moore was once again faced with a difficult decision regarding his starting quarterback. As we now know, the decision was to return to where he started the season, giving senior Davis Warren the start against Michigan State. While the passing attack looked far from “electric” on Saturday night, it did look consistent and, most importantly, there were no turnovers.

Even with modest success through the air against MSU, we all know this passing attack is nowhere near where it should be. Michigan cannot find itself in this situation again and there is no doubt that Moore will have to look to the transfer portal for a quarterback in the near future. And while there are certainly still questions about how we got here, there’s one thing we can’t doubt about Sherrone Moore at this point in the season: his willingness to try.

We all knew Moore needed to make a QB change after Warren threw his sixth interception against Arkansas State in Week 3, and Moore did so. We all knew Moore had to make a QB change after it became clear it wasn’t working with Orji, and Moore did it. We all knew Tuttle wasn’t the answer after what we saw happen against Illinois, and Moore saw it too. Making four quarterback changes in eight weeks is never an ideal situation, but it is a sign of a head coach who is willing to make the tough decisions necessary to give his team the best chance.

We discuss that and more in the latest episode of The Winged Helmet Podcast:

– Enjoy more Michigan Wolverines coverage on Michigan Wolverines On SI –