Michigan’s 2024 offense was, quite frankly, stuck in neutral. Predictable and painfully ineffective. The passing game was practically nonexistent, the play-calling lacked creativity, and defenses had no trouble figuring them out. With a thin receiving corps forcing an overreliance on the run, what was supposed to be a balanced attack became embarrassingly one-dimensional. The numbers? Brutal—131st in passing, 113th in scoring. That pretty much sums it up.
Now, heading into 2025, the pressure’s squarely on Sherrone Moore. As the man in charge of fixing that broken offense, he doesn’t just need improvement—he needs a full-blown revival. And to his credit, Moore hasn’t sat back. He made a massive splash by flipping five-star quarterback Bryce Underwood, who was committed to LSU. Then came the addition of Mikey Keene through the transfer portal and upgrades at wide receiver with freshman Jamar Browder and Indiana transfer Donaven McCulley. On paper, it’s a clear reset. But there’s still plenty of skepticism in the air.
Josh Pate didn’t sugarcoat it during his spring breakdown. “The wide receiver room, no matter who their starter is, still looks underwhelming to me coming out of spring,” he said. “It’s college football. It’s a developmental level of the sport. Crazier things have happened. But they have that, and then they also lost their top six tacklers. So they got a lot to replace sort of both sides of the ball.” That’s… not a glowing review.
Still, Pate wasn’t entirely out on Michigan. “The foundation of Michigan’s roster—I trust enough to think that blindly, I’ll buy them being a contender,” he added. “But being one of the big four in the Big Ten? Just sort of being up there, sight unseen. Got to find that out this year.”
The offensive numbers from last season don’t lie. Just five touchdowns on 80 receptions. That’s not intimidating anyone in the Big Ten. But 2025 could be different. Moore’s upgrades have brought legitimate size and experience to the WR room. The spring roster now lists 16 wide receivers, and McCulley—standing at 6’5”—is already in the mix for WR1.
Receivers coach Ron Bellamy gave fans a little hope: “This is probably the deepest the room’s been since I’ve been at Michigan,” he said. “Obviously, we have work to do. Guys still have to go prove themselves, but it’s just not young guys that are forced to play, right?”
Now, it’s a battle-tested group. Veterans Fredrick Moore and Semaj Morgan return, while rising talents like Channing Goodwin and I’Marion Stewart are pushing hard in spring ball. “Fred has experience. Semaj has experience,” Bellamy noted. “You look at the young guys: now you’ve got a guy like Channing Goodwin and I’Marion Stewart that didn’t play last year that are pushing the Fred Moores. And then you got the Donavan McCulleys, who has the most experience. So now it’s like, All right, go chase him.” So the wide receiver room? Trending up. But roster improvement isn’t the only issue hovering over Sherrone Moore’s head.
Sherrone Moore, Bryce Underwood & the $12M NIL Debate
College football recruiting today? It’s not just about prestige and program fit anymore—it’s business. NIL is the new currency. And when Bryce Underwood flipped from LSU to Michigan, it wasn’t just about tradition or legacy.
Underwood was Michigan’s white whale. The Belleville High star had committed to Brian Kelly and LSU in January. But then Michigan stepped in with a game-changer—a four-year, $12 million NIL package. That massive offer flipped Underwood’s commitment, and he made it clear: it was about more than just football. “A family thing, a business aspect,” he said.
Reportedly, LSU offered him $1.5 million per year. Michigan doubled that and closed the deal. But the $12 million move raised eyebrows—and not just among fans.
Sherrone Moore didn’t stop there. He reeled in Andrew Babalola, a five-star offensive lineman, and other top-100 studs like Ty Haywood, Nate Marshall, and Shamari Earls. Babalola, with an NIL valuation of $711k, now ranks third on Michigan’s roster in that regard. So with all this spending, you’d think Michigan’s Champions Circle—their primary NIL collective—would be among the biggest names in the game, right? Not quite.
That’s where things got interesting on Crain & Company. The hosts were reviewing the richest NIL collectives in the country, and Michigan didn’t crack the top 10. Meanwhile, Ohio State’s 1870 Society & The Foundation reportedly gave Jeremiah Smith a $4 million annual deal. But Michigan? Nothing on the list—even with Bryce Underwood’s $12 million deal floating around. “This surprises, though, right? How is Michigan not on this list?” Jake Crain asked.
Even David Cone couldn’t hold back. “Well that’s one thing I wanna talk about. Apparently, Michigan spent what, $12 million on just one quarterback, and they can’t crack into the top 10? That’s why I’m not buying any of this. I’m not believing any of this list. It’s all gonna reshuffle before the fall camp starts.”
They suspect Michigan is keeping things intentionally under the radar. Funding sources? Still unknown. Exact details? Not public. While Champions Circle does the heavy lifting, how they operate remains largely opaque. “If anybody can hide something, it’s Michigan,” Crain quipped.
Then came the bombshell: billionaire Larry Ellison and his wife Jolin, a proud Wolverine alumna, were quietly backing Underwood’s recruitment behind the scenes. Cone closed it with a nod to Michigan’s stealth mode: “I just think they’re doing a good job of, ‘Hey, just going about our business, chopping wood, don’t put us on any top 10 list, just going about our business.’”
So yes, Sherrone Moore might not be lighting up the media with bold statements, but behind the scenes, he’s making major moves. The roster’s more talented. The NIL game is stacked. And the pressure? Well, that’s building too.
The post Sherrone Moore Receives Alarming Verdict on Michigan Locker Room as Bryce Underwood’s $12M NIL Manipulation Invites Scrutiny appeared first on EssentiallySports.
