Michigan has spent most of the off-season trying to pivot from controversy to continuity. Jim Harbaugh’s NFL exit, an overhauled coaching staff, and a freshman quarterback headlining a younger roster. All of it signals a program eager to close the book on the sign-stealing saga that shadowed its 2023 and 2024 success. Two top-10 recruiting classes buttress the rebuild, and Sherrone Moore’s team enters Saturday’s opener against New Mexico ranked 14th but carrying playoff expectations all the same. In Ann Arbor, the narrative has finally shifted from ‘What did they do?’ to ‘What comes next?’, and that may be the biggest win of Moore’s young tenure.

The pivot became possible only after the NCAA’s August ruling. Investigators stopped short of a postseason ban but levied one of college football’s largest financial hits: a package of fines that could exceed $20 million, a four-year probation, scholarship cuts, and sweeping recruiting restrictions. Former coach Jim Harbaugh received a 10-year show-cause order, and Connor Stalions received eight, while Sherrone Moore was tagged with a two-year show-cause and an extra one-game suspension in 2026 on top of the two games Michigan will sit him out this September. The penalties sting, yet the absence of vacated wins or bowl bans lets 2025 ambitions stay intact.

Which brings us to Monday’s media availability, the first time Sherrone Moore faced cameras since the ruling. Asked how he processed the sanctions, the coach puffed out a breath, waved away the past with a quick hand sweep, and said, “Ready for New Mexico. All that stuff…” He mimed brushing off a fly and continued, “Just ready to go play. Can’t harp on that now.” The gesture, equal parts relief and resolve, signaled the staff’s marching orders: acknowledge the verdict, then bury it beneath Week 1 preparation.

That brief nod to the scandal was Sherrone Moore’s only look back. He pivoted to football specifics, praising Brady Norton and Nate Efobi: “Brady Norton looks like he’ll start right now, but Nate Efobi will play as well.” He also lauded Channing Goodwin and said, “He’s really taken the next step to be that third guy.” Moore wouldn’t tip his hand on personnel tweaks sparked by the scholarship reduction, but he underlined the importance of clean special-teams play and quick adjustments in the new-look Big Ten. The message was clear: focus forward, details first.

For all the pain the sign-stealing penalties inflicted, Michigan’s locker room appears to have digested them and moved on. No postseason axe hangs overhead; no roster exodus followed. Instead, the Wolverines open 2025 with a clean scoreboard and a coach determined to make the scandal a footnote rather than a forecast. If Moore’s players match his shrug-and-stride response on Saturday, the ordeal that once threatened to define Michigan football may soon read like yesterday’s headline.

The freshman era begins in Ann Arbor

Before reporters could finish their first question on Monday, Sherrone Moore supplied the headline, confirming that 18-year-old Bryce Underwood will start the opener against New Mexico. The decision formalizes the rumors that have been online forever and makes the nation’s top 2025 recruit the youngest quarterback ever to take Michigan’s first snap.

Moore said the freshman “just did the things the right way … used his skill and never tried to do too much for a young guy, very mature beyond his years,” while reminding everyone that “he’s gonna make mistakes, but that’s what we’re here for”. The coach recalled a mid-camp scrimmage inside Michigan Stadium when Underwood ripped two throws that left offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey nodding and associate head coach Biff Poggi whispering, “Yeah, I think this is the guy”. Graduate center Greg Crippen added that the newcomer’s calm command “almost relaxed” the huddle, proving he can “rally a team” rather than simply wow it with arm talent.

Underwood’s promotion dovetails with Moore’s larger push to turn the page from the NCAA sanctions detailed earlier. Composure, mistake-free football, and unified locker-room chemistry over lingering scandal talk. Moore emphasized that the rookie “never makes the same mistake twice … he talks to everybody … when you feel like somebody gravitates and has got the team, then you feel like you got your quarterback”. In other words, the Wolverines believe the fastest route beyond the sign-stealing fallout is in the steady hands of a teenager who already owns the huddle.