Last year, the biggest issues in the Michigan Wolverines’ trademark run-heavy offense were their quarterback instability and receiving corps’ inefficiency. Their game against Texas was an example of how HC Sherrone Moore failed in doing exactly what he wanted– “I want us to be a physical offense that’s detailed and can score points.” Steve Sarkisian’s Longhorns came into the Big House guns blazing, ending the game 31-12, and Michigan was left with more questions than answers.

However, with the Wolverines later edging out Ohio State, Moore did “a better job of establishing that play-action and run-action stuff off it.” But the receiving and passing game took a backseat, with the latter ranking 130th of 134 FBS teams. Entering the 2025 season, he has solved the passing game issue by filling the QB room and showcasing the star QB Bryce Underwood. But not knowing who he would throw the ball to is still a big question mark. Thankfully, he has a plan.

“That was an emphasis for me. I wanted big receivers… I felt like we’d bring in really good size in that group to help us be more explosive in the passing game.” To fill in his WR room, Moore landed some physically imposing wide receiver prospects in Donaven McCulley (6’5″ and 203 lbs), Jacob Washington, even Andrew Marsh. And now as it stands, Sherrone might have a big dilemma as Isaiah of ‘Locked on Wolverines’ podcast provided the possibility of a grim scenario.

Isaiah received a fan question, “McCulley seems like the obvious choice for the most productive wide receiver this year. If that’s the case, who will be next most reliable and productive receiver?” After thinking for a moment, the host gave his opinion on the matter and how Sherrone Moore can solve Underwood’s problem for an experienced WR.

“I’ll go with Fredrick Moore. Obviously dropped the one in Spring game. Anthony Simpson, I wanna say, is the most experienced guy. That’s necessarily why they don’t need to go and find another guy… I’ll go Fredrick Moore, he’s been around. I think that he’s gained some confidence. Hopefully, the drop in the spring game doesn’t inhibit that, but that would be my guess at this point. It’s really anybody’s guess because it could be Jamar Browder. It could be Andrew Marsh. Or it could be Channing Goodwin. It could be any number of guys.”

The dilemma in the receiving department is not something to ignore. Fredrick Moore (6’1″ and 181 lbs), who returned for Michigan this year, can go across the middle and take quick slants to the house but might not have the ‘elite’ experience that Michigan is looking for at WR2 and might possibly have to prove himself. Then there are players like Jamar Browder (6’5″ and 208 lbs) and Andrew Marsh (6’0″ and 175 lbs), who are true freshmen and will take time to provide results. Trent Knoop of SI, though, does believe that, “Andrew Marsh has a chance to play right away” at WR2.

Lastly, Channing Goodwin is another Michigan returner who hasn’t seen a single snap since his enrollment in the 2023 season. So, yes, the physicality might be there, but the experience will still be lacking in the players, and that makes choosing a perfect WR2 more complex than envisioned. This could be a problem for Underwood, as he wouldn’t want a ‘wrong’ WR catching his passes, right? But with the new additions, Moore has also seen some of his players pack the bags and leave Ann Arbor.

Double transfer blow hits Sherrone Moore

Despite the heroics Sherrone Moore has done with Michigan in terms of recruiting players, as the program stood 6th nationally, the onus will still remain on retaining existing players in the class, and that might not be going well, considering the departures in this transfer window in the Spring.

Michigan lost several players in the portal since the head coach lost his prized wide receiver, Tyler Morris, who went to Indiana in January. There was the defensive lineman Alessandro Lorenzetti, who, although intended to enter the portal and did it for quite some time, eventually returned. Sherrone Moore then lost DL Kechaun Bennett, a four-season veteran with the Wolverines.

Apart from these players, Moore’s wide receiver Amorion Walker entered the portal and has signed with Tennessee. The losses in the portal will certainly hurt Moore, who would be optimistic about keeping his players. To supplement that, Moore has brought in more than 16 transfer players this year and maybe will continue to do the same. But as it now stands, he has a decision to make, and soon.