Has Sherrone Moore shifted Michigan away from Jim Harbaugh's NIL recruiting philosophy?
A few years ago when Name, Image, and Likeness laws were first being introduced and changing the game of college football, then Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh stated he desired the Wolverines' NIL game to be "transformational, not transactional." "Our philosophy is that coming to the University of Michigan is going to be a transformational […]
A few years ago when Name, Image, and Likeness laws were first being introduced and changing the game of college football, then Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh stated he desired the Wolverines' NIL game to be "transformational, not transactional."
"Our philosophy is that coming to the University of Michigan is going to be a transformational experience rather than a transactional experience. I've always been for student-athletes being able to profit off of their name, image and likeness. It just makes sense… I think we can all agree that's something that's fair and right."
Harbaugh is now with the Los Angeles Chargers, and Harbaugh's assistant Sherrone Moore has taken over as head coach. Immediately, Moore has made a huge splash in recruiting, with their most recent move to offer a historic NIL deal to secure the commitment of Bryce Underwood.
Is that a sign of Moore's willingness to play the modern game of ponying up to play the money game and depart from Harbaugh's "transformational" approach? Sherrone Moore addressed this discussion on Monday.
"It’s part of football now, right? NIL is part of recruiting, so it’s been a huge piece of it. We’re just continuing to strive to get the best players that fit us and the best players we can, and we’re getting the support we need to do that…Transactional is just a part of it, because that’s just a part of college football and recruiting now. You still have to have the attitude that you want to come to Michigan to be transformed into something bigger than just yourself. For us, it’s that the support you get from the boosters isn’t just financial. It’s putting [them] in position, whether it’s internships or different things, to make sure you have a goal you want to accomplish. Football is not here forever. What can we do to help you accomplish that goal? That support is a big piece of it, too.”
While Harbaugh might have supported players' rights to make money off of their image, there were multiple complaints that Michigan wasn't doing enough to secure top commitments. Sure, they were developing the guys that they did bring in well (Michigan had 65 players drafted under Harbaugh) but imagine what they could do with those elite recruits.
Moore seems to be willing to try and alter their approach away from Harbaugh to raise their talent floor and compete at the top. Indeed, Michigan's 2025 recruiting class is one of the best in blue-chip talents and could continue to climb as the early signing period begins in a few short weeks.
Moore has already landed Michigan's highest-ranked offensive line recruit ever in Andrew Babalola and has made a hard push to secure Underwood. Whether this approach works long-term is still to be determined, but Moore's desire to go his own way is respectable for a coach in just his first season in charge.
