One can sense Sherrone Moore’s passion in the recruiting race when he shared his philosophy with Adam Breneman. “There’s still a relationship, there’s still a thought process of, ‘I want my son to play for a man that I respect, that I think will take care of him in a bigger way, that cares more about him than just says the number on his jersey. So I try to express that and show that to them, and understand like I have 105 players here who are my kids and I got two girls at home, so I got 107 kids and that’s how I treat them.” So, it often gets difficult for hot recruits to ignore Moore’s offer. Just like right now, a 260 lbs interior offensive lineman target of the 2027 class must be going through. And among his other suitors, James Franklin, must be losing his sleep.
The Michigan head coach has been the most successful man last season when it comes to recruiting trail wins. Period. While Moore struggled to strengthen his feet in Ann Arbor after the Jim Harbaugh era, he had hit a recruiting jackpot with the No.1 quarterback recruit, Bryce Underwood. That recruiting move was enough of a boost for Moore’s resume. However, there have been some slips in 2025. For instance, the Wolverines lost the race to land Jared Curtis, who chose to give Kirby Smart’s Georgia a second chance. But so what? Moore is in no mood to give up yet. He has jumped into the race and dished out an offer to three-star 2027 offensive lineman Tristan Dare. And already the rising Texas star is falling weak at his knees. Dare said, “The offer meant a lot coming from a program like Michigan. It’s a blue blood program. Go Blue.”
“The offer meant a lot coming from a program like Michigan. It’s a blue blood program. Go Blue.”
Rising 2027 Texas OL Tristan Dare (@TristanDare2027) talks about his new offer from Michigan + plans to visit #GoBlue. https://t.co/gJLVEDxGHt pic.twitter.com/OxbRaUk0QV
— “EJ Holland” (@EJHollandOn3) June 7, 2025
He further added, “I had a friend text me who is a pretty big Michigan. That’s just who the fanbase is. They are huge about Michigan. You can see that on game days. When that place is rocking, you can hear it through the screen. It’s very humbling.” Moore has disposed of evaluation duties to offensive line coach Grant Newsome, who went through Dare’s plays over the last month and put the scholarship on the table. “I talked to Coach Newsome for a little bit. He was very complementary about my film. He said a lot of good things. He said he wanted to offer me. I was a little surprised but very humbled,” the 6’5” star shared. Now what’s the next step? It’s Dare making his first-ever visit to Ann Arbor, which he hopes will take place at some point this summer or fall.
And this would leave Penn State head coach Franklin on the edge. The Nittany Lions have offered the Southlake Caroll product back in February. Later on, in April, Dare traveled to State College and was thoroughly impressed with what he saw at Penn State during his visit. Now, this does not guarantee anything. Franklin must be aware of how far Moore can go to bend recruits’ hearts to Michigan’s favor. Four-star tight end Andrew Olesh, the third-ranked tight end in the 2025 class, flipped his commitment from Michigan football to Penn State. This might call for some revenge. Other than Michigan and Penn State, Oklahoma Sooners, Texas Tech, Nebraska, and Stanford are also running in the race. While Moore plans a blueprint to hijack Dare, he has too many things on his plate right now.
Sherrone Moore walks on a tightrope
Nobody doubts the efforts that Moore had put into bringing in Underwood. But now that he is here, it becomes even more important for Moore and OC Chip Kelly to protect the signal caller. So, what’s the urgent assignment that Michigan has to finish? Finding new backs to go with him. The Wolverines’ wagon will be running without Kalel Mullings and Donovan Edwards this time onwards. Definitely, Moore tried to do the damage control. He has signed Justice Haynes (Alabama), CJ Hester (UMass), and John Volker (Princeton).
Even then, they should be mindful about their “summer agenda” as highlighted by NFL legend-turned-analyst Gerald V.Dixon. “Yeah, keep the Michigan thing the Michigan thing, especially on offense, and I’m talking about running the football and protecting him in the understanding of you don’t have to be Superman as a young man. Because when you get a young, talented quarterback that comes in, everyone wants to play with the new toy. ‘Let’s see what we can do, let’s RPO, let’s run him, let’s have him throw the ball 30-40 times.’ NO!” There should be no room for experimentation when it comes to Underwood.
Instead, Dixon suggested, “Run the football, you have an offensive line that can get it done. Justin Haynes came over from Bama in the transfer portal, hammer away. Play action, start them out slow, let him throw the ball 20 times, run the ball five to 10 times, and as the season goes along, that’s the bill that you want to have.” While Sherrone Moore focuses on bolstering his roster, he landed in a sticky spot. ESPN reported that Michigan is suspending Moore for two games this upcoming season. He will miss Michigan’s Week 3 game against Central Michigan and its Week 4 Big Ten opener against Nebraska. The reason? His alleged involvement in the sign-stealing controversy ft. Connor Stalions. Pressure’s piling up, but Moore can’t afford to take his gaze off Tristen Dare.
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