Michigan’s defense faced a significant setback last spring when safety Rod Moore suffered a torn ACL, costing him his senior season. However, Moore has been making steady progress and is expected to be ready for play in 2025, which he confirmed via social media.
Moore is anticipated to be a key player for a defense that performed admirably despite missing several starters, as seen in their 19-13 victory over Alabama in the Dec. 31 ReliaQuest Bowl. The defense had a slow start but finished strong, playing some of its best football in the latter part of the season. Senior safety Makari Paige had a standout game, intercepting a pass and delivering a crucial hit on quarterback Will Howard, which appeared to rattle Howard for the remainder of the game.
Despite the defense’s success, Moore’s absence was keenly felt. Before Moore’s injury, defensive coordinator Wink Martindale had compared him to some of the best safeties he’d coached in the NFL with the Baltimore Ravens.
“Rod Moore, he’s the safety that — and I’m not talking about play-wise or anything else — smart-wise, football knowledge-wise, all that, that’s exciting to me, because there are a lot of checks that have to be made on the field,” Martindale said. “The head pieces, the earpieces coming in now, which is great because that’s what I’m used to … there are still signals going to be going on. Rod is like, ‘If they go hurry up, what should we do?’ Call the defense. You can’t be wrong. He’s that smart.”
Moore was initially a candidate to leave for the NFL after his junior year and a national title, but he opted to return for one final season as Michigan’s captain. Though he missed the first three games of 2023 due to injury, Moore had an impressive return, clinching another victory over Ohio State with a key interception in a 30-24 win.
“He reminds me of Eric Weddle,” Martindale remarked. “And he was one of the smartest safeties I’ve ever coached. So, I called Weddle and told him about it.”
Moore had been taking a day-by-day approach, considering whether to return to Michigan or enter the NFL draft. After resuming walking, lifting, and running on a treadmill in late December, Moore indicated he was still weighing his options. However, multiple sources had suggested he would return to Michigan, and now that has been confirmed.
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