Name: Rod Moore
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 185 lbs.
High school: Clayton (OH) Northmont
Position: Safety
Class: Sophomore
Jersey number: #19
Last year: I ranked Moore #87 and said he would redshirt (LINK). He started four games and made 32 tackles and 1 pass breakup.
TTB Rating: 72
Moore was a pleasant surprise in 2021. Safety is a difficult position at which to contribute for a freshman, but Moore stepped in and played in an experienced secondary. Older players like Makari Paige, Jalen Perry, and German Green were left on the sideline while the precocious freshman started big games down the stretch against Penn State, Ohio State, and Georgia. The coaching staff raved about him, and word out of practices suggested he was a football nut who watched film and prepared like a future pro.
So here Moore takes a giant leap, from #87 in 2021 to #16 in 2022. With the departure of Brad Hawkins and Daxton Hill, I could probably make an argument for Moore to be ranked even higher. But it's hard for me to place a sophomore safety with four starts under his belt too awfully high in the countdown. After suffering an injury in the spring, he's still expected to start this fall, whether it's at safety or nickel. Other guys in the running seem to be R.J. Moten and Makari Paige, with fifth year senior German Green, redshirt junior Caden Kolesar, redshirt junior Jalen Perry, and freshman Keon Sabb all reportedly providing depth.
Prediction: Starting safety
I hope there's enough speed in a DB to cover slot receivers. Daxton Hill did it well last year. But there is no one as fast as him now. Not being able to cover slot receivers is something good OCs exploit all day long .
ReplyDeleteYep but Michigan hasn't used corners at nickel much because you also have to be able to support against the run, fly in to shut down passes to the flats, and cover TE crossing routes. It's a critical position, not an easy one, and we've been blessed to have elite talent there. But even Peppers/Hudson/Hill didn't start immediately as freshman at nickel.
DeleteMoore's smarts could give him the slot role even if he's not going to match the 40 times of those 5 star types.
Love this kid. I recall seeing him out there and thinking, "WHO???" and then looking up his recruiting info
ReplyDeleteI love watching Rod Moore play. You can see him make up for his lack of mass by the way he accelerates through a tackle. He’s a ball of brains limited only by physics, à la Kovacs. Wouldn’t be surprised if he’s a captain next year, even as an academic and eligibility junior.
ReplyDelete—Joby
I have Moore in my top 5. I think he'll be one of the best players on the roster. Period. Paragraph. Indent.
ReplyDeleteFor a true freshman to start at safety against OSU... I wonder when the last time that happened was. Precocious is the right word. And for him to pass up two older proven starters (Moten and Paige) to do it - means it was earned by merit, not by default. Zak Zinter is the offensive equivalent.
Now Moore's the top safety on the team and is the best option at 3 positions at least. As a sophomore! Hot damn. This kids a star, even if some of us might hope that he is a "boring" safety.
I think Michigan is going to put him at nickel/hybrid position - the same spot they've put their best DB for most of the last decade. Peppers, Hudson, Hill -- ELITE college players. It's arguably the most important position on the defense and it's not an easy one. (If he's at safety that's an indictment of Paige, in my view.)
Regardless of position, you can be sure that Moore will be on the field for every meaningful snap this year. (If healthy, fingers crossed). If he goes down Michigan inserting a vastly superior player (presumably the lesser of Sainristil/Paige, or a true freshman like Berry) into an every down role at one of the most critical positions on the field. And the trickle down effect of digging even deeper into the reserves on critical passing downs with 6 DBs on the field.
It doesn't get much more valuable than that.
Underrated! This kid is critical to the 2022 defense and, unlike offense, the depth is dodgy at most spots - even the starters are kind of dicey at a few places (edge, ILB, 5th DB). Michigan is shuffling guys around positions to try to make it work but Moore is one of the handful of pillars this defense hopes to rely on (Smith, Colson, Turner, Moore, and Moten). I put them all in the top 10 because there's no replacing them like we can replace Corum with Edwards, All with Schoonmacher, McNamara with McCarthy, or plug in Barnhart on the OL. The defense is a weak spot - so the value of the guys keeping it going is elevated.
Moore is a 5 star player, blending 5 star talent in a 3 star body with a 6 star mind. Maybe he won't be a first round NFL pick but maybe that means he'll stick around to be a 4-year starter instead of leaving in 3.
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