Name: Rod Moore
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 198 lbs.
High school: Clayton (OH) Northmont
Position: Safety
Class: Fifth year senior
Jersey number: #19
Last year: I did not rank Moore. He missed the season with a knee injury.
TTB Rating: 72
Rod Moore has been a mainstay in Michigan's lineup since 2021. He has been a captain and has been named All-Big Ten in the past. Altogether, he has 141 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks, 6 interceptions, and 7 pass breakups in his career.
So why is he ranked at #20?
Well, unfortunately, Moore was bitten by the injury bug in the spring of 2024 and has really struggled to recover since then. He missed the 2024 season and has had multiple setbacks, causing him to miss spring practices this year, too. His status for 2025 is an unknown at this point, and even if he plays, will he be back to his previous form?
Other players are saying he's like another coach on the field, but will he even be on the field this fall? And how much, if at all?
Due to the uncertainty, I'm ranking him at #20. With the numerous setbacks, I'm guessing he will not be available for the full season and will probably be a step slower than he used to be. I'm hoping that's not the case, but Michigan does have a pretty deep safety group with Brandyn Hillman, Jaden Mangham, T.J. Metcalf, and several others available to step in if needed.
Prediction: Starting safety (if healthy)
Due to uncertainty, I'm hoping but doubting we see Rod Moore. Sucks, because dude was a gem ...
ReplyDeletehow will this loss impact MICHIGAN's defense? Probably not much. Maybe Safeties don't matter?
Yep the questions here are totally reasonable. Plus depth at safety/nickel seems to be strong. I still see him as a top 10 importance player because he is just THAT good.
ReplyDeleteThere's always a degree of uncertainty in the importance of a given given guy (like when Donovan Jeter was ranked highly, despite being an unproven player, based on the impact he MIGHT have). I see Moore the same way. Michigan's defense has a very high floor given their depth and experience, with or without Moore. BUT. I think our chances of closing the season strong (beating OSU again, making the playoff, etc.) are dramatically higher with a smart savvy NFL-bound vet like Moore on the backline than say 30+ snaps from Mangham. He's a n all conference if not all american caliber player at his best. So uncertainty or not I consider him extremely important.
Also -- Moore offers Sainristril-like versatility where he can jump between his home position and nickel too. If Michigan struggles early at either spot he can fix it.
To add to the point above I think more than ever Michigan's season will be decided late in the year. Yes, the OSU game has always been the game, but with the bloated playoff format the losses in the regular season, especially early in the year, can be overcome. (As we saw OSU do last year.)
DeleteSo while Rod may not quite be Rod in September or October I'm putting a lot more weight on how he looks in November and beyond.