The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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28 THE WOLVERINE JANUARY 2023 baugh gives a player, and Moore fits the bill. From the day he arrived on campus, the 6-foot defensive back had his sights set on play- ing as a freshman. He ac- complished that with natu- ral ability, of course — he's fearless and skilled, one of those defensive backs who can catch the ball — but much, much more. When it came to prepa- ration, there was nobody better. That's what allowed him to see the field early, Harbaugh recalled. "I have evidence that he is the guy when it comes to preparation and study- ing tape," Harbaugh said in October. "A year ago in training camp, his fresh- man year, I was able to look at the guys' iPads through technology to see how many times they've opened an install tape or wa tc h e d p ra c t i c e ta p e during that 29-day pe- riod during training camp. The amount of hours that Rod had and times he had opened up that iPad to either install or tape watching was twice as much than the next guy. It was ridiculous. It was somewhere upwards of 550 times. "The next guy was around 250 … 250 times to have clicked on one of the differ- ent periods or drills or install tape, et ce- tera. Very, very impressive. As soon as he started playing, he didn't play like a fresh- man from the time he got into games to the time he started playing in the games." Which wouldn't have been a surprise to anybody who watched him play from the first time he put on a uniform. Early in Moore's career — back to when he first put on a helmet, even — his father would record his games and play them back for him to watch, see what he did right or wrong. Most of the time, he was the best player on the field. Not the biggest or fastest even back then, he was simply the one who made plays and happened to be in the right place at the right time. "It kind of started in middle school. My dad would always record my games, so he would make me watch myself," Moore said. "Then when we got into high school, I just used to study the older guys' games and try to compare it to mine. I started learning how to watch film and diagnos- ing plays from other teams." And he got into the playbook immedi- ately. When others were relaxing, he was perfecting his knowledge of the defense. "When we got our iPads, I just kept watching it over and over again to make sure I didn't make any mistakes I made the previous day, so I could just know what I was doing," Moore said. "I didn't want to be that guy that's going to be on scout team, where you come out in the jerseys that don't have your name on it. I just wanted to be on the field and be able to compete with everybody." He's done that and more. His instincts are as good as you'll see in a safety — and again, he's only a sophomore. But that's only part of what makes him one of the Big Ten's top young safe- ties, even though he only earned honorable mention all-conference honors (and only from the media). He's an elite tackler, and he's willing to play through pain. He knew at the end of last year he'd need offseason shoulder surgery, but he not only played through it — he also played at a high level. Assistant coach Jay Har- baugh, working with safe- ties this year after moving from tight ends, saw his sophomore take another big step. Moore shared De- fensive Player of the Week honors five times this year, for his performances against Colorado State, Michigan State, at Indiana, at Rutgers and at Ohio State. "He had a great season last year and he's bigger, he's heavier, a little bit sturdier," Jay Harbaugh said. "He's all the same things as he was last year, but just taken to another level. He can cover … he can play all the cover- ages. He can play man." And again, he can tackle, Harbaugh noted. "He's an unusually good tackler for a guy who is not particularly bulky," he said. "He's a bit more of a wiry build, but he's very, very strong and tackles with good technique. He's a guy who is a very well-rounded safety." HONING HIS CRAFT That's because he works at that, too. When he lines up a ball carrier, he's al- most flawless in how he approaches him and takes him down. The entire second- ary, in fact, had a great season in that respect, and they all thank one guy in particular — secondary coach and co- defensive coordinator Steve Clinkscale. His energy rubs off on everyone in the room, Moore said. While he loves his guys, he's not afraid to hurt their feel- ings to get the best out of them. "So many stories on Coach Clink … he's the alpha male," Moore said with a laugh. "When he's in the room, you're going to know he's in the room, and everybody Moore's 5 tackles, 2 pass breakups and outstanding overall play in the sec- ondary helped hold the vaunted Ohio State offense to 23 points — only three in the second half — in U-M's 45-23 victory over the Buckeyes this season. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER