The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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THE WOLVERINE 2025 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 103 And I knew, oh, man, there's something wrong. That same night, the doctor said what it was. It's just one of those things you have to deal with, then go from there." Moore considered the question of whether it proved tough having to watch his teammates perform — and sometimes struggle — during the 2024 campaign. The difficulty began long before that, he assured. "It was tough just watching the rest of spring practice," Moore said. "You talk about the season … yeah, it was re- ally hard. In my life, I've never sat out a full season of football or any sport I've ever played. It was kind of challenging to learn how to understand that I can't do any- thing about it. My mindset was, just try to be the best version of myself and what I can do as a leader. I had already gotten myself solidified as a leader and still got voted a captain. I can't go out there with a pissy attitude, just be- cause I can't play. I need to be the best guy, best teammate, for everybody in the building." So, he threw himself into contributing what he could. Some teammates called him "Coach Rod" when he donned a headset during certain workouts. "I just naturally try to coach people and help them," he said. "I know a lot more than a lot of the guys here, because I've been playing since I was a freshman in the same type of playbook, and it's a really complicated playbook. They just wanted me to teach the guys what I knew, and show them the little things that I may see that they don't. It's basically like a player- coach." After the regular season, Moore consid- ered gearing up to go to the NFL Combine and proving himself worthy of a pro roster. That's when Phase II of his physical chal- lenge began. In December, he needed to go back in and get surgical clean-up work done on the meniscus. "That's really what led me to come back again," he said. "I wasn't healthy enough to really go out there and compete at the Combine, or even train for it. So, now I'm just working on getting back from the me- niscus surgery. The ACL is 100 percent good. I've already got that cleared by both the doctors here and those who did my surgery. "Right now, I'm working to get back. I'm running really well, just doing a lot of conditioning work and strength work on my legs, each and every day. I'm just wait- ing until I'm fully back." Moore knew if he didn't get the second surgery, he would not be playing football again. Now he's looking to control what he can and be as ready as possible when fall camp hits. "I've had knee injuries," he said. "Obvi- ously, this is the worst one I've ever had. I know when I'm fully healthy, I'm going to be back just as fast as I was before I got in- jured. It's just a matter of time. Obviously, I get frustrated. Sometimes I have days where I'm in a whole bunch of pain and I'm like, am I really going to get back? But that's just part of the game, part of being back healthy." Planning The Comeback He's experienced all kinds of time — too much time, really — to contemplate his re- turn. He's looking to not only be the version of himself that spearheaded the efforts of the secondary in the national champion- ship season, but an even better Rod Moore. "Man, I've had a lot of thoughts about this," he said. "I'm not going to lie. I think about it every day. I'm about to make an impact I've never made before. It's all or nothing for me. It's my last year of college football, and I've got to go out with a bang." He's definitely excited about Michi- gan's defense, which should lead the way toward the Wolverines' chances for a Big Ten championship and a shot at the Col- lege Football Playoff. His view of defen- sive coordinator Wink Martindale's troops has been up close and personal, and Moore likes what he sees. "This spring, watching them without me and with the transfers that we got, I think the sky's the limit for the defense, honestly," he said. "We've got to nail down a couple more things in the back end, be- cause we're kind of young, but that will come with me getting back there, being able to control things. You need a safety like that in the back end." He listed Michigan's wealth of talented defensive linemen, making a connection to when he last took the field. "We've just got to go back to where we were — getting to the ball, shutting stuff down, being the best defense in the coun- try, honestly," Moore said. "In 2023, we had a whole bunch of guys, like five D-tackles, that they rotated in. When you're a big guy, you get tired. It helps us a lot in the back end when they go in there and they're rush- ing fresh. That's wh a t we n e e d . That's what took us to the natty, because we had so much depth in every area. In the back end, we had like four safeties playing, four cor- ners playing. That's kind of rare." He didn't shy away from talking about personal goals, knowing what he wants to deliver when he gets a chance. "For me, personally, I just want to start off by getting back to where I was and then just build off of that," he said. "If you want to talk stats, I have to get more intercep- tions. But just being a better vocal leader, not being afraid to talk and get on people. That's what we're going to need. In this day and age of college football, with all that money, stuff is kind of different. The drive of kids is different. If you don't care as much as they don't care, it's not going to go anywhere. "It's bringing everybody to the level I'm going to be at. I'm going to be at a higher level than a lot of people, because I've played since my freshman year. I've probably played the most games on this team. So, I have the most experience and I'll try to take everybody to that level of greatness." In the end, he's looking for greatness to return to The Team, The Team, The Team. "My intention is to go back and win an- other national championship," he said. "Even though we beat Ohio State, we won the natty the year before and then they came back and got it back. So now, we've got to go back and get it back again. That's my dream scenario for the team." ❑ "I'm about to make an impact I've never made before. It's all or nothing for me. It's my last year of college football, and I've got to go out with a bang." MOORE