One of Michigan’s unquestioned leaders on defense is nearly back to full health following an ACL tear last spring, but there is still work to be done.
Speaking to a group of reporters this week, fifth-year safety Rod Moore is getting close to being healthy after sustaining his injury last April. Heading into fall camp — which is slated to begin next Tuesday, July 29 for the Michigan Wolverines — Moore is still working to get back to a full bill of health.
“Recovery is going pretty good, I’m probably about 85 percent right now,” Moore told Maize n Brew at the third annual Champions Circle Golf Outing on Monday. “Kinda little bumps in the road that I had during my recovery from the start, so it’s kinda taking longer than expected. But I think I’ll be ready for the season this year. I’ll for sure be playing, it’s just a matter of how long it takes me to get back to 100 percent.”
Moore’s 2024 season ended well before it ever began. He tore his ACL during a practice last March, and it sounded like there was a bit of a setback in his recovery last fall.
“It’s going pretty good. It kind of hit a rocky point right now,” Moore said last October. “I was supposed to be running, but I haven’t started running yet because of some other stuff, but we figured it out. So we’re kind of going from there, trying to take it in stride.”
Moore posted a photo on social media back in May of him running on hard ground for the first time since his injury, a whole 14 months later. However, it was hard not to notice the large brace on his left leg in that picture, revealing there was still plenty of work to be done before he is a full go on the football field again.
When healthy, Moore is among the top players at the safety position in college football. He made an instant impact as a true freshman in 2021, followed by a sophomore season where he had a team-leading four interceptions, to go along with 71 tackles and seven pass breakups. His junior season may have been his best, as he helped lead Michigan to a third consecutive win over Ohio State — with an iconic game-sealing interception — a third straight Big Ten Championship, the program’s first ever College Football Playoff victory, and the program’s first national championship since 1997.
Even after getting hurt, Moore was named a team captain by his teammates ahead of the 2024 season. His return all but locks in his second straight year of captaincy, and fans know he will do his damndest to go 5-0 in his career against Ohio State.
He may not be at 100 percent now, but fans should be hopeful that by the time Big Ten play commences, Moore will once again be patrolling the secondary and doing all he can to get Michigan back to where it hopes to be.
