Rod Moore is entering his unprecedented sixth year of college football, something that certainly wasn’t expected of him. When Sherrone Moore took over the Michigan football program in 2024, it was a big get for the team that the safety was going to come back for his senior season.
But then, disaster struck.
Moore tore his ACL in March 2024 and was out for the whole season. He returned for three games in 2025, but several setbacks saw him missing much of the season, once again. Granted another year of eligibility, Moore says he’s the healthiest he’s been up to this point since sustaining his injury. And while he’s grateful for another chance, he’s also grateful for Kyle Whittingham and the new-look Michigan coaching staff.
Appearing on the In the Trenches podcast last week, Moore told Jon Jansen that he’s feeling love from this new staff in a way that he didn’t expect, noting that defensive coordinator Jay Hill not only has been encouraging him, but he’s gone several extra miles in the process.
“Honestly, I can say I got lucky because a lot of coaches don’t really go back and look at players that used to be here, like older players that are coming off injuries,” Moore said. “And I can say to this coaching staff, they took the time to really learn who I was, especially Coach Hill. He called me one day out of nowhere, I think it was probably a week after he got here, and was just like, ‘I love how you move.’ And I’m like, dang, you back there watching the ’23 film? He was just telling me how he can’t wait to get me back in.
“To be honest, it’s probably been the first time in my career that I felt in my college career that I felt like I had the support and the needs for a coach to want me healthy. Like he’s exacerbating every option to try to get me healthy and pushing and helping the trainers. Just being involved in my rehab rather than — in this world, it’s if you’re not available, it’s like, OK, next guy up. So it’s been very special.”
Given that Moore played under Jim Harbaugh and then Sherrone Moore, the line that it’s ‘the first time in (his) career’ that he’s felt appreciated could end up being telling, depending on how the season goes for him. But either way, it does appear to show the heart of this new coaching staff, which certainly could be a bit of reversal of both the real and manufactured turmoil that’s happened behind the scenes in Ann Arbor in recent years.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Rod Moore feels supported by the new Michigan football staff
Reporting by Isaiah Hole, Wolverines Wire / Wolverines Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Isaiah Hole, Wolverines Wire | USA TODAY Network
