Michigan safety Rod Moore to return for sixth season with Wolverines

Michigan Wolverines football safety Rod Moore will return for a sixth season at U-M, he announced on social media Thursday evening. Moore is a two-time captain (2024, 2025) with the chance to earn the honor for a third-consecutive year.

The 6-foot-0, 198-pounder has one year of eligibility remaining after medically redshirting in 2024 and preserving his traditional redshirt by playing in only three games in 2025. Moore is on a long journey back from knee injuries that required multiple surgeries.

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— Rod moore 9️⃣4L (@Rodmoorejr) January 16, 2026

Moore returned from his knee injury at less than full strength in 2025, playing in three games and totaling 85 defensive snaps. While he wasn’t fully healthy, he still made a big impact with 6 tackles on the season and a highlight-reel interception against Wisconsin. He also saw the field against Nebraska and USC but was shut down for the season in mid-October.

In March 2024, Moore went down with a severe knee injury during a special teams rep in practice that cost him the majority of the next two seasons. He underwent two different surgeries and instead has spent his time, while not rehabbing, helping his teammates as ‘Coach Rod.’

“Truthfully, at first it was really hard, especially going down in the spring,” Moore said after being named a captain in 2024. “I wanted to get better; that was the time for me to get better. I took some time to myself, and my family told me that I just have to take this and turn it into a positive and just look at the bright side of everything. And I just took my role of being a leader and vocal guy and pushed forward from there.”

A third-team All-Big Ten selection, Moore appeared in 12 games with 11 starts in 2023. He logged 38 tackles, including 1 for loss, and 2 interceptions, helping Michigan win the national championship and Big Ten title with a perfect 15-0 record. One of his two picks was the game-sealing interception to take down Ohio State.

The Dayton, Ohio, native led Michigan in interceptions as a sophomore in 2022, with the ballhawk’s 4 picks standing as the most by a U-M safety since Dewayne Patmon had an identical number in 1998. The former three-star recruit recorded 71 tackles with 1.5 behind the line of scrimmage for the 2022 campaign.

As a freshman the prior year, Moore played in 11 games with four starts. His first career start came when he finished with 6 tackles in a 21-17 win at Penn State. He tied for the team’s lead with 9 tackles in a 42-27 victory over Ohio State at The Big House.