Michigan safety Rod Moore is a difference maker. It doesn't matter if it's on the field or off the field, the Ohio native makes an impact on his teammates and his coaches. Head coach Sherrone Moore has praised Moore in a way that you don't hear much in sports and a major reason for it is how the veteran safety battled back from a knee injury that kept him away from the field for more than a year. Now back, Rod is doing what he does — making an impact.
"His impact is something you can't really describe," Sherrone Moore said of Rod. "He's a coach on the field. He's a coach in the meeting room. And then you just feel his energy when he's on the field. It's different. It's special."
That energy on the field was realized over a year ago when Moore sealed the game against Ohio State by picking off Kyle McCord inside The Big House. Fast forward to this past Saturday, during Rod's first action on his home turf since that game against the Buckeyes, and he picked off another pass in what he called a "full-circle moment."
"The last time I was here, I had a pick against Ohio State, and it's just a testament to all my work and thanking God, all my family having my back through this journey," Moore said. "Because honestly, it was really hard. I know you guys know I had a setback at one point, and I thought I was going to be back sooner than I was. But just working through it and continuing to just chase greatness."
Sherrone Moore sees that greatness day in and day out. He's seen it since the day Rod was injured. He watched him rehab, he witnesses him coaching on the sidelines, and now he's seeing him make big plays again and it's almost like it was all part of a master plan.
"Guys like him, they don't come along very much," the head coach said. "He's a guy that's made plays here for a long time. Last time he had a pick in The Big House was against Ohio State in '23 and then he comes across the field like a laser beam and picks it off today.
"I'm so proud of him and what he's done and how he continues to fight and what he's done with his body and how he's gotten better. And it feels like he's faster now than he was before. Great to have him back.
"A lot of young kids, they go through a lot of things and people just want to quit and people just want to stop, and he could have easily did it after the first setback. He had a setback initially that held him back. He could have easily, in that time, in that first setback, said, 'I'm done and I don't want to deal with it.' But to watch a guy like this and with the same last name, which is pretty cool, to do what he's done, just continue to never give up, never quit, push, support his teammates at a high level."
So now Moore has at least seven games left as a Wolverine and then he'll look forward to the next level. Head coach Sherrone Moore once again heaped praise onto his senior leader advocating for anyone and everyone to draft him.
"He's really special. He's going to help us win a lot of games and then whatever team in the NFL that gets to draft him, they're going to be very lucky to have this man on the roster," Sherrone said.