For the second year in a row, Rod Moore has decided to return to Ann Arbor.
On Thursday, the safety, a captain in 2024 despite not playing a game due to injury, announced that he will return to lead the Michigan football defense in the 2025 season.
The safety was expected to enter the 2024 NFL draft, but opted to return to for an additional season to boost his stock. Instead, he tore his ACL during spring practice, sidelining him for the entirety of the 2024 season.
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Moore is a two-time All-Big ten selection (2022, 2023) with 37 games and 27 starts, beginning in 2021 when he shared the team’s defensive rookie of the year honor. The 6-foot, 198-pound Dayton, Ohio, product became known as “Coach Rod” this season and served as a liason between coaches and players. That gave him, he said, a unique (though not desired) experience watching the game from the sideline.
It’s a notable development for secondary coach LaMar Morgan, after the Wolverines lost a lot of depth from the secondary including cornerbacks Will Johnson and Aamir Hall as well as safeties Makari Paige, Quinten Johnson and Wesley Walker.
Brandyn Hillman and Mason Curtis are expected to compete for the opposite starting safety position.
Tony Garcia is the Michigan Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football captain, safety Rod Moore announces return in 2025
