Michigan safety Rod Moore’s highly anticipated return appears to be on the horizon.
Speaking to the media on Monday, interim head coach Biff Poggi revealed that the fifth-year senior and two-time team captain could have played this past Saturday against Central Michigan. He was “questionable” on the injury report heading into that game, but ultimately did not play against the Chippewas.
But as the Wolverines gear up for a road trip to Nebraska to open Big Ten play, Poggi is expecting Moore to be back
on the field this weekend against the Cornhuskers.
“Rod is really progressing well,” Poggi said. “Could have played this past week, but I really think you’ll see Rod this week at Nebraska.”
If Moore does play this weekend, as expected, it will be his first game action since the National Championship against Washington on Jan. 8, 2024.
It’s been a long road for Moore, who tore his ACL and meniscus during a practice back in March 2024. Following the initial procedure, surgeons had to go back into Moore’s knee because his meniscus did not heal the way it should have. He started running for the first time on solid ground over the summer and provided an injury update shortly after that.
“Recovery is going pretty good, I’m probably about 85 percent right now,” Moore told Maize n Brew back in July. “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 has been a mainstay in Michigan’s secondary since his true freshman season, and he played a huge role in Michigan winning the national championship in 2023. He has started 28 games for the Wolverines during his career, racking up 141 total tackles, six interceptions and 13 pass breakups.
When he does return to the field, it will likely be an emotional moment for Moore.
“I know I’ll probably cry before (my first game back),” Moore told the media in August. “I sit there probably every day just sitting — ‘What is it gonna be like when I wake up and I know I’m about to play again?’ I don’t know. It’s a lot of energy, a lot of built-up emotions that I can’t even put into words that’ll be getting released on that day.”
Other injury updates
- Poggi shared that left guard Giovanni El-Hadi will likely be out a few more weeks as he works his way back from a lower-body injury suffered in the loss at Oklahoma.
- In better news, right guard Brady Norton — who missed last week’s game vs CMU due to an undisclosed injury — is in a better place now and is expected to practice this week. “There’s a real good chance Brady will be back,” Poggi said.
