New Michigan 2021 Commit Rod Moore Details His Decision

Michigan has landed two 2021 pledges in two days, and the most recent— three-star safety Rod Moore— explains why he chose the Wolverines.

Rod Moore / submitted

For quite some time, now-Michigan commit safety Rod Moore has stood as one of the Wolverines’ top targets on defense. Moore received his Michigan offer in March, his teammate Markus Allen committed to U-M in April, then he joined Allen as a Wolverines’ commit earlier today.

However, Moore also held offers from 25 schools, so he was being recruited by schools across the country to join their 2021 class. In the end, Moore felt at home in Ann Arbor and opted to pick the Wolverines as his future school.

Moore spoke in detail with Wolverine Digest about his decision to shut down his recruitment earlier today.

“When I first got offered by them, I knew how Michigan was, and I’ve seen how it’s a really big program and everything,” Moore said. “I just didn’t know the background of it. I was really hype to get the offer. They were already up top off of the offer basically, but I had to wait and see how they build that relationship compared to other coaches.”

Growing up at Clayton (Ohio) Northmont, Moore was knowledgeable about Michigan’s program from the start, but he needed to form a closer bond with the Wolverines coaching staff. As a result, U-M head coach Jim Harbaugh personally put in hours of time trying to convince Moore that Michigan is the place for him.

“It first started off as how they organized their FaceTime calls and everything,” Moore said. “When I first talked to Coach Harbaugh, the way he came off he felt like a coach I would like to have. He was telling me how he has a plan with all his players. When they graduate, they’re either going to be in grad school or in the league, so it’s a good plan to have for life after football.”

Throughout his recruitment, Moore has sought out information about not only what his football career would look like at any given school but also what his academic future could hold at a given institution. This element helped give Michigan a leg up throughout the process.

However, Michigan invoked a multi-prong approach to recruiting the speedy 2021 defensive back with safeties coach Bob Shoop in the mix as well.

“On top of that, me and Coach Shoop have a really good relationship,” Moore said. “We get on the phone maybe twice a week or even two times in a day, and we’ll talk on the phone. My relationship with him is real good and his background, what he comes from, who he’s put in the league and everything. It’s my dream to do that, and he can maybe get me to the league and get me to my dream.”

Recently, Michigan had 10 players selected in the 2020 NFL Draft, so Moore is paying attention to U-M’s track record of sending players to the professional ranks. That was one factor among many that led Moore to his Michigan commitment.

“With Coach [Ben] Herbert, the weightlifting coach, how he turns his kids into the best they can be,” Moore said. “And with the academic advisor, it just felt like a really good decision. Talking to some of the players like Makari Paige and Daxton Hill, they are telling me what it is that make them come to Michigan, and those are the same reasons I had. It’s just a good connection to have with them.”

Another player in the Wolverines’ corner throughout Moore’s recruitment was current Michigan defensive player Gabe Newburg, a Northmont alumnus.

“When I first talked to him about Michigan, he was just telling me how it is,” Moore said. “He was straightforward on how it’s a really good place with great people there and how they went to South Africa and everything. That would be cool because I want to travel different places I’ve never been.”

In terms of how he fits into Michigan’s defense, Moore currently plays safety for Northmont and U-M defensive coordinator Don Brown envisions him slotting into a similar role at the next level.

“I will play any type of defensive back as long as I get playing time,” Moore said. “Last week, me and Coach Brown were on the phone. We were going over defensive plays, and we went over about 25 of them. He was just showing me like, he sees me as free safety in the viper position and guarding a lot of the best receivers on the field and maybe blitzing sometimes.”

Moving forward, Moore was slated to take an official visit to Michigan on June 12, but that trip is no longer on the schedule due to the coronavirus. Previously, Wolverine Digest heard from several prospects that Michigan was set to host them on officials on June 19, but that appears to no longer be in the cards.

Click here for a link to Moore’s junior highlight tape.

With Moore in the fold, Michigan has six pledges on each offense and defense with one special teams commit. Given this balanced approach, what positions should U-M concentrate on going forward? Let us know!