Rod Moore
Position: S
School: Northmont (OH)
Measurables: 5-foot-11, 180 pounds
Ranking: Three-star (.8768 composite), No. 499 overall, No. 37 S
Other finalists: Notre Dame, Wisconsin
Accolades: 1x 1st-Team All-State, 1x All-State Honorable Mention, 2x 1st-Team Ohio Southwest District
Recruitment
There are plenty of reasons for Rod Moore to have not ended up in this class. Michigan took three blue-chip safeties in the class before him, his position coach hasn’t been with the team since before the season started, and the staff effectively processed his teammate out of the class over the summer.
But through it all, Moore stuck to his commitment. After all, it didn’t take long for Moore to decide after receiving his offer from Michigan on March 27. Just a month and a half later, Moore committed to Michigan in the middle of a three-month span that resulted in the bulk of the 2021 class.
A low three-star through most of the process, Moore received a healthy bump right on the line of four-star status right before he committed to Michigan. Then after holding steady through the summer, Moore’s senior campaign resulted in two drastically different reactions from the ranking services. 247Sports gave him his fourth star, while Rivals dropped him ten spots in the state of Ohio rankings.
This strange situation resulted in a net drop in his composite score. It will be interesting to see which service got it right once his career at Michigan has finished.
When he gets to campus, he’ll join the talented group of safeties from the 2020 class who got a free pass on their eligibility this year. Given his perseverance throughout his recruitment, I would not count Moore out.
Stats
Junior (11 games): 85 tackles, 4 INTs, 3 FF, 2 FR
Senior (8 games): 68 tackles, 1 INT, 6 PBUs
Scouting
Pros:
- Fluid hips to change direction quickly
- Fast closing speed
- Willing and aggressive in run support
Cons:
- Can be a step slow to read plays
- Has to add strength to his frame
- Can take better angles to the ball
Moore is a safety who can do both. He shows great prowess in both defending the pass and run. At 5-foot-11, 180 pounds, he has average height for the position, but does have room to add up to 20 pounds onto his frame. He could do well to add more strength to help him in run support.
When back deep, Moore has good change of direction thanks to quick hips that he can flip and turn open. His track times are pretty good, including 22.17 seconds in the 200 meters. This shows up on his film, especially in his closing speed. Dropping into his zone, Moore can shut an open window for a quarterback quickly.
Moore can be a little late in his play recognition, taking an extra beat or two to read what’s going on and react. This can put him out of position and requires his closing speed to cover for it.
In the run game, Moore isn’t afraid to come up and make a tackle. He is able to set the edge well and make sure tackles in the open field. Moore trusts his speed, which can make him prone to aggressive angles on the ball that can cause him to miscalculate.