Wolverine Digest

Michigan Football Safety Rod Moore's Eligibility Status Revealed for 2026 Season

Rod Moore has been injured the past couple of seasons, but there is no denying Michigan would love to see him on the field in 2026.
Trent Knoop|
Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

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Michigan Wolverines

Back on January 15, veteran safety announced on a social media post that he would return to Michigan for a sixth season of football. But Moore was waiting to hear from the NCAA regarding his eligibility for the sixth season.

RELATED: Takeaways From Michigan's 2026 Football Schedule Reveal

On Wednesday, Moore took to X (formerly Twitter) to announce he was granted another season of college football and will officially be back with the Wolverines under new head coach Kyle Whittingham.

Why is Moore granted a sixth season?

Moore, a Clayton (OH) prospect, came to Michigan as a part of the 2021 class. He played right away for the Wolverines' defense and never redshirted. However, after a stellar junior season in 2023, Moore chose to return to Michigan for his senior season, but during spring practice, Moore suffered a torn ACL and missed the entire 2024 season.

Moore appeared to be on track to play this past season in 2025, but lingering injuries allowed Moore to play in three games for the Wolverines. After suffering the injury, on top of playing just three games this past year, the NCAA granted Moore a sixth season — to zero surprise.

Moore's career at Michigan

Michigan Wolverines defensive back Rod Moore (19) celebrates an interception.
Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

As noted above, Moore, a two-time captain, came to Michigan in 2021. That season, Moore played in 11 games and started in four. He helped lead Michigan to a Big Ten title and making the College Football Playoff for the first time. Moore had a career-high nine tackles against the Buckeyes in his freshman season.

In 2022, Moore appeared in all 14 games at safety and made 13 starts; led all defensive backs with 71 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss with a shared sack, a team-leading four interceptions among seven pass breakups, and one quarterback hurry. His play earned him an All-Big Ten honor.

Then in 2023, in his junior season, Moore appeared in 12 games with 11 starts in the secondary; made 38 tackles including one for loss with two interceptions returned 38 yards among five total pass breakups with one quarterback hurry. Once again, Moore was an All-Big Ten selection.

Moore had a difficult decision to make: head to the NFL Draft or come back to Michigan. To both boost his draft stock and capitalize on NIL, Moore came back to the Wolverines, but that's when he suffered the season-ending injury.

Entering 2026, Moore will have to prove he can stay healthy, and if he does, Michigan's secondary will get a massive boost with the veteran and leader back there.

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Trent Knoop
TRENT KNOOP

Trent began writing and covering Michigan athletics back in 2020. He became a credentialed member of the media in 2021. Trent began writing with Sports Illustrated in 2023 and became the Managing Editor for Michigan Wolverines On SI during the 2025 football season. Trent also serves as the Publisher of Baylor Bears on SI. His other bylines have appeared on Maryland on SI, Wisconsin on SI, and across the USA TODAY Sports network. Trent’s love of sports and being able to tell stories to fans is what made him get into writing.

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