Newly Offered Safety Rod Moore Talks Michigan Interest
To say that the month of March has been kind to Clayton (Ohio) Northmont three-star safety Rod Moore would be an understatement.
After picking up an offer from Michigan Wednesday afternoon, Moore has landed scholarship offers from Michigan State, Notre Dame and Kentucky this week alone.
Listed at 5-11 and 180 pounds, Moore logged a productive junior season, and schools across the country are making a push for the talented Ohio product. According to 247Sports.com, Moore holds offers from 24 programs and is hearing from more schools each day.
Now that U-M has entered the mix with an offer, the speedy defensive back shared his reaction to Wednesday’s news.
“I kind of had an idea it was going to come, but I didn’t think it was going to come this early,” Moore told Wolverine Digest. “It was a big offer.”
Over the last two years, Moore has become increasingly familiar with Michigan. Moore’s former teammate, Gabe Newburg, is a freshman defensive lineman at U-M, while his current teammate, three-star wide receiver Markus Allen, also sports an offer from the Wolverines. These connections have helped paint Michigan in a positive light.
“I know Gabe, one of my teammates who graduated last year, he plays up there and how he talks about it,” Moore said. “He says it’s a really nice place with great coaches, great facilities and a great academic program. Academics is really important in my family on top of the athletic portion.”
Right now, Moore is looking to major in either engineering or business but has not firmly decided which direction to choose. But before he decides what to learn about in college, the coveted defensive back is continuing to learn about the U-M coaching staff too. Moore mentioned that Michigan safeties coach Bob Shoop is his primary recruiter and said their relationship is “progressing.”
“When he first started texting me and then we got on the phone one time, he was just telling me about the school,” Moore said. “Every day, he would send me stuff about Michigan and himself and a history of the football program. We are just trying to build that relationship.”
At the moment, Moore is trying to figure out his visit schedule in light of the coronavirus but said Michigan is the school he is most anxious to see once normalcy resumes. Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Pittsburgh and Georgia Tech are also schools likely to receive a visit from the junior prospect.
Since both Moore and Allen hold offers from Michigan, Moore admits that the possibility of playing four more years with his current teammate is an intriguing possibility.
“Me and Markus have talked about going there together and playing there together again,” Moore said.
However, quite a bit of time exists before Moore plans on committing. Before the coronavirus disrupted the recruiting calendar, Moore planning on committing to a school before his senior season. Now, he is entertaining the possibility of waiting until even later.
“I want to try to commit before the season, but this entire thing might push it back,” Moore said. “I think I would have been able to take all my unofficials that I wanted to go on before I take my officials, and now this whole mandatory dead period changed it. It might have to be in the middle of the fall.”
Moore also said that distance could be a factor in his recruitment, mentioning that he might not want to play on the West coast.
“I don’t know if I’d want to do that,” Moore said. “The biggest factor is if the college feels like home. Also, if the coaches want me, who I am as a player and as a person, and if the people there will benefit me to be a better person. Also, hopefully the education will give me benefits throughout life because football ends at some point in time.”
Last year, Moore compiled 85 tackles, four interceptions, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and returned two kickoffs and one punt for touchdowns, and he is determined to improve on that production this fall.
