Rod Moore was aware of his potential for this season. The safety was aware that he had prepared himself to play a major part for the Wolverines by rejoining the Michigan football team for his senior season.
However, Moore later suffered a setback, and Michigan defensive backs coach Lamar Morgan announced on April 10 that surgery is required. Moore won’t be able to play on the field for the foreseeable future, but he can still lead the Wolverines and serve as the team’s second “Coach Moore” on the sidelines.
“I believe that (junior defensive back) Zeke Berry has really stepped up,” Morgan responded on April 10 when asked who could match cornerback Mike Sainristil’s output this year. Zeke Berry is going to be a special player for us here, in my opinion. He has certain qualities, but he’s still young and needs to develop them.
Whether or not Berry has Sainristil-like qualities, Berry won’t immediately absorb all of Moore’s snaps. Last season, he appeared in just three games at defensive back and spent the majority of his time on special teams. Instead, graduate safety Quinten Johnson will assist graduate safety Makari Paige in carrying out the majority of Moore’s responsibilities.
Berry declared, “I want to be a leader in my own unique way, just like he was.” Thus, in the event that we had a poor practice, he would summon up the entire defense and say, “Okay, let’s get it going.” I’m attempting to borrow ideas and methods from him while adding my own flare.
