LaMar Morgan talks injury to Michigan DB Rod Moore, how he's stayed engaged

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan Wolverines football defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator LaMar Morgan, who joined the staff this offseason from Louisiana, is excited about the talent returning on a U-M defense that ranked first in the country in total and scoring defense in 2023.

One piece is missing, though, at least for the time being: senior safety Rod Moore. The third-team All-Big Ten selection in 2023 reportedly tore his ACL during one of the Wolverines’ early spring practices, though Morgan declined to get into the specifics of the ailment while speaking with reporters Wednesday afternoon.

Morgan discussed how Moore has stayed engaged with his Michigan teammates and coaches despite going down.

“We have a lot of talent here,” Morgan said. “I got Coach Rod Moore — I don’t want to say ‘Coach Moore.’ He got injured. Let me talk about Rod real quick. The guy gets injured; the next day he’s the first guy in the front seat in every meeting. He hasn’t missed anything; he’s asking questions. He’s unbelievable. That’s the culture that we have here.”

At the same time, Morgan said, the rest of the Michigan program has rallied around Moore, a 6-foot, 198-pounder who recorded 38 tackles in 12 games last season, helping the Maize and Blue win their 12th-ever national championship.

“But I know one thing, whatever’s in front of that kid, he’ll be better — whenever he gets back on the field, he’ll be better than the last time he was on it, for sure,” the Michigan coach explained. 

“Rod is a very unique player. He’s a leader. He’s at every practice. He’s coaching. We’re going to miss him. It’s going to be hard for everybody here that covers him to say we’re not going to miss Rod. But I think a lot of guys are going to step up, and Rod is going to do everything that he can to get back, and he’s going to be here every day at practice coaching and stuff like that with us.”

Earlier this spring, Michigan defensive coordinator Wink Martindale compared Moore to one of the best safeties he coached while with the Baltimore Ravens. Weddle won Super Bowl LVI, was twice named first-team All-Pro and was selected to six Pro Bowls. Morgan shared a story about a Martindale-Weddle phone call.

“I hate that he got hurt, but I’m really excited about his future, man,” the Michigan assistant said. “He’s going to be a stud. I’ll give you a quick example. We’re in the meeting room, and Coach Wink calls Eric Weddle and he gets him on the phone and says, ‘Hey, Weddle, I got a guy here that’s going to be a really special player just like you.’ And Weddle’s like, ‘Who the heck is he?’ He wants to talk to him and stuff like that.

“It’s just unbelievable that we have someone like Wink Martindale as the DC that can call somebody, and compares Eric Weddle, that’s won a Super Bowl, to Rod.

“It’s hard to miss somebody like that — it’s really hard to get over it — and right now we’re just trying to be with him at every turn. Whenever he needs to get the surgery, we’ll all be behind him, the whole program. Everybody’s excited about that.”

Will Johnson, Makari Paige leading the charge in Michigan secondary

Michigan has junior cornerback Will Johnson, a 2023 All-American, and graduate safety Makari Paige leading the way in the secondary. Both have a lot of experience, and that’s a good place to start, Morgan said. He’s also trying to develop the depth behind them, especially now that Moore will miss some time.

“The talent that we have on the back end — Makari, Will. A lot of these young players here are really talented, they’ve just been sitting behind a lot of guys,” Morgan said. “So, to me, we have a lot of talent. We have a lot of talent that’s proven, that you all know their names. And there a lot of guys the last couple years that have played 10 to 12 reps, 10 to 15 reps, that as coach — that’s why they call me ‘Coach Morgan’ — I’ve got to get those guys better.

“But I do think we have a lot of talent on defense. You have a lot of guys that had roles. You look at the front four in last year’s championship game, the last four that was on the field at that time was the same four that’s here. Makari and Will and a lot of guys like that [also].

“We do have a lot of talent, and we also have to develop a lot of the talent that hasn’t played. It’s important for us to do that, to make sure this place continues to grow, that it’s not a one-hit wonder. That’s something that we have to work on as coaches every single day. And I think that’s what Michigan is, it’s a developmental program. You get elite talent and develop them. That’s what I hang my hat on as a coach, that’s what I want to be known for, developing talent.

“Like Will, I hope Will gets better this year and he continues to get better. And I hope if you talk to him, he’s saying, ‘I’m getting better throughout the spring.’ That’s something I’m very passionate about.”

Michigan is set to hold its spring game April 20 at The Big House.