Michigan safety Rod Moore talks interception, pass rush, 'fast' defense, more
Michigan Wolverines football wants to force more turnovers in 2022, and Saturday’s 51-7 win over Colorado State was a great start. Sophomore safety Rod Moore registered an interception in the 1st quarter, and senior cornerback DJ Turner recovered a fumble and returned it 45 yards for a touchdown to begin the 2nd half.
Moore’s pick was the first of his career. He’s known for watching more film than any other Wolverine, and his time studying paid off.
“We were watching them and we saw certain formations and who would run what,” Moore said. “I just read the quarterback, and he threw it straight to me.”
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Moore returned it 37 yards to the Colorado State 13-yard line, setting up a Michigan field goal.
On the play, junior EDGE Braiden McGregor got pressure, forcing Rams’ quarterback Clay Millen to step up in the pocket and make an inaccurate throw.
“I give a lot of credit to him, too, because he had to step up and get rid of the ball,” Moore said.
A good pass rush is a defensive back’s best friend, but the secondary is getting involved in getting after the quarterback, too. Senior nickel Mike Sainristil got home on the 1st 3rd down of the game, and Moore also recorded a sack.
“Our pass rush is really good,” Moore said. “You see it’s not just one person, it’s the whole entire defense, really. All three levels are trying to pass rush. That’s just the improvement that we have on the defense this year.
“I like being involved. As DBs, we usually just cover all the time. It’s a different scenery when you’re about to make a sack. That’s how the defense rolls. We expect to make a play when our number is called.”
Sainristil, a converted wide receiver, has been a boost for the Michigan secondary.
“Great to have him back there,” Moore said. “He flies around like he’s a little torpedo everywhere he goes because he has effort that almost the whole defense doesn’t have. He brings everybody to his level, and that’s going to make the defense better.”
Michigan defense has high hopes
Michigan’s defense held the Rams to just 219 total yards — 137 through the air and 82 on the ground. The Wolverines were “flying to the football,” according to head coach Jim Harbaugh. Nothing the Maize and Blue unit did Saturday surprised Moore, even though they did exceed the expectations set by the general public.
“All the time, every day,” Moore said after being asked if he had seen glimpses in practices of what the Michigan defense showed against Colorado State. “We all compete, and the whole team’s really good, so some days offense wins, sometimes defense wins. The defense is pretty consistent. What we saw on Saturday, that’s really what we expect and what our goals have been.”
Colorado State isn’t exactly one of the better teams Michigan will face this season, so the Wolverines are even looking to raise their level of play as the season progresses.
“Everything, but faster, especially when we play the better teams” Moore said on if Saturday was the standard Michigan is aiming for. “Right now, we’re just playing kind of warmup games. When we’re playing the Penn State’s and the Michigan State’s, we want to play the same way we played Saturday throughout every game of the season.”
And still, despite forcing two takeaways, Michigan wants to get the ball out even more.
“Turnovers,” Moore said of how the unit can improve going forward. “Still more pressures and being more crisp with everything. We didn’t look like it but we made a lot of mistakes on film that we can clean up. Especially with our eyes and stuff like that.”
Michigan takes on Hawai’i Saturday night at The Big House.
