Two injured Michigan football players will return 'sooner than later'

Michigan Wolverines football graduate safety Rod Moore said after being named a two-time captain last week that it will be an emotional moment when he returns to game action. Moore missed the 2024 campaign with ACL and meniscus injuries, but is nearing his return after over a year of rehabilitation.

Moore is participating in practice, including in contact drills, but Michigan will be careful about getting him back on the game field. The Wolverines begin the season Aug. 30 against New Mexico, and his status for the opener is up in the air.

“That’s to be determined this week,” head coach Sherrone Moore said on the ‘Inside Michigan Football’ radio show, discussing whether or not he will play. “He’s working and he’s put on pads, he’s done thud periods and worked.

“We’re really not trying to rush it, so we’ll see how this week goes, but you’ll definitely see him sooner than later.”

Rod Moore was a third-team All-Big Ten performer in 2023, when he registered 38 tackles and 2 interceptions, including the game-clinching pick to beat Ohio State. In 2022, he led the Wolverines with 4 interceptions.

Sherrone Moore has high expectations for the defense in the opener.

“Go out there and play fast, play physical,” Moore said of what he wants to see from the group. “We’re deep, we’re strong, we’re fast, we’re violent. The big thing we’ve talked about is tackling and running to the football with effort.

“[Defensive coordinator] Wink [Martindale] will change it up. He’ll have different looks and different things that he wants to put out there, and I trust him and the staff and what they’ve done —  but I just want to see them play hard and play physical.”

The tight ends, meanwhile, could be without sophomore Hogan Hansen at the start of the season, but may not miss him long. The 6-foot-5, 236-pound Bellevue, Wash., native reeled in 7 receptions for 78 yards last season, but went down with an injury in the spring.

“He’s been coming back from something,” Moore pointed out. “I feel like he’s in a good place to help the team sooner than later.”

Michigan has a deep and talented tight end group, led by a pair of captains and graduate Max Bredeson and senior Marlin Klein.

“Start off with one of the captains, a two-time captain, Max Bredeson,” Moore said of Michigan’s tight ends. “He’s one of the guys that you’re going to trust in a foxhole for you, and he’s going to do all the dirty work, but he can make plays that are needed.

“Marlin Klein is going to be the guy in the passing game that we really expect to take that next step and, obviously, play ‘Y’ when we need him to. And that’s another captain. We have two captains in the tight end room, and that’s rare but kind of tells you the mentality of this team when you have two tight ends and an offensive line on offense.”

The depth doesn’t end there, though.

“The other guys — [juniors] Jalen Hoffman and Zack Marshall have really had a really good camp and stepped it up and gave us the confidence that they can go in and play in the game. And then the last two guys, you got Deakon Tonielli, who’s really attacked this thing and gotten better and better and better. And then the next guy who’s had an impact is Hogan Hansen.”