Rod Moore’s omission from Lindy’s 2026 All-Big Ten list has caught observers’ attention. Michigan has seven players on the list, but he isn’t one of them. Despite his 147 tackles and seven interceptions ranking among Michigan’s all-time greats, Lindy snubbed him.

The Lindy’s Sports 2026 Preseason All-Big Ten Team features seven Michigan players, alongside players from other Big Ten giants like Ohio, Oregon, and Indiana. Four Wolverines were in the first team: junior running back Jordan Marshall, junior offensive lineman Andrew Sprague, senior defensive end John Henry Daley, and senior cornerback Jyaire Hill.

With no player on the second team, three Wolverines made the third team: junior offensive lineman Blake Frazier, sophomore wide receiver Andrew Marsh, and junior safety Chris Bracy.

In his sixth year with the program, star safety Moore’s omission from the list shocked many who had seen his displays in his first three years in Ann Arbor.

Lindy’s list is a preseason projection, and as far as a fit Moore is concerned, such a list should not exclude his name. When healthy, Moore is an inarguable inclusion — even in 2023, despite early-season injury, the 6-foot-0, 198-pound safety was named to the third-team All-Big Ten.

Rivals.com analysts argue Moore, whose injuries limited him from making the first team, should at least make the second team if John Henry Daley, who got injured last November, was deemed good enough for the first team. Chris Bracy making the list ahead of Moore is another uncomfortable conversation. His time at Memphis, a non-Power Four program, before returning to Michigan as a starter to record 81 tackles, including 9.5 for loss, 10 pass breakups, and one interception, makes Moore’s absence more questionable.

In his debut, Moore recorded six tackles for the Wolverines; he finished his freshman year with 33 tackles and shared Defensive Rookie of the Year. Year 2 was a breakout: 71 tackles with four interceptions earned him an All-Big Ten honorable mention. Before his injury, he earned third-team All-Big Ten honors in 2023 with 38 tackles and two interceptions.

Rod Moore returns for the 2026 season

Sadly, his last two seasons have been quite turbulent. He suffered a season-ending ACL and meniscus tear in his left knee on March 27, 2024, during spring practice. After surgery, Moore missed the entire season. A year later, he had another surgery on the same knee after the pain persisted.

This kept him out for most parts of the 2025 season, as he made just three appearances. After another surgery this off-season, Moore received an NCAA waiver for sixth-year eligibility.

“I’m feeling the best I felt since March 27, 2024, the exact day I tore my ACL, but I’m feeling great,” Moore recently said on the “In the Trenches” podcast with team color commentator Jon Jansen. “Took three surgeries, but now I’m feeling like I haven’t felt the past two years. I’m moving around, running straight line back, feeling fast again, and it’s just a matter of getting the coordination back under my feet.”

In the coming season, Moore would be playing for his third coach and fourth defensive coordinator. As he returns for his final season, he will be hoping to add more numbers to his already impressive resume.