Head coach Sherrone Moore may be at the top of the food chain, but represents only one of three key pieces to Michigan football's success with the last name of Moore.

The others, senior safety Rod Moore and junior edge Derrick Moore, both play defense for the Wolverines, however neither were available the last time out for the Wolverines, a 27-17 loss to Washington prior to the bye week. Rod Moore, as has been well-documented, tore his ACL back in the spring on a special teams drill; a critical blow to defensive coordinator Wink Martindale's unit. He has since taken on the moniker "Coach Rod."

Derrick Moore, on the other hand, had played every week leading up to last and the game vs. the Huskies and was a surprise absence on the availability report. However, according to his position coach, the bye week seems to have done him some good in terms of progressing back.

“He did some stuff this week — he did some stuff yesterday, so it’s day to day with him,” defensive line coach Lou Esposito said Wednesday. “He looked good bouncing around yesterday. Like anything else, everybody’s body is a little bit different. If he progresses, we’ll see game day how it goes.”

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Derrick Moore, in some respects, has been overshadowed by the rest of the defensive line. Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant were both projected first-round draft picks entering the season, and are already well-known names.

On the opposite edge resides Josaiah Stewart, who was not only one of the most productive players on either side of the ball in the first half of the season, but earlier this week was elevated as the team's fifth full-time captain by his head coach and the team's leadership council.

With so much going on elsewhere, Esposito wanted it to be known how much production Derrick Moore brings to the table, even though his numbers aren't eye popping, with 10 tackles including 1½ for loss, half a sack and three quarterback hurries in his five games played.

“You go back and look at every single sack we have when he’s on the field, he contributes to it,” Esposito said of Derrick Moore. “Every single one. A lot of the guys’ sacks are because of him … because he’s doing such a good job with a power rush or a hesitation, or beating a guy around the edge so the quarterback flushes.

“If you’re a football fan and you know football and you watch that tape, he is just as important as any one of those guys that had a sack. Wink (Martindale) talks about it all the time, the dam is going to break at some point. He’s going to have one of the games where he’s got three or four sacks in it. He’s important to our success."

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As for Rod Moore, all parties involved have left the door open for a return all season. On Monday, Sherrone Moore said he couldn't speak to "the exact timeline" but that the safety was "progressing in a good way." When asked if he's still hopeful for his captain's return, the head coach said, "yeah, we'll see."

Frankly, based on the most recent update from Rod Moore, that seems like a stretch at best. The senior defensive back sat down with team radio color commentator Jon Jansen on the latest episode of "Inside The Trenches" podcast and among a number of topics discussed was his injury progression.

It seems fair to say the NFL hopeful is somewhat behind schedule for his return, given what he said about where he is in his return to the field.

"It's going pretty good. It kind of a hit a rocky point right now," Rod Moore said. "I was supposed to be running, but I haven't started running yet because of some other stuff, but we figured it out. So we're kind of going from there, trying to take a stride."

As he continues to work his way back, Rod Moore said he's leaned into his role as a coach. He said this injury has changed his entire future outlook and now could really see himself as a coach in the future because it comes naturally to him.

Rod Moore said seeing the game from a different lens has been the silver lining and is ready to reap the dividends when he steps back on the field; whenever and wherever that may be.

"I really wish I could have played this year, because I would have been making plays at different spots," he said. "I'll be telling myself: If I ever got to play again, either this year or next year if I come back, the amount of plays that I could make — just by what I know.

"It's different when you know what you're going to get, because you know what you're going to get. You play faster. You don't second guess yourself. I think I'll play a lot better when I'm able to play again."

Receiver reinforcements?

It hasn't exactly been a secret that the Wolverines are struggling at the receiver position.

Nobody in Ron Bellamy's room has 15 catches, 100 yards receiving or multiple touchdowns as the entire unit has been out-performed by more than a dozen individuals just in the Big Ten alone. The goal is for nothing like this to happen again, which is why the Wolverines have reportedly begun their pursuit of former Indiana wide receiver Donaven McCulley, who is reportedly set to visit Michigan for the game against Michigan State, according to 247 Sports.

The former All-Big Ten honorable mention led the Hoosiers in 2023 with 48 catches for 644 receiving yards and six touchdowns. The 6-foot-5, 200-pound wideout from Indianapolis moved from quarterback to wide receiver during spring practice in 2022; he was one of just three true freshmen quarterbacks to ever start for Indiana prior to moving positions.

"I think we're doing a good job with this recruiting class and we'll continue to bring the pieces needed that we need to help immediately," Sherrone Moore said Monday. "To replace and do things and sustain the success that we need to get. ... forward thinking and all that."

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan DB Rod Moore 'hit a rocky point' in return from injury