Jake Moody on San Francisco 49ers: 'Anything I can do to help the team win a Super Bowl'
Michigan Wolverines football kicker Jake Moody — the San Francisco 49ers’ surprise third-round 2023 NFL Draft pick — is a winner. He kept the Wolverines in games and pushed them over the top with game-winning kicks throughout his career, especially the last two seasons as an All-American.
Moody made 29 field goals in 2022, leading the nation, connecting on 82.9 percent of his 36 attempts with no missed extra points.
The Northville, Mich., native is the 49ers’ replacement for Robbie Gould, a current free agent who spent seven years in the Bay Area. Moody and Gould actually share an agent and have gotten to know each other over the last several months, with the latter graciously serving as a mentor.
“I’m so fired up,” Moody said of being picked in the third round. “[Gould has] been telling me how great it is. He actually just texted me [right after the selection], saying how excited he is for me and telling me how great of a place it is. [Punter] Mitch [Wishnowsky] and [long snapper] Taybor [Pepper], they’re great guys that I’m going to get to work with. I’m so fired up.”
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Added Moody, of Gould: “He’s been helping me out with a ton of stuff, whether it was combine stuff, preparing for the draft or all the workouts, he’s been there the whole way and I’m very happy that he has.”
Gould even made a grand gesture during the NFL Combine.
“I’ve only gotten to meet him once in-person and that was at the combine, actually,” the Michigan specialist explained. “He was back home in Chicago and he decided to drive down a few hours to Indianapolis and have dinner with me and our agent.
“That was very nice of him, to make that drive down there just to meet up with me for the first time and get to chat over dinner. Like I said, he’s been great this whole process and I’m very happy that he’s been a part of it.”
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The 49ers have appeared in back-to-back NFC championship games and made the Super Bowl in 2019 under head coach Kyle Shanahan. Like at Michigan, Moody is excited to contribute for a team in the mix for titles.
“It is obviously a great team that I’m joining, and I couldn’t be happier,” Moody said. “Anything that I can do to help the team win a Super Bowl, that’s obviously the goal. It is obviously already a great team to be a part of and I’m so excited.”
Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh, for whom Moody played the last five seasons, was at the helm in San Francisco, leading the franchise to three deep playoff runs, including a Super Bowl appearance, from 2011-14. Last fall, Harbaugh attended the 10-year reunion celebration of his NFC championship winning squad.
“He hasn’t talked about his NFL days too much, but from what I know he really enjoyed it out there,” Moody said. “He took the team really far while he was there. He’s only said good things about it, so I’m just really looking forward to getting there and seeing it for myself.”
Moody has the chance to make his own mark in the Bay, along with former Michigan teammate Ronnie Bell, who the 49ers drafted in the seventh round. Rookie minicamp begins later this month.
