Underrated RJ Moten set to take another step in the secondary

The Michigan defense was one of the 2021 season’s biggest surprises, with several first-year starters like RJ Moten contributing to great improvement. The back end became a strength when several players made jumps in their games, both safeties and corners. 

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Moten, though, pretty much came out of nowhere to claim his spot. A year after playing only one game as a freshman, Moten started five of 14 games, including the opener against Western Michigan, and became a huge part of the defense. He notched 34 tackles and broke up four passes, picked off one pass in making an impact as a sophomore.

Pro Football Focus (PFF) now projects him as the No. 6 NFL Draft-eligible safety in 2023. Sophomore safety Rod Moore insisted it was going to be Moten’s year to shine, and the junior is embracing it. 

“Going into last year, I just wanted to play,” Moten said. “I hated sitting on the sidelines just watching. I was never hating against other people on the team, obviously, but I wanted to be out there. So last year it was just like, do everything you can just to play, just to play, just to play. 

“Now, seeing what it really is and how much really goes into it, this year it’s taking care of my body a lot more, studying the game a lot more. I understand the playbook — now I’ve just got to understand how the offense is trying to attack us or different fronts, where I’ve got to fit now and everything. It was just really taking a deeper dive into what I did previous year this year.”

But there’s no question he has the ability. PFF noted “the fluidity he plays with at that size is really a sight to behold,” and now he’s a year wiser. 

So are his most of his teammates. Though they lost a pair of elite ends in Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo, the guys that returned are as hungry as Moten was last year to elevate their games. 

Moten has seen it every day and camp, and he can’t wait to unleash it on opponents. 

“We’re all stars. Every person that will play this year is a star,” Moten said in response to head coach Jim Harbaugh’s comment that Michigan could have an outstanding ‘no-star’ defense this year. “I don’t care what the critics say — I don’t care what anybody else says. We will be the best defense in the nation.”

The communication has been “obnoxious,” according to him and the other starters. It comes from everybody “understanding what their one-eleventh is,” Moten said, and knowing their roles within the defense. 

Pre-snap communication has been outstanding, and it’s helped the defense hold its own against what should be a fantastic offense. They’re all on the same page, Moten noted. And even though there’s a new coordinator in Jesse Minter, it’s still year two of a very similar defense given that Minter and last year’s coordinator, Mike Macdonald, have worked together in the past. 

 “I feel like everything’s just the way it’s supposed to be,” Moten said. “We understand the defense. Our tackling has gotten better … our coverage, obviously, has gotten better. We’re able to put little things in. I really think the whole defense is what it’s supposed to be right now.

… “I love [Minter]. I really do enjoy him. He’s got the same mindset as Coach Mac, so nothing really has changed. Same defenses — just a little different. But his mindset is ‘Michigan versus everybody,’ and he wants to go win a Big Ten championship and bring home a natty [national championship], too.”

Moten, too, has similar team goals, along with his personal goals that come second to one thing — winning — and they’re lofty. He wants to “be the best version” of himself, to the point that “everybody will understand I’m the best safety in the nation.” And while he doesn’t share them all in fear of jinxing himself, he understands his capabilities. 

“I’m versatile,” he said. “I can play in the box, I can be in a post, and I can cover. [I want to] be the best tackler on the team, get a whole bunch of tackles.”

To do that, Moten knows he’ll have to hit it even harder than last year. 

He’s off to a great start. 

“I’ve just got to attack each and every day like it’s the same,” he said. “I have to take care of my body a lot better than what I did the past two years. I’ve got to study the game a lot better than what I did … understand the defense, understand the offense we’re playing that week. 

“Really, just doing everything another notch higher than the year before.”

Do that, and the sky’s the limit for both Moten and his team.