R.J. Moten to the portal
Safety R.J. Moten is joining A.J. Henning in the transfer portal. Moten was in a constant battle for a starting safety job and even spent a little bit of time practicing at linebacker when depth/health were an issue toward the end of the 2022 season. He made 31 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and 1 interception in 2022.
A.J. and R.J. in one day??
Do not let J.J. out of your sight...
Clever 👍
Clever yes, but why even put that into the universe?
Give the man a BJ
As long as it's not from OJ.
Otay.
Can’t he just Askew?
https://youtu.be/ZCqh5ROtQRg
And D.J. had to start it off by entering the draft!
That guy was a day late and a $ short too often. The writing was on the wall - Zeke Berry is gonna make some noise this year - maybe Sabb and Dent also hopefully.
Zeke is a player.
All the best to RJ! He's got a couple of B1G Championship rings and should be able to get some good playing time elsewhere.
This is actually very encouraging. It means the young bucks are developing ahead of schedule which is great for their ceiling. I think our defense is going to be excellent this year.
How many more days until the season starts? 18 weeks, 5 days...
Hoping Sabb can make an impact. Looked like a big recruiting win at the time
Came here to say this is good news for at least one of Zeke/Sabb/Dent. Makes it clear that Paige and Moore are the clear leaders at safety, and that Moten had been passed on the depth chart.
Good luck to Moten wherever he lands, but the safety position appears to be very strong for UM.
ya, i remember calling his name out a few times last year, and not in a good way.
Yep....he saw less and less playing time as the season progressed last year and didn't play vs TCU so the writing was on the wall. Happy trails, RJ.
https://twitter.com/On3sports/status/1650551755510362119
We'll always have this awesome interception vs. Maryland last year
Michigan was apparently somewhat short at linebacker going into TCU (since they moved Mullings to RB), so they had practiced Moten at LB for an emergency situation going into the bowl game.
Michigan was apparently somewhat short at linebacker going into TCU (since they moved Mullings to RB)
That move worked out just swell.
Like Henning, this isn't super shocking. Limited player passed over by younger guys. Wish him the best
Best of luck to him. Not sure what happened with his development arc, but he has a shot to get a lot more playing time elsewhere
Moten seemed like he peaked early and then almost seemed to regress later in his career
Keon Sabb taking his minutes? That would be ahead of schedule I think.
Thanks for the memoris RJ.
I had high hopes for Moten in 2021, and his entire career really. Moten became one of the guys I was personally pulling for. You could see how close he was to being a guy in 2021 but those dropped picks against MSU and OSU seemed to become his calling card. Hope he gets an opportunity to play in a system that suits his strengths. I'll always be an RJ Moten supporter. Best of luck to the young man.
Sort of hoped he would have stuck around but ah well. Always felt like he was close to a huge play but would just miss it. Still, was part of some big wins and deserves credit for being a piece of some great defenses. Hopefully he lands somewhere and is successful.
Always felt like he was close to a huge play but would just miss it.
Hit the nail on the head. How many times was he in position for an INT then just dropped it? Or how many times did he come flying up to stuff a run, only to run right past the ball-carrier, or just bounce off the tackle?
Yeah, he had a solid floor as a player (he rarely was straight-up beaten on plays and would slow down ball carriers) but never could quite get over the hump. I went back and looked at the two OSU UFRs and he was -2 and -1 overall with limited snaps. Against MSU and PSU he was between -1 and +1. A very boring safety, which is good, but also not a guy who's departure will likely cause a big drop-off on the defense.
Still, wish him a ton of luck and do think he'll wind up somewhere in the P5 and put up a similarly solid season.
Wow! I'm a bit surprised by this. I felt that Moten had room for improvement but also wasn't on a path to transfer. Odd.
Not many guys lose their starting job and stick around.
Met his father at the '21 Orange Bowl semifinal. Impressive man who was bought in to Harbaugh's approach and said it was up to his son to earn everything. Pulled hard for RJ from then on. Hope he does well wherever he lands.
Whoa, started 10 games for us last season. Might have been in a fight, but was a nice rotational player at least.
I was always hoping he would work out - 5 star two sport guy based on talent/athleticism, the question was always if he could put it all together on the field. I was always a big "c'mon man" opponent to the MGoCrew harping on a few missed interceptions, but you really couldn't deny what seemed to be a regression in play this year. Not even playing against TCU while other safeties seemed not to know the play call in critical moments- pretty much confirmed the drop on the depth chart not being temporary.
How far we have come in a decade in the secondary. We’re now at the point where near-2 year starters are transferring because the talent behind them is too good.
Best of luck RJ. That Maryland pick was one of the best picks in years.
"That's one of them good problems to have."
Yes, the days of Carvin Johnson and Ray Vinopal are behind us...
Today's portal news...
Berry popped a little in the spring game whatever that means. Paige and Moore will be solid. I love Rod Moore we will need one other guy to step up and be ready and I think RJ probably saw the writing on the wall. We have a lot of young but unproven talented players at the position. Let cream rise to the top!
Even healthy programs are not immune from the transfer portal, wishing RJ the best and greatly appreciate his contributions towards attaining back-to-back B10 crowns. I suspect RJs (and AJs) departure is nothing more than evidence that there is a surplus of young, motivated talent coming up and ready to pop! Excited to see what Berry and Sabb bring to the table
Wish him the best for his career going forward and thanks for the memories.
RJ could hit like a sledgehammer. He just wasn’t always sure who to hit.
We have some incredible talent and depth at Safety.
This one’s a bummer, if only because his potential is sky high. He was being mocked as a mid round draft pick before last season based on athleticism alone. I think he can still put it together elsewhere - best of luck to him
Definitely won't be confusing Moore with Moten with Mohan anymore since the latter two are gone...
Don't forget about Morant.
Welp apparently the opening of the spring portal has commenced. This one will kinda hurt depth, hopefully we're done, but I doubt it.
One of the better Motens to don the winged helmet.