Jake Moody Returns to Michigan
Michigan Football got some surprise good news on Saturday afternoon, when kicker Jake Moody announced he is returning for his final campaign at Michigan in 2022:
#GoBlue pic.twitter.com/psNLgl0aFQ
— Jake Moody (@jmoods13) January 15, 2022
This is obviously a huge development because Moody is a phenomenal kicker. The Northville native was 56/56 on extra points in 2021 and 23/25 on field goals, with his lone two misses coming from 40-49 yards away. Moody provided the team with clutch kicks all season long, including the game winner in Lincoln against Nebraska. His tremendous 2021 season won him the Bakken-Andersen B1G Kicker of the Year award, as well as the Lou Groza Award for national kicker of the year. He was also named 1st team All-B1G and a consensus All-American.
Moody's return allows Michigan to let Tommy Doman simmer another year, as well as providing an additional year of stability until 2023 commit Adam Samaha, currently the #1 kicking recruit in America, arrives on campus. Moreover, when paired with Brad Robbins' return (announced this past week too), Michigan should maintain one of the best special teams units in the country.
Moody arrived at Michigan in 2018 and never redshirted, taking over for Quinn Nordin late in his true freshman season before the two formed a kicking tandem that lasted through 2019 and 2020. With Nordin having graduated, Moody became the full-time kicker for the first time in 2021. His return was made possible by using the COVID-shirt that the NCAA granted all athletes during the 2020 season.
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January 15th, 2022 at 2:36 PM ^
Hail yes.
January 15th, 2022 at 3:10 PM ^
That surprises me almost as much as Vincent Gray deciding to leave surprised me. Great news, kicking game should be excellent again.
January 15th, 2022 at 3:40 PM ^
I am assuming he already got his degree and wants to pursue a graduate degree. He won the Lou Groza Award and got B1G Championship ring. Why not go to the NFL and make some money?
January 15th, 2022 at 3:55 PM ^
(I have no idea but guessing that) Unlike other positions, there isn't really a clock on his potential (actually teams would prob prefer slightly older than 21 y.o. fresh out of uni. Nice to pick up another year of graduate degree credits and maybe other non-football internship/connections as a back-up plan...
I'd be really interested in what graduate credits/degrees P5 FB players pick-up, in what cases it helped them down the road.
January 15th, 2022 at 10:49 PM ^
I still don't really understand why Gray leaving was that much of a surprise. He's a guy whose spot will likely be overtaken next year by one of the younger guys like McBurrows or Johnson, or even just a healthy Gemon who has more athletic potential. He's also a senior and his draft stock probably won't get higher. To me it makes perfect sense.
January 16th, 2022 at 12:36 AM ^
Agree on Grey. I do however think Hinton made a poor bet on himself, a hasty financial decision. He may not get drafted before the 5th, which puts you in nfl minimum salary territory.
With his family's financial security & his seemingly barely tapped potential (based on Starz), he could very easily have gotten himself into 2nd (and maybe even 1st) round pick territory with another season that saw him improve as much as he did from '20 to '21.
Oh well, wish him the best! Welcome back Jake!
January 15th, 2022 at 3:12 PM ^
Great news! Welcome back, Mr. Moody.
January 15th, 2022 at 3:14 PM ^
More meeps!
January 15th, 2022 at 3:30 PM ^
Both him and Robbins for another year - oh hell yeah!
January 15th, 2022 at 4:03 PM ^
This is great news, but very surprising. I'd think his NFL stock will never be higher. It's almost impossible for him to improve on this year, given all the accolades. But we'll take it!
January 15th, 2022 at 4:55 PM ^
Very few kickers are drafted, almost all are UDFA. Most get the rookie minimum with some incentives. Highest paid kicker in the NFL is Tucker on the Ravens @ 3.5 mil/year. He is a nine year veteran. Moody is most likely working on a master's degree so get the scholarship $ for another year then off to the NFL.
January 15th, 2022 at 6:06 PM ^
Great... and yes, a really interesting decision. Along with the reasons cited by BlueinRock... the only thing I could think of is that maybe, if he has another stellar year, even if not quite at this level, he can leverage consistency and get drafted.
I don't know about NFL $, so this may be stupid, but say he gets drafted and makes even $200K more a year than the minimum for at least 2 years. So, he is getting paid for this year plus... his regional NIL stock is fully thru the goalposts of life brah.
January 15th, 2022 at 4:04 PM ^
Mr. automatic. Damn, feels good to have Jake back.
I think he is already a pro.
January 15th, 2022 at 4:15 PM ^
Honestly can't remember a better place kicker in Michigan history or think of a better place kicker in the country than Jake Moody. Great news. Go Blue!
January 16th, 2022 at 12:41 AM ^
There is definitely not a better Kicker in Michigan history than Moody.
And the Groza award says there's not a better Kicker in the country than Moody right now!
Michigan has 2 guys coming who may actually be better tho - I'll believe that when I see it, but 1 of them is the highest ranked PK AND Punter in HS currently! That's pretty remarkable!
January 15th, 2022 at 4:31 PM ^
Jake Moody=$$$$$??
Glad you are back ?
January 15th, 2022 at 4:53 PM ^
Maybe he wants to rock up like that SDSU kicker who led the team on special teams tackles?
January 15th, 2022 at 4:59 PM ^
Jake Money
January 15th, 2022 at 5:00 PM ^
Huge!
Go Blue!
January 15th, 2022 at 5:15 PM ^
https://bluebyninetyshop.com/collections/money-moody
Good reason to use NIL for Jake.
January 15th, 2022 at 7:28 PM ^
I'd get more use out of that than my Big D1ckinson Energy T.
January 15th, 2022 at 5:52 PM ^
This is awesome!
January 15th, 2022 at 6:08 PM ^
Huzzah! Go Blue!
January 15th, 2022 at 8:13 PM ^
Special teams go brrrrrr
January 15th, 2022 at 8:21 PM ^
The kid might go down as our greatest kicker in program history. Money in the bank if there ever was one.
January 15th, 2022 at 10:23 PM ^
Great news - I grew up in the 1970s when FGs were things that kept UM from winning championships - either the other team had the better kicker or we had a guy who would miss from 35 yards.
As a recent retiree from a Fortune 50 company and UM Marching Band alumni guy, I can say it's all about MEMORIES. Jake wants a few more!
January 15th, 2022 at 10:24 PM ^
What’s the updated scholarship count, 93?
January 16th, 2022 at 1:13 PM ^
Great news! Maybe he'll be one of team leaders.
January 16th, 2022 at 5:22 PM ^
Best news ever. Kinda.
January 16th, 2022 at 5:31 PM ^
An important decision for the Wolverines and an insight into the situation with kickers.
1. There is no certainty that being the top place kicker will help that much. It will help some - open some doors but there are a lot kickers still out there circulating about. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lou_Groza_Award Check out who has previously won - some are out there but many are not.
2. The NIL maybe tempting and an extra year for him won't add that much to "wear and tear" unlike for a RB.
3. He might be looking further and so learning more at the UM and getting more connected would help.
January 16th, 2022 at 6:02 PM ^
kid is a great kicker... he is so automatic.
Rarely have I felt as confident in a kicker than i do with Moody. Really happy to see him return
January 16th, 2022 at 8:35 PM ^
Huge.
January 17th, 2022 at 1:13 AM ^
I'm making these numbers up but great kickers maybe have a 20% of making a roster and very good kickers 10%. Sometimes they get picked up mid season. But 10% x league minimum is $66k per year. That's his expected NFL salary. NIL plus a grad degree on scholarship is a good financial deal for most late round picks and UDFAs. The exception is if there are players behind them likely to take their playing time, which may decrease the likelihood of being drafted or signed as a UDFA or just not be fun.
Looking forward to him coming back and UM having another top ST ranking.
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