Boise State Quarterback Kellen Moore
Broncos Sophomore Will Again Try to Surpass Expectations in 2009
Moore doesn't look like a guy one would expect to lead the offense of a Top 25 college football team.
He's only 6-feet tall, no one would mistake him for a speedster, and his throwing arm –while decent and accurate – isn't one that makes observers say "ooh" and "ah."
That's why he wasn't the most sought-after recruit coming out of high school. Outside the Northwest U.S., there wasn't a whole lot of interest.
But Moore's done a pretty good job of surpassing expectations. One could hardly have expected Moore to throw 66 touchdown passes during his junior season at Prosser High, but he did. And then he threw 67 TD passes during his senior year to break his own Washington state record.
Surely, some people did expect Moore to succeed at the NCAA Division I-A college level, but could anyone have expected him to do it so quickly and so resoundingly?
As a redshirt freshman, Moore won the starting job and proceeded to pass for 3,486 yards. He completed an astounding 69.4 percent of his passes, finishing with 25 TD passes against 10 interceptions for a sparkling 157.12 passing efficiency rating.
Boise State, meanwhile, went 12-1, finishing the regular season undefeated and suffering its only loss in the Ponsiettia Bowl to Texas Christian, 17-16.
What Makes Kellen Moore Effective
Moore is what football aficionados call a good game manager. He's a student of the game who knows how to utilize the weapons around him. He makes good decisions and doesn't make stupid mistakes.
Coach Chris Petersen explained it well a year ago, when he was announcing that Moore had won the starting job.
“There are instinctual things [in Moore] that are very, very hard to coach, that in fact I don’t think you can coach, in terms of seeing the field, which he has a great knack for," Petersen said. "That's really the bottom line right there."
So efficient was Moore last season that it seems almost unfair to expect better production out of him in 2009. But undoubtedly, people will -- with Moore himself probably among them.
In any case, Moore will certainly be under close scrutiny when No. 14 Boise State plays host to No. 16 Oregon in a season opener Thursday, Sept. 3, at Boise, Idaho. The 7:15 p.m. (PST) game will be telecast by ESPN.
Moore Will Duel Oregon QB Jeremiah Masoli
Boise State and Oregon both have BCS title aspirations, and chances are the team that loses will have its hopes shattered. So anticipation for the game is reaching a fever pitch.
The pressure figures to be most intense for the two quarterbacks -- Moore and Oregon's Jeremiah Masoli.
Moore proved his mettle when the teams met last September, completing 24 of 36 passes for 386 yards and three touchdowns with one interception as Boise State won 37-32 in Eugene, Ore.
But that came before the athletic Masoli was knocked out of the game early. He ended up passing for 1,744 yards and 13 touchdowns and running for 1,718 yards and 10 TDs during the season.
Like Moore, Masoli is being counted on for a lot this season, and his duel with the Boise State player looms as an exciting one.
The last time Moore played against a highly touted quarterback was last Nov. 22 in Reno, Nev., when the Broncos faced a Nevada squad led by Colin Kaepernick.
Moore threw three interceptions -- the only time all season he was picked off more than once in a game.
But he also passed for 440 yards and three touchdowns, and Boise State won, 41-34.
Sophomore Slump Is Possibility for Moore
Moore will have to work with some different weapons this year, since top rusher Ian Johnson and leading receiver Jeremy Childs have graduated.
And opposing teams should be better-prepared to face Moore. They won't assume he'll make freshman mistakes, which he rarely did last season.
So, yes there is a possibility that things will be much more difficult. And there is a possibility -- and perhaps there should be some expectation -- that Moore will experience some kind of sophomore slump.
But then again, it's not like Moore's ever been limited by expectation.
What do you think about this article?
Latest Articles