College Sports
Email
Print
Mountaineers pleased with runner's return
Devon Moore has provided spark since recovery from injury
Photo Courtesy of ASU
Junior Devon Moore of Appalachian State broke his left ankle in the third game last season.
ADVERTISEMENT
Published: October 1, 2009
BOONE - One striking difference for Appalachian State this season compared to last season is clarity in its running game.
Last season, the Mountaineers went through five starters at running back. This season, Devon Moore is the clear leader, and it's what he has been waiting for.
Moore, a 5-9, 205-pound junior from Mebane, spent his first two seasons as backup to All-America Kevin Richardson and was primed to take the top spot last season. But Moore broke his left ankle in the third game, and surgery that left him with a plate and six screws sidelined him for the rest of the season.
In his first three games this season, Moore has provided stability and productivity, rushing for 298 yards and two touchdowns and topping the 100-yard mark the past two games.
"It just feels so good just to get back out there again in front of the crowd playing with the team, getting back in the flow of things, running the ball like I used to and being pain-free," Moore said.
"That's what this offense needs, somebody to get 5 yards a pop and establish the run game, which will open up the passing game for Armanti (Edwards)…. The run game just opens it up for everybody to make big plays."
Coach Jerry Moore said that Devon Moore is giving ASU something that it didn't have last season.
"We think if we'd have had Devon last year, we would have had a lot different football team," Jerry Moore said.
"We were just glancing this morning at the Richmond tape (last year's loss in the FCS playoffs), and Robert Welton is starting for us at running back, and he's down on the depth chart right now. Devon has been huge for us as far as leadership. We expected that from him last year. We're getting that from him right now."
Welton and Devin Radford, who were in last season's rotation, are still in the picture, but Devon Moore and the emergence of Cedric Baker as the primary backup have cut their playing time. Other than Moore and Baker, freshman Rod Chisholm is the only back with a carry, and he has one.
"You can only work so many guys in," Jerry Moore said.
So far, Devon Moore has been the main guy, and he has the attention of Coach Kevin Higgins of The Citadel, ASU's opponent on Saturday.
"He's got great speed, a great change of direction and he runs awfully hard," Higgins said. "Any time he's in space with the football against our guys, it will be a tremendous challenge."
Moore rushed for nearly 6,000 yards and 42 touchdowns at Cedar Ridge High and was drawing interest from schools such as East Carolina, Maryland and Virginia Tech before tearing ligaments in his right knee in the seventh game of his senior season.
"The first thing I thought was football was over with," Moore said. "I just jumped to the worst conclusion. But as the weeks rolled by, I knew I could come back and I could play in college."
Email
Print
