Derrick Moore continues to inspire at South Carolina
COLUMBIA, S.C. (BVM) 鈥� As most of this country knows, football is a sport that doesn鈥檛 lack passion. Coaches, players and fans go to the stadium every weekend with a fiery passion and hope to see their team walk away with a win. One man who seems to carry a passion with him is Derrick Moore.聽
Born and raised in Albany, Georgia, Moore seemed destined for a future on the gridiron. But he had some growing up to do, and thanks to some experiences growing up and great role models, that鈥檚 exactly what happened.
鈥淚t was hot growing up in South Georgia,鈥� Moore said. 鈥淟ots of heat, [lots] of bugs. But [it鈥檚] a very passionate part of the country in terms of sports. [There] I got introduced to football in middle school. I was still trying to figure out who I was and all those kinds of things. Looking back, it was a ton of fun, coming up the way I did … the experience I had as a young person, they were important to have. I wouldn鈥檛 change it.鈥�
And thanks to his middle school football coach, Moore found the passion for football and motivating others.
鈥淢y middle school coach [was] a father to so many of us boys who didn鈥檛 have dads in our lives,鈥� Moore said. 鈥淔ootball was a place for a young kid to learn some discipline 鈥� [And] he gave these incredible speeches all the time. I was sitting there as a little kid saying, 鈥業 want to do that one day.鈥欌�澛�
But with Proposition 48 in effect, Moore couldn鈥檛 move on and play for big-name schools after graduating from high school. So he decided to stay in Albany and attend Albany State College and focus solely on academics.
After two years there and now with an associate鈥檚 degree, Moore decided to join Division II Troy State, now Troy University, in Alabama. He rushed for 1,043 yards in his lone season. Moore would move on from Joy following this season, and that鈥檚 when he ended up at Northeastern State University (NSU).
鈥淏eing a part of that experience was phenomenal,鈥� Moore said. 鈥淐oach [Tom] Eckert took me in and gave me the opportunity to play my final year. 鈥� It was one of the best times of my life where I had one year, not on anyone鈥檚 radar as a potential pro player, and by the time the season ended, I was on [those teams radar鈥檚]. And certainly, school was a major part of helping me accomplish that. It was an unbelievable experience and one that I look back fondly on.鈥�
With one year of eligibility remaining, Moore would have a season to remember. He would help the Riverhawks to a 10-1 overall record, rush for 1,502 yards and score 16 touchdowns. It was the second-best single-season rushing record ever seen at NSU.
Following his lone season at NSU, Moore entered the 1992 NFL Draft. The Atlanta Falcons would select Moore in the eighth round. Although he wouldn鈥檛 play for the Falcons, Moore would go on to have three impressive seasons in the NFL.聽
鈥淚 consider them [Deion and Barry Sanders] to be the two greatest players I鈥檝e ever played with,鈥� Moore said. 鈥淭o be able to be in the locker room and to be on the field with both of those guys was extremely incredible.鈥�
In 1993, Moore rushed for with the Detroit Lions. Following the 1994 season, Moore joined the expansion Carolina Panthers. In 13 games with the Panthers, Moore rushed for 740 yards, an expansion team record at the time, and scored four TDs. He then followed up with two seasons with the Arizona Cardinals but wouldn鈥檛 play.
鈥淚 got there [Carolina] Week 2 [of the season] and I didn鈥檛 start playing till Week 3 or 4,鈥� Moore said. 鈥淲e were playing in Death Valley and it was an unbelievable experience to play there.聽 And we had a cast of guys who came from many places in the league. From the late, great Sam Mills to Kerry Collins who was a rookie at the time. I was on a 1,500-yard pace before the injuries sidelined me, so on a personal level, it was a heck of a season I was having. Collectively as a team, it was one of the best experiences I鈥檝e had.鈥澛�
Moore would hang up his professional cleats and pick up the coaching whistle in 1998 for Morehouse College in Atlanta. There he helped coach running backs and was the special teams coordinator until 2001.聽
After Morehouse, Moore accepted a job with Georgia Tech University. He helped inspire some of the Yellow Jackets鈥� finest athletes, including .
鈥淚 get emotional talking about Calvin,鈥� Moore said. 鈥淐alvin is like my own son. He鈥檚 obviously a spectacular talent [and] enormously gifted. The things he can do on the football field at that position [wide receiver] you shouldn鈥檛 be able to do, but Calvin can do them. But [I鈥檓 fascinated] in the person he is. He鈥檚 so humble and extremely considerate and [there鈥檚] an unbelievable care factor about him and you wouldn鈥檛 know that he was gifted when you consider how a lot of gifted people carry themselves [today]. He鈥檚 one of my dearest friends in the world, but he鈥檚 been like my son to me.鈥�
MEGALEIO!! introduction
— Derrick C Moore (@DMoSpeaks)
Along with inspiring players, Moore helped the Yellow Jackets reach four ACC title games. Georgia Tech captured the ACC title in 2009. The team also made three Orange Bowl appearances and was ranked in the top-25 for a number of years, making it to No. 7 in the nation in 2014.聽
An essential program Moore was a part of was the Georgia Tech Total Person Program. This program helped provide development opportunities for student-athletes, opportunities Moore didn鈥檛 have when he was a student-athlete. Moore was part of the Georgia Tech football program up until 2020.
Now, Moore has settled in at the University of South Carolina where has taken over the role of Executive Director of Player and Character Development. It seems to be a similar role that he served at Georgia Tech, but it is an important one nonetheless.
Everywhere Moore has gone, success has followed. Now Moore is set on a new journey, this time with the Gamecocks. While there, he鈥檒l aim to impact and change more athletes’ lives in Columbia.聽
鈥淚t鈥檚 neat to know you鈥檙e making a positive difference in someone鈥檚 life [in the end],鈥� Moore said.聽
https://twitter.com/GamecockFB/status/1351975894026510338
