GoGamecocks.com
Vandy's Moore enjoys facing boyhood team
A Gamecocks fan as a kid, former Broome star has excelled at Vandy
After this interception against USC last season helped lead Vanderbilt to an upset victory, D.J. Moore called the Gamecocks' wide receivers an 'average' group.
Jeff Blake/jblake@thestate.com /The State
CommentsThe meeting occurred three years ago in the football coach’s office at Broome High. Inside sat D.J. Moore, one of the best athletes in South Carolina, and coach Quay Farr.
It took place shortly after the Shrine Bowl in December. Moore long ago had committed to play football for Vanderbilt, but now USC, his dream school, had made a late offer.
Moore was torn.
“He was a Gamecock through and through,” Farr said. “He wanted to be a Gamecock worse than anything.”
Farr remembers looking at Moore and saying, “Well, it’s your call.”
“I just want to honor my commitment,” Moore replied, according to Farr.
Moore’s decision to stick with the Commodores ended up working out well for everybody involved.
USC still has one of the best secondaries in the SEC to anchor a defense that opened the season by shutting out N.C. State. And Moore has become a star. A preseason first-team All-SEC cornerback, he returned a punt for a touchdown last week in a victory against Miami of Ohio, and he occasionally lines up at receiver.
Moore on Thursday will face his favorite team growing up for the third time when USC visits Vanderbilt. But this time Moore is not talking, at least not beforehand.
After the Commodores’ upset of USC last season, Moore made waves by calling the Gamecocks receivers an “average” group. That assessment remains fresh in the mind of USC star Kenny McKinley, a normally quotable player who was curt when discussing Moore, repeatedly calling him “a good player.”
Vanderbilt spokesman Larry Leathers said that because Moore was not comfortable with interviews, he was not being made available to the media this week.
Farr said last year’s comments were out of character for Moore, who in high school was not flamboyant. Farr, now the coach at Spring Valley High, thinks Moore’s emotion got the best of him last year.
“You’ve got to remember, he’s been a Gamecock fan forever,” Farr said. “He comes into Willams-Brice last year and has a good game. When he said it, he didn’t mean any malice about it.”
The odd thing is Moore has several acquaintances among USC’s receivers, including a longtime friend in junior Freddie Brown. Brown said he met Moore when they were 10-year-old teammates on the Spartanburg Bucks AAU team. They have stayed in touch and hang out during the summer, though they had not played football against each other until college.
Football might have been Moore’s third-best sport at Broome. He was a three-time all-state pick in basketball, leading his team to the state title as a junior. Moore also was a state-champion high jumper.
“By far, yes,” said Farr, when asked if Moore was the best athlete he has coached.
Still, the recruiting offers were sparse. Smaller schools such as Wofford and Furman offered football or basketball scholarships. Then Vanderbilt, after a long evaluation, offered him for football, and Moore accepted.
“It was about the only opportunity he had at that level (until USC offered),” Farr said.
As for the next level, Moore will have a chance at the NFL too. Moore has two years of eligibility remaining but could follow the lead of teammate Earl Bennett, a receiver who turned pro early after last season.
“It doesn’t surprise me,” said Gamecocks receiver Moe Brown, another Spartanburg native and Shrine Bowl teammate of Moore. “You could tell he’s one special player, and he gets after it real well. He works hard, and he’s just a phenomenal athlete. His whole demeanor just speaks to success.”
Reach Emerson at (803) 771-8676.
Most Viewed Stories
- Notes: Saunders critical of pass opportunities
- Commentary: Play-call duties at heart of debate
- Recruiting: Lattimore, Fulton venture out of state
- Coming unraveled: Hogs handle Gamecocks
- Soccer: Women win SEC title
- Morris: Lack of progress maddening for USC
- Quarles Spends Saturday Night at Death Valley
- QBs aim to be elite company
- Oh, snap: O-line's crumble continues
- Saunders speaks out: Targets a concern
@Nyx.CommentBody@