Rondale Moore took the nation by storm last fall. The former five star recruit was a consensus All-American as a true freshman along with earning Big Ten freshman and receiver of the year honors.
Moore broke out in his first collegiate game racking up 313 all purpose yards (109 receiving and 79 rushing) and two touchdowns. He had over 100 yards receiving in 7 of the Boilermakers 13 games including a 12 catch 170 yard and two touchdown performance against then #2 ranked Ohio State.
Moore lead the NCAA in receptions with 114, 12 more than the next closest. He lead the Big Ten in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns while being second in total touchdowns and yards from scrimmage. His 2,215 all-purpose yards were also third in the NCAA.
His standout freshman season propelled him into Heisman talks. Playing the receiver position makes it hard to even make it as a finalist and it’s even harder to take home the coveted award. Amari Cooper was the last WR to become a finalist and there have only been two others since Desmond Howard won the award in 1991. Can Moore break the norm and become a Heisman finalist? Can he become only the third receiver ever to actually take home the trophy? He has a case for it
How?
The Heisman trophy is given to the best player in college football every year. It’s historically dominated by quarterbacks and running backs which makes it very difficult for players from any other position to win.
Desmond Howard won the Heisman in 1991 becoming only the second Wide Receiver to ever do so. During his Heisman season he brought in 62 receptions for 985 yards and 19 touchdowns while rushing for 180 yards on 13 attempts with two touchdowns. Howard was also a lethal return man on kickoffs and punts averaging 27.5 yards per return on 15 attempts from kickoffs and 14.1 yards per return on 20 punts. He had two touchdowns from returns.
That was Howard’s junior year. As a true Freshman, Rondale Moore doubled Howard’s receptions, totaled 1,258 receiving yards, 213 rushing yards, scored 14 touchdowns, and averaged 20.1 yards per return during kickoffs. He put up almost identical numbers as a true freshman playing in the same conference on a team that finished 6-7. If Moore can continue to build off his freshman campaign he should undoubtedly be in contention for the award at some point during his career.
It will take more big games this year for Moore to have his name in the hat. Vegas is giving him +5000 odds to win the award which makes him a sleeper pick by most analysts. With the Boilermakers adding two four star receivers to their core, it should take some of the attention away from Moore allowing him to be even more successful.
