Moore focused on improvement, not playing time, in return from injury

Freshmen Charlie Kolar and Devon Moore pose for a photo during 2018 Media Day on Aug. 7. 

Spencer Suckow
August 8, 2018

There was plenty of hype when Devon Moore committed to Iowa State in late 2015.

Only 16 when he gave his verbal and the first-ever pledge of the Matt Campbell era, Moore was a homegrown standout at Waterloo West High School and ranked as a top 30 dual-threat quarterback in the country. Moore’s stats backed up that ranking, as he finished his career with over 5,000 passing yards and 69 total touchdowns.

On top of that, Moore was physically impressive for a freshman QB, standing at 6-feet-4-inches and weighing in at 215 pounds when he came to campus in 2017. National media outlet Bleacher Report saw him as a key to the Cyclones’ future, and Moore was even set to battle for the backup QB spot behind Jacob Park as a true freshman.

Then, during a non-contact drill in camp, Moore tore his ACL and lost his entire freshman season, forcing him to redshirt and costing him valuable practice reps.

“It was really tough,” Moore said. “It put some mental stress on me, but everyone within this program really just made sure that I was okay and did everything in their power to make sure that everyone was there for me if I ever needed anything, so that helped a lot.”

In fact, the first person to show support for Moore was fellow quarterback Zeb Noland, who was directly competing with Moore for that backup QB spot.

Noland, a redshirt freshman at the time, suffered the exact same injury the previous year and took it upon itself to help Moore during his recovery process. Whether that meant helping him during rehab or giving Moore rides to practice, Noland was there to help his fellow QB.

While competition can sometimes drive players at the same position apart, Noland says that the QB room at Iowa State is very close and supports each other no matter who gets the snaps.

“We’re so tight-knit,” Noland said. “I’d probably say we’re one of the most tight-knit QB rooms in the country because we don’t have beef between each other. We genuinely care about each other and we enjoy being around each other every single day.”

That closeness is a big reason why Moore isn’t stressing about playing time as he attempts to return. With returning senior Kyle Kempt and Noland entrenched as the top two on the depth chart and the new additions of heralded recruits Re-al Mitchell and Brock Purdy, it’d be easy to understand if Moore felt overlooked.

Moore doesn’t feel that way, however. Instead, he says that everyone in the QB room supports one another regardless of who gets the snaps.

While that’s not him for the moment, Moore adds that he’s focusing on what he can control while he waits for his turn. Namely, that means continuing his growth when in comes to the mental side of playing quarterback.

In the meantime, Moore is putting his faith in his coaches.

“I feel like the coaching staff has a plan for me,” Moore said. “It’ll be great, whatever they do, and we’re going to trust the process with whatever they do.”

Even with all of the competition around him, the staff certainly hasn’t forgotten about Moore. Quarterbacks coach Joel Gordon said that the now-fully healthy redshirt freshman will have a fair chance to compete for playing time going forward.

Gordon said that the staff has high expectations for all of the quarterbacks, and that, ultimately, everything in regards to playing time depends on how each guy develops.

“Just keep getting better,” Gordon said of his expectations for Moore. “As a quarterback, you’ve got a lot of things that you’ve got to do well, and we want to see him keep getting better every single day and get himself to a position where he can be trusted to go out there on the field for Iowa State.”

Campbell added that the current plan for Moore is to treat this season as his true freshman year. Campbell said that, although he’s seen strides from him in the mental area of the position, Moore is still, essentially, starting from square one coming into 2018 because he lost so many potential reps last season.

Campbell added that fall camp will be critical for Moore because quarterback is a “learn by doing” position. Despite the long road ahead to get up to speed and onto the field, Moore can take comfort knowing that his head coach is one of his biggest supporters.

“I’m a big fan of Devon,” Campbell said. “Devon’s one of those guys where I think my fandom for him is the fact that he’s overcome a lot of adversity to get to where he’s at, and it’s tough when you’ve been through what he’s been through.”