William Moore
From NCAA College Football Information & Resource
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William Moore (born May 18, 1985 in Hayti, Missouri) was a defensive back, playing the safety position for the University of Missouri Tigers in the NCAA college football tournament. With the Tigers losing its premier safety Pig Brown in the mid-season of 2007, Moore gladly filled in the void and helped Missouri shape the team's defense to become one of the best in the league. As a junior, Moore bagged several All-American and All-Conference awards and was expected to take home several more in his senior season (2008). Unfortunately, he played hurt through the season and was overshadowed by several emerging underclassmen playing his position. But despite playing hurt, Moore was still considered as one of the bests simply because of his determination and desire to contribute for his team's cause.
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[edit] Personal Life
William is the son of William Shaw & Marilyn Moore. After his parents separated when he was a baby, his mother and his grandma, whom he refers to as “Big Momma,” raised him by themselves. He is a native of Hayti (hay-TIE), a small town of barely 3,200 located in the heart of the Bootheel in southeast Missouri. When he was a kid, William was really hyper---doing flips on the carpet and banging on things---that one day, his mom brought him to the doctor to check if he was okay. His interest in football came when he was in elementary which eventually led to a stint with a Pee Wee football team. He also developed an equal interest in music at that time and was very happy when he received a percussion machine as a gift from his mother during 6th grade.
While William was growing up, he got into trouble after hanging with the "wrong crew" and so he was sent to a boys’ home. When he entered high school, William split his time between school, football, and the marching band (where he was a tuba player). During games, he would change clothes during halftime from his football jersey to his marching uniform.
Apart from tackling opponents and intercepting passes on the football field, William otherwise known as Willy-Mo spends much of his time with his rap group, Fa Sho Entertainment, who has opened for artists like Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. FSE is comprised of five members, one of whom is Leo Lyons who also suits up for the Mizzou basketball team. Willy-Mo and Leo have collaborated to work on a CD. Academic-wise, Moore's interest lie in studying adolescent psychology at the University of Missouri.
[edit] High School
Moore attended high school at Hayti High in his hometown where he played on both ends of the field as a receiver on offense and as a defensive back on defense, earning all-state honors while playing both positions under coach Jerry Bethune. Moore capped his high school career establishing the school's career records in receptions (74), receiving yards (1,768), and scoring catches (34) while helping Hayti win three straight conference championships from 2001-03 and finish the 2002 season as runner-up in Class 2A football. Throughout his career, Moore reached the endzone a total of 35 times which ranked 5th on the school's career scoring chart.
Aside from football, Moore also excelled in basketball, earning four letters in the sport while claiming the team MVP award and an all-conference selection as a junior.
[edit] College
Entering college, Moore was Rivals.com's No.64 receiver in the nation and was ranked as the No. 12 overall prospect at any position in the state of Missouri. He gave an early commitment to play for the Tigers, choosing MU over Oklahoma, Purdue, Mississippi, Arkansas and Illinois, among others.
[edit] 2004
Moore spent his freshman year redshirting and working with the scout squad and in the Tiger strength program. That year saw his transition from cornerback to safety.
[edit] 2005
On Mizzou's pre-spring depth chart, Moore was listed behind David Overstreet on the free safety position although he played most of the season behind All-Big 12 candidate Jason Simpson. During the spring game, he recorded 5 tackles and broke up a pass to earn the team's most improved safety honors for his efforts. He made his collegiate debut at Arkansas State and posted three tackles while forcing a fumble in the 44-17 victory. Prior to the New Mexico game, Moore suffered a severe hamstring injury at practice which forced him to sit out three games. He did manage to recuperate in no time and was inserted into the starting line-up for the very first time against Iowa State where he managed to score his very first collegiate touchdown after intercepting a pass on the 2nd series of the game. He continued to perform well in the win over Nebraska, producing 3 stops, a QB hurry and a pass break up in the 41-24 win. In the losses at Kansas and at Colorado, Moore managed to record a career-best 6 and four tackles, respectively, before contributing five more in the Tigers' home win against Baylor.
Moore made his postseason debut against South Carolina at the Independence Bowl where he was fielded in on the starting line-up in lieu of the suspended Simpson, responding by matching his career high in tackles (6) but had to sit out the last three quarters after sustaining a broken bone on his right foot during the opening series of the game. He finished his rookie year with 30 tackles, two pass pass break-ups, and a forced fumble in nine appearances, with two starts.
[edit] 2006
Although Moore spent some time in the offseason going through surgery to insert a screw into his injured right foot, he was able to recover in time for the annual Black & Gold Game. He looked perfectly healthy during the game, highlighting his performance with a 45-yard touchdown interception return. Like the previous year, he was listed No.2 on the depth chart on the spring safety position behind David Overstreet. During the season however, Moore was utilized both as a free and strong safety on defense while also seeing some action on the special teams.
Statistically-wise, Moore had a slow start during his sophomore year, being limited to a solitary tackle in the wins over Murray State and Ole Miss. He also contributed three stops at New Mexico, had two with a pass break up against Ohio, before producing four and another PBU in the victory over Colorado. His finest game of the season however came at Lubbock where he saw the most extensive action of the season against Texas Tech. During that game, Moore forced a couple of turnovers---a fumble recovery and an interception which he returned for a 22-yard touchdown---keying Mizzou's breakaway enroute to a 38-21 win. The following week, he was able to match his previous game's output in tackles (8) but the Tigers came up short, 19-25, against Texas A&M. After a 3-tackle, 1-PBU effort against Kansas State, Moore had his third 8-tackle effort in the loss to Oklahoma but was limited to a combined five tackles in losses at Nebraska and at Iowa State. He finished the regular season with five tackles in the win over Kansas then concluded his sophomore campaign with 5 stops with a career high 3 pass deflections in the 1-point Sun Bowl loss to Oregon State. Moore finished the season with 53 tackles, 1.5 TFLs, and 6 pass break ups.
[edit] 2007
As a junior, Moore changed his jersey number from No. 21 to No. 1. In the season-opening win against Illinois, Moore had eight solo stops, including two for losses, with 1 QB hurry, and a crucial fourth-quarter interception that foiled the Illini's potential game-winning drive deep in MU territory with under seven minutes to play. He also chipped in seven stops in the win at Ole Miss, before recording his first double-digit tackle performance in the win over Western Michigan after making a team-leading 11 tackles in the 52-24 win which improved his career total to 100. After producing his fourth career interception to go with seven tackles in the win over Illinois State, Moore helped hold Nebraska's vaunted West Coast Offense to just 297 total yards after producing eight tackles, including a highlight-reel worthy stop where he went airborne and took down Husker running back Marlon Lucky on the second play from scrimmage, in the lopsided 41-6 victory. Mizzou's momentum was however put on a screeching halt courtesy of the Sooners' 31-41 win, as Moore was limited to five stops.
The Tigers did bounce back and took care of Texas Tech's high octane offense, defeating the Red Raiders 41-10, with Moore contributing eight stops while making his first career sack (13 yard loss) and intercepting a Graham Harrell pass. He also chipped in 3 stops and a pass break up in the win over Iowa State, led the team with 11 tackles, an interception, QB hurry, and a forced fumble against Colorado, had six stops, one TFL, one PBU and another pick-off against Texas A&M, then had eight tackles (second on the team), an 8-yard sack and intercepted a pass for the third straight game (returned 22 yards) in the win at Kansas State. He concluded the regular season with seven tackles (tied for the team lead) and picked off pass #7 of the season, matching the record established by Roger Wehrli in 1968. In the Big 12 Championship Game, MU's national championship aspirations were crushed by Oklahoma amidst Moore's career-best 13 tackles (nine solo) and a pass break up, after the Sooners came away with a 17-38 win.
With the loss, Mizzou settled for the next best thing which was a Cotton Bowl showdown against Arkansas. That game turned out to be one of Moore's career-defining performances after matching his career high of 13 stops, in addition to 1 pass break up, 1 forced fumble and an interception that he returned in the third quarter for a TD that broke the game open for good, preserving a 38-7 win for the Hogs. Moore's remarkable efforts was rewarded with the McKnight Trophy as the game's outstanding defensive player. He closed out his junior year as the team's second leading stopper with 117 tackles (9th most in the Big 12 Conference) while earning several All-American and All-Big 12 citations from different media publications.
[edit] 2008
In January, after Moore was projected to be a third round prospect in the 2008 NFL Draft, he decided to return for his senior year. After his defensive showcase in his third straight Bowl Game appearance, Moore suffered a torn labrum in his shoulder which was only found out during winter weight-lifting sessions and upon further examination. The ensuing surgery kept him out of the spring drills although he was expected to be in tip top shape when fall camp opens in August. He was also named to the Lott and Nagurski Trophy watch lists.
Moore healed up in time for the season-opener, even tying for team-lead and game-high with 12 tackles to go with a pass break-up in the 52-42 win over Illinois. Unfortunately, he sustained an injury on his right foot against the Illini that forced him to sit out the ensuing game against Southeast Missouri State. He returned against Nevada and had nine stops with a quarterback hurry in the 69-17 win, but not after limping off the field early in the game. The injury forced him to sit out week four against Buffalo before returning for good in the road-opener at Nebraska, where he recorded a season-high tying 12 tackles, with a pass break-up in the 52-17 Tiger win. In a Big 12 showdown against #17 Oklahoma State, he had a team high 10 tackles, with 2 for losses, a forced fumble, and a PBU as the Tigers came up short, 23-28. At #1 Texas, he chipped in seven tackles in MU's second-straight loss, 31-56. Against Colorado, he contributed five tackles, with a PBU and a forced fumble to help Mizzou shut-out the Buffaloes by 58 points. In wins against Baylor and Kansas State, Moore contributed four and six stops, respectively, including one for a 3-yard loss against the Wildcats. At Iowa State, he picked off his lone interception of the season and ran it for a 17-yard score in MU's 52-20 blow-out win in Ames. He also recorded four tackles vs. the Cyclones. Against rival Kansas, he finished the game with 10 tackles, including a season high 2.5 for losses, with a pass break-up, but his efforts were not enough as the 11th ranked Tigers got upset by the unranked Jayhawks, 37-40. In the Big 12 Championship Game, Moore chipped in four tackles as Mizzou got trounced by Oklahoma, 21-62. At the Valero Alamo Bowl, he only had a season low 3 tackles, but had a crucial 10-yard sack on C.J Bacher that forced a fumble on a crucial 3rd-and-goal before breaking a pass up on the ensuing final play of the game on a 4th-and-goal to help preserve a 30-23 win over Northwestern.
Moore ended his last season at Mizzou recording 55 unassisted tackles (2nd in the team), 86 total stops (4th in the team), 6.5 tackles for loss, a sack, an interception, six pass break-ups, a quarterback hurry, and three forced fumbles (2nd in the team).
[edit] Post Missouri
Moore prepares for the NFL Draft by working out and by taking care of his ankle at the Athletes Performance Institute in Tempe, Ariz. He was listed as part of the North squad at the Senior Bowl.
[edit] Career Stats
| Interception | Tackle | Tackle for Loss | Misc | ||||||||||||
| Year | Int | Yds | TD | Int./G | Solo | Asst | Ttl | TPG | TFL | Yds | TFL/G | PBU | QBH | FF | K/P Blk |
| 2005 | 1 | 62 | 0 | 0.11 | 23 | 7 | 30 | 3.33 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2006 | 1 | 22 | 1 | 0.08 | 27 | 26 | 53 | 4.08 | 1.5 | 6 | 0.12 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | 8 | 61 | 1 | 0.57 | 71 | 44 | 115 | 8.21 | 9.0 | 42 | 0.64 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 2008 | 1 | 17 | 1 | 0.08 | 55 | 31 | 86 | 7.17 | 6.5 | 19 | 0.54 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
[edit] Highlights
| William Moore Highlights. |
[edit] Achievements
[edit] 2008
- All-Big 12 First Team
- Athlon Sports Preseason First-Team All-Big 12
- Athlon Sports Preseason Second-Team All-America
- Bednarik Award Watch List
- Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List
- CollegeFootballNews.com All-Big 12 Team
- CollegeFootballNews.com 3rd Team All-American
- CollegeFootballNews.com's #1 DB in the Big 12
- CollegeFootballNews.com's #13 Player in the Big 12
- Lott Trophy Watch List
- Phil Steele 1st Team All-Big 12
- Phil Steele 4th Team All-American
- Phil Steele Preseason All-American Second Team
- Phil Steele Preseason All-Big 12 First Team
- Rivals.com 2nd Team All-Big 12
- Sporting News' #1 DB in the Big 12
[edit] 2007
- AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic Defensive MVP
- All-Big 12 2nd-Team (Coaches)
- Associated Press 2nd-Team All-American
- Austin American-Statesman 1st-Team All-Big 12
- Associated Press 1st-Team All-Big 12
- CollegeFootballNews.com All-Big 12 Team
- CollegeFootballNews.com's #4 DB in the Big 12
- CollegeFootballNews.com's #24 Player in the Big 12
- Dallas Morning News 1st-Team All-Big 12
- Ft. Worth Star-Telegram 1st-Team All-Big 12
- Missouri's Safety of the Year
- Missouri's Team Hammer Award Winner (Most Big Hits)
- Phil Steele All-American Second Team
- Phil Steele All-Big 12 First Team
- Rivals.com 1st-Team All-American
- Rivals.com 1st-Team All-Big 12
- San Antonio Express-News 1st-Team All-Big 12
- Sporting News 2nd-Team All-American
- Sports Illustrated 2nd-Team All-American
- Waco Tribune-Herald 1st-Team All-Big 12
[edit] 2005
- Missouri's Most Improved Safety
