This is the sixth part in a series of football season preview articles by campus correspondent Luke Swanson, taking a closer look at some of the opponents UConn will be facing this season.
“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles”
– Sun Tzu, “The Art of War”
UConn football might not have a hundred games this year, and they may want to fear the result of some of them, but Sun Tzu’s message nonetheless rings clear. For my UConn football preview series I’m going to focus on, in my opinion, the best or most interesting player on each team the Huskies face in the 2017 season.
In a sport like college football where player personalities and activism are often stamped out before they can manifest, J’Mon Moore sticks out.
College football players don’t often utilize the massive leverage they have against the school and alumni, but when they do, the results are institution-shaking.
In 2015, Moore led the University of Missouri football team in a boycott of all football activities, joining grad student Jonathan Butler in his protest against widespread racists acts on the Mizzou campus.
Within two days of the boycott, Mizzou president Tim Wolfe resigned, demonstrating the power college players have over the schools they represent.
In the two seasons since the protests, Moore has proven himself to be a force on the field in addition to his social activism off the field.
Standing 6’4” and running a 4.47 40, Moore terrorized defenses last year, coming in second in the SEC in receiving yards with 1012, and making the AP All-SEC team as a junior. Moore was also top ten in yards per catch, touchdowns, and receptions.
Moore’s large frame and penchant for making circus catches make him one of the best receiving threats in the SEC, putting up video-game numbers against SEC East opponent Georgia: 196 yards on eight receptions with four touchdowns.
It wasn’t like he was going up against a bunch of scrubs either, Georgia’s defense allowed an average of 186 yards per game in the air, a top twenty mark in the country. Moore had more than that by himself, using his fluid, bouncy running motion to cut through the Georgia secondary in a way few did against the Bulldogs.
Moore, along with running back Damarea Crockett, will give UConn’s defense major headaches when they play the Tigers this year, and containing them will most likely be the key to pulling out the win.
Luke Swanson is a campus correspondent for The Daily Campus. He can be reached via email at luke.swanson@uconn.edu.