Opportunity knocks for Kellen Moore with first NFL start
Kyle Efaw can’t remember what class he was attending on Boise State’s campus eight years ago, but he says he’ll never forget what his roommate was scratching out on a notepad.
Efaw’s roommate was Kellen Moore, the quarterback who will make his first NFL start Sunday for the Cowboys.
Efaw: “What are you doing over here?”
Moore: “You know, this would be good against Cover 2.”
“This guy’s just over here, drawing concepts out on a notepad,” said Efaw, a tight end who was Moore’s teammate for four seasons. “He just did that for fun. He’s just always thinking about football.”
“He kind of blows you out of the water with the amount of stuff he knows and the way he thinks.”
Moore’s father, Tom Moore, says his son has been doing that since he was 10. The younger Moore grew up in Prosser, Wash., watching his dad coach high school football, tagging along to study film and learn schemes.
Around that time, Kellen started organizing a list of all the NFL teams and their quarterbacks. When it appeared he wouldn’t be drafted in 2012, he compiled a similar list in spreadsheet form. He signed with Detroit as an undrafted rookie free agent largely because they presented the best opportunity for him to make the roster.
“He’s always been like that,” Tom Moore said. “He had all the teams listed 1 to 32, and who is their No. 1 quarterback, who’s their No. 2, who’s their No. 3. He had them all ranked.”
Read more from the Dallas Morning News here.
Familiar foe
Kellen Moore will make his first NFL start Sunday, but he’s used to seeing the Buffalo Bills’ defense on the other side. He faced Buffalo during all four of his preseason finales in Detroit.
- 2012: 17-of-30, 211 yards; 78.6 rating
- 2013: 10-of-18, 78 yards, 2 TD, INT; 80.3 rating
- 2014: 17-of-28, 172 yards, 2 TD; 102.1 rating
- 2015: 16-of-22, 150 yards, TD; 106.2 rating
This story was originally published December 26, 2015 at 11:40 PM with the headline "Opportunity knocks for Kellen Moore with first NFL start."