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Size doesn't matter Bills' Moore having to prove himself again in NFL
Posted: Sunday June 11, 2000 07:15 PM
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) -- New league, same questions. Corey Moore, one of college football's most decorated defensive players last year, is now a member of the Buffalo Bills, and onlookers still wonder if he's big enough to play this game. "Size," Moore said, pausing, following a mini-camp session this week. "I never really thought much about my size. Other people, they're always talking about my size. But I just constantly wanted to go out and make plays. And that's what I do best. "So don't worry about my size. I just let my play-making take control of that." Most everywhere he's been, Moore has faced persistent questions about his lack of size. And yet everywhere he's played, the 6-foot, 225-pounder has produced. As a defensive end last season, Moore set a Big East record with 17 sacks helping Virginia Tech reach the NCAA championship game. In the process, Moore won the Lombardi Award -- given to the nation's top collegiate lineman -- and the Mike Fox-Bronko Nagurski Trophy -- given to the nation's top defender. His reward? There were 88 players chosen ahead of Moore in last April's draft before the Bills finally came calling. That makes 30 NFL teams Moore's prepared to prove wrong.
"I'm just very pleased that the Bills have given me an opportunity," he said. "I just want to show those teams that passed me up, 'Hey, I can play at this level.' "I figure three, four, five years from now, those teams that passed me up, they'll be wishing they took me." The Bills are happy to have him. "He makes plays," defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell said. "He's strong. His takeoff is absolutely phenomenal. ... He's a football player." The Bills are converting Moore into an outside linebacker. He will specialize on the pass rush and also be used on special teams. Moore's biggest challenge will be dropping back on certain coverages, something he hasn't done since junior college. Cottrell said Moore is strong enough to be a linebacker, and yet fast enough to be a defensive back. That, Cottrell said, makes Moore "unique." "I watched him against Florida State, and he went against a pretty big offensive line," Cottrell said. "He handled himself pretty well, guys 300 pounds, 6-4, 6-5 -- he did a good job. He can get around people." So, does Moore have anything to prove? "I hope he does. Not to me, though," said Cottrell. "But I hope he has a burr under him. And I think he does." Coach Wade Phillips has been impressed by what he's seen so far. "We knew Corey was talented," Phillips said. "He's showing that on the field. I think he'll look even better when we get the pads on. You've got to be pleased with the way he can move, the way he can run, how quick he is off the ball." Notes: Free agent cornerback Courtney Jackson requires surgery after tearing the ACL in his left knee, Phillips said. Jackson twisted the knee while planting his foot on the Bills field house turf on Thursday. ... Running back Sammy Morris, the Bills fifth-round draft pick last April, is nursing a sore hamstring and missed Friday's practices. ... The Bills take the weekend off before camp resumes on Monday, and wraps up on Thursday. ... Defensive tackle Shawn Price will help commemorate the opening of a new Riverside-Black Rock youth football field on Saturday. NFL charities donated $80,000 for the field.
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