Sports > January 17, 2008

By Martin Rickman | Staff writer

Senior Kenneth Moore was not sure just how many friends and family he had at his final game as a Demon Deacon, the Dec. 24 victory over the UConn Huskies at the Meineke Car Care Bowl in Moore’s hometown of Charlotte, N.C.

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Moore thanks his family, teammates, and the fans after receiving the MVP award. "Kenny goes to get the ball wherever it is. He makes me look good," said QB Riley Skinner. (Jeff Merski/Old Gold & Black)

That number was definitely higher than the number of receptions he pulled down – 11. Those catches brought his career total to 98, surpassing the ACC record set in 1998 by former N.C. State star and current St. Louis Ram Torry Holt. It made for quite a homecoming.

“My grandmother went to her first game ever today, but I’m sure there were a lot of people I didn’t even know would be here who came,” Moore said. “All the fans at Wake Forest are my family too.”

Starring as a receiver, running back and return man at Butler High School in Charlotte, Moore was the Southwest N.C. 4A Player of the Year and an all-conference pick as a senior in high school.

He chose Wake Forest over schools like UNC-Chapel Hill, believing in Head Coach Jim Grobe’s vision and program.

Moore shined yet again on the field during the bowl, doing what he has done all year for the Deacons, coming up with catch after catch when the Deacons needed him most.

For his performance he was named the bowl’s Most Valuable Player.

Consistently making difficult plays look effortless, and always squeezing out extra yards after the catch, Moore finished this season with 1,011 yards receiving, just the third Wake Forest player in history to pass the 1,000 yard mark.

He racked up 317 yards rushing as well and scored nine touchdowns on the year. He became the Deacons’ single-season leader in all-purpose yards, with 1,797 total yards.

Yet in his first two years as a Deacon, Moore logged just nine catches and a single touchdown.

But he was a different player in practices in 2006.

“I’m going to tell you a true story: My freshman and sophomore years, I used to kill Kenny in practice,” said junior All-ACC cornerback Alphonso Smith.

“Last year, he’d come out and start talking a little big, like ‘I’m going to get you,’ and all that, and he’d start catching a couple balls on me. From then on he had confidence. He’ll catch three in a row, and I’ll knock down three. It’s definitely not one-sided anymore.”

“He’s one of those guys who is sneaky fast and sneaky quick and he just goes at it all the time,” Smith said.

Moore took on a much bigger role in the offense in his junior season, starting seven games at receiver and moving over to running back in November, after the Deacon team was decimated by injuries.

Moore shined, gaining 507 yards on 4.8 yards per carry and still caught 32 balls for 314 yards.

His breakout game at running back came against Maryland, where he had 165 yards on the ground, earning him ACC Offensive Back of the Week honors.

This year, with the Deacons running game secure and healthy (a luxury Wake had not had since Chris Barclay graduated after the 2005 season), Moore was the go-to receiver.

His shiftiness, quickness and speed could be counted on in the Deacs’ orbit offense.

On throwing to Moore, redshirt sophomore QB Riley Skinner said, “It’s easy. Kenny goes to get the ball wherever it is. He makes me look good as a quarterback. I’m pretty lucky and always excited to have him there on the field.”

Moore looks to continue his career at the next level, and there is little doubt that with his skills and numbers he deserves a shot in the NFL.

One thing is for sure, the Demon Deacons will miss him.

“We’re going to miss this guy,” Head Coach Jim Grobe said after the bowl win.

“He came on to be as good a player as I’ve ever coached. Some of those plays weren’t easy to make. We’re a team, but we couldn’t have got here without Kenny Moore.”