Knights’ young DBs shine under pressure
Brandon Moore probably still goes over it in his head. He can still see the yellow flags flying.
“I definitely beat myself up because I’m the youngest on the defense,” said Moore, a redshirt freshman starting at cornerback for UCF. “Being the youngest one, every time I make a small error I kind of fight myself about it because I don’t want to let those boys down.”
On back-to-back plays during a victory at Maryland, Moore got careless.
Pass Interference, yards. Holding, 10 yards. The penalties helped keep alive Maryland’s only touchdown drive of the day. Moore will never forget it. The difference in his maturity, however, is that he didn’t let the mistakes consume him. He bounced back, regained his focus.
On the next snap he came up on a run play and stuffed Terrapins running back Lorenzo Harrison at the line of scrimmage for a gain of one yard.
As insignificant as that play may seem, it looms quite large in the growth of Moore, as well as in the growth of UCF’s defensive backfield, which was left depleted after losing all four starters from a year ago.
It’s extremely difficult to break into the lineup for any freshman at the Football Bowl Subdivision level, but it’s even more difficult at corner, where a player has to react quickly and correctly or he’s stuck out on an island all alone.
Moore has made significant strides and the coaching staff has noticed. During the Knights’ 40-13 victory over Memphis, Moore faced his toughest challenge to date and coach Scott Frost lauded his young corner, as well as the other cornerbacks Mike 15 Hughes, Rashard Causey and Chris Johnson.
“That game Saturday was as hard a game as you can play as a corner. You have to cover pass routes, you have to come up and tackle, you have to stay disciplined and not come off your guy when it looks like they’re running and throwing [run-pass option,]” Frost said. “I thought Brandon Moore held his own. He had a really good game. Mike Hughes is a difference-maker for us. And some other guys got some chances and did some good things, too.
“Corner was one of the positions we were worried about coming into the year and we feel a lot better about it now.”
Moore feels better about it, too. He’s played three college games and he can assess what he’s learned.
“It definitely feels good. The first game, against FIU, I was very nervous. I hadn’t played [in a game] in I don’t know how many months … I got my confidence back,” Moore said. “Went to Maryland, made a few good plays, also made a few bad plays with the penalties, and then this Memphis game, I came up with a few big plays, got a few balls caught on me … overall I’m just trying to get comfortable day by day.”
Defensive coordinator Erik Chinander said Moore has done a good job of overcoming mistakes, especially since he is a freshman and other teams will always be fully aware of his lack of experience.
“Brandon Moore, I thought he fought like crazy [against Memphis]. Obviously he’s a freshman, so they’re going to pick on him a little bit,” Chinander said. “They went after him a few times and he just kept coming … which is very encouraging. You don’t want to see a guy give up even if he gets some balls thrown on him.”
Moore knows they’ll be coming after him.
“Yeah, I know, 24-7,” Moore smiles. “I know the pass is coming at me. They’re always going to throw at me. I just gotta live up to [the challenge].”
Moore’s nickname is Bam because he carries a toughness like he always has something to prove. It’s a common trait among Sanford Seminole High alums and has served him well in college. It’s a pride thing. “No doubt. We always preach that [toughness] in high school,” Moore said. “A lot of us just want to grind everything out and not make excuses about anything.”