Call Denarius Moore a surprise if you want. Call him a package-deal player if that suits you.
Yet the fact remains Moore isn’t as surprising to Tennessee’s coaches as he has been to fans.
And the 6-foot-1, 195-pound wide receiver was never the second player in a package deal, despite the fact he arrived on campus in June alongside his Tatum (Texas) High School teammate Lennon Creer.
“I went looking at Lennon, and when I got there, this kid stood out,” said UT receivers coach Trooper Taylor, who recruited both players. “He (Moore) made plays on offense; he made plays on defense.”
Moore was being recruited by other big-name schools — Oklahoma, Florida and LSU, among them — but Taylor’s find seems to be paying dividends already.
Believe it or not, it’s not the first time UT coaches went to look at one player and found another.
Former UT offensive coordinator Randy Sanders went to San Diego to recruit quarterback Richard Kovalcheck (who signed with Arizona and has since transferred to Vanderbilt) and walked away impressed with a tailback from the opposing school named Arian Foster.
“I don’t remember seeing or talking to him, but I remember having a decent game that game,” Foster says now.
That’s exactly what happened with Moore.
“You knew the kid had something to him,” Taylor said. “Everybody was thinking it’s a package deal and all that, but he had LSU, Florida and Oklahoma on his list and they all had offered (a scholarship).
“All three of them wasn’t going to miss that bad.”
Through three weeks of fall practice, it appears the Vols haven’t missed on either of their Texas twosome.
With LaMarcus Coker suspended indefinitely, Creer has been the third tailback behind Foster and Montario Hardesty.
“I like his strength, I like his toughness,” offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe said of Creer. “I like the ability he has to sort of get another gear. I think you’ve seen that in both scrimmages down here at the stadium.”
Moore is ahead of the rest of UT’s highly touted class of incoming receivers.
Aside from blue-chip cornerback Eric Berry, Moore and Creer are the two true freshmen poised to have the most impact when Tennessee opens its season Sept. 1 at No. 12 California.
Moore came to UT with fewer accolades than the most of the incoming wide receivers and fewer than Creer, who was named the Old Spice Red Zone player of the year in Texas.
But he’s consistently made plays since fall camp began, and that’s more than enough to put Moore on the plane to Cal — along with Creer.
“I don’t want to put more on him (Moore) than he can handle,” Taylor says, “but from the way he and his teammate from that same high school have participated so far in two-a-days, I think they have a chance to help us.”
Drew Edwards covers University of Tennessee football. He may be reached at 865-342-6274.
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Comments » 22
DadwasaVol writes:
I like the sound of this. Let some of these young guys loose.
mdvol writes:
Eight days til the lights come on! WE ARE GOING TO FREAKIN' KILL CAL! Vols 34-Cal 17. I think we can count on Moore for a TD. Maybe Creer too after we get up 28-7. Get ready to see the fastest UT team we've seen since '98.
andy112382#209793 writes:
I was watching highlights on utsports.com from the last scrimmage, I saw someone cutting around a defender and running very well and hard, their number was #3 and I was wondering who the heck it was, my first thought was Creer but it sure didn't look like a freshman running to me, but sure enough it was after looking up the number! I can't wait to see the career at Tennessee that he has, Moore as well. This is going to prove to be a really special class with the likes of Berry, Moore, Creer, Martin, and several other guys! GO VOLS!!!
tennecwingrider writes:
After attending Wednesdays final scrimmage, anyone who can catch should start.
BOASoldier writes:
I've looked at the stats and pics of Moore, Oneal, Creer, and Berry... they all look like they are ticked off ... I hope they are ... I hope they go out to Cal thinking like an underdog with a chip on their shoulders wanting to knock someone out of the game every chance they get ... It's almost Football Time in Tennessee!!!! GO VOLS
tennecwingrider writes:
Sorry. It was Tuesday for the final scrimmage, not Wednesday.
BOASoldier writes:
Was it that bad all around or just dropped balls, tennecwingrider? I think their will be a few dropped balls to start the Cal game until the guys calm their nerves a bit but I think our running game will be fine until we get the passing on track ... I just hope we have little to no turnovers
mdvol writes:
Cal's disadvantage last year was not their freshman. IT WAS THE 107,000 FREAKED OUT FANS IN NEYLAND!!! I was one of 'em. Cal crapped their pants as soon as they took the field. This year.....WE ARE GOING TO FREAKIN' KILL CAL! Vols 34 - Cal 17. Not sure we have the big weakness on D you mentioned TouchdownTN. I'll take our DE's, LB's and Safeties any day. Fulmer said our corners were a pleasant surprise. That leaves D-tackle. Mapu and Bolden will be more than adequate.
onecrazyvol writes:
mdvol and touchdown both of you have good points. Cal was like a fish out of water in Ft. Neyland last year, but Longshore is a good qb. If we aren't careful he can do some damage. I just hope our freshmen don't get starry eyed over being in California on primetime tv.........
BOASoldier writes:
HOT!
Coach_Joe writes:
This was definitely a great article. I'm glad to see the positive stuff coming out now. Of course, DE usually does do a good job.
marc, I went to a Cal message board and asked why they had to give 1,000 tickets to UT to sell for them. They came back with UT asked for 5,000 and that's all they could give. I asked them why they couldn't fill a 70,000 seat stadium for a big game like this when we fill 103,000 plus stadium every week. Their reply: We fill our stadium everytime we play Stanford. Too funny!!
tennecwingrider writes:
BOASoldier, it was dropped balls. Way to many I thought by all receivers in this stage of practice. Trooper Taylor kept the whole group over after the scrimmage and pretty well them know he wasn't happy. They actually stayed after and did drills and had to run the steps at Neyland. Don't know if this is a typical routine or his way of getting their attention. Kenny O'Neal was wide open and hit square in the numbers and dropped the ball. The first string O line looked good as did the running backs. Holes were open and they hit them hard. Ainge looked outstanding. Crompton looked nervous and anxious. Nick Stephens was poised and looked good. Stephens threw a long bomb for a TD on his second throw. All QB's had overthrows. Crompton has several blocked and short throws. I had never seen a scrimmage like this before. It was neat to see the coaches coaching their postions and players. Fulmer was fired up and showed a lot of passion and emotion. He did a lot of one on one player coaching. All that was nice to see from him as he gets a bad rap for showing no emotion sometimes. Looks like he has lost a lot of weight too. Put it this way, I left fired up and ready for some Tennessee football.
BOASoldier writes:
Thanks for the positive input
whiteyh writes:
They sure did.
onecrazyvol writes:
Just a thought......its almost 20 degrees cooler in Cal. How much of a difference will that make? One would think it would make our conditioning stand out a bit more.
andy112382#209793 writes:
onecrazyvol, I was thinking the same thing about the weather. How could that NOT feel absolutely great to our guys. I don't know about ya'll, but when those first fall temps hit, I know it makes me feel great.
BOASoldier writes:
I was thinking the same thing the other day .. I had to visit Chicago for a meeting earlier in the year and 80 degree in "dry heat" as they have there and in California was nothing compared to 80 degree with humidity and especially nothing compared to the 100+ temps we have had while the team has been practicing ... if they are fast and intense in 100s imagine what it'll be like in 80s ...
Realist writes:
8 days, 3 hours, 4 minutes, 32 seconds!
Colliervol writes:
Wingrider, along the lines of what you're saying. Fulmer was on a radio show in Memphis this morning and I was surprised (along with the show hosts) how excited he sounded. None of the ho-hum cliches we've heard before. Guarded but mostly positive talk about the team. The tone of his voice was a lot different than the last few years and I took that as a positive sign that some of his desire has returned. Your observations would seem to indicate that too.
RangerForSix writes:
Just catch the ball!! "See the nipple(of the ball), look it in, drop the chin..."(old receiver chant) Yards after catch will occur, 'if' you're an athlete. BUT, the ball 'must be caught' or the kid just can't play. That has to be true with all receivers, at this point.
We start with 'who's one', then we focus on 'who's two', if we can we get 'three' or 'four' that would be great. Five or six GAME ready receivers would be an incredible bonus...I don't see five or six GAME ready wide-receivers yet though. Maybe four...The Backs and the T.E.'s. must be actively involved in our 'Passing Attack.' We'll give 5-7 wide-outs a chance in our first two non-conference games. By Florida, we need 3-4 GAME, assassin-like receivers, we can count on "to get open, catch the football, and get what they can 'AFTER' the catch!" Who ever can do those things... Ainge will make them famous! Go VOLS...
BuckFama writes:
The fact that a player is not a returning starter does not equate to that player not having experience.
wbgbbg#625035 writes:
A VOL fan I am...orange blood in my veins through and through and I go to all the games I can. Now I need someone to answer a question for me... Is it me or is this the same offense Fulmer ran when he first got the job ? Looks the same yr. after yr. Next question....Is Fulmer on the hot seat considering the last 2 season weren't up to VOLS expectations ??? How come no school has offered him a coaching job or tried to lure him away ??? He's got it made @ TN.... So someone please tell me the offense will be exciting this yr...please no more right..left..up the middle...remember I bleed orange forever...
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