Passion Play -- Moore Delivers by Word and Deed
Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Silence is golden doesn’t apply to Indiana’s Louis Moore. Not when he’s on a football field trying to get into your head when he’s not aiming to ruin offensive plays.
The guy likes to talk.
“That’s me,” the senior safety says. “That’s part of my personality. I’m an extrovert. I like talking. I like competing. That’s the biggest thing. With my teammates, I just open my mouth to see their response. See what kind of day it’s going to be.”
Or, as linebacker Aaron Casey says with a smile, “He’s that loud-mouth type of guy who has high energy, a high motor, and who affects our D greatly.”
IU receiver E.J. Williams Jr. is a favorite practice target.
“Once I get him going, he starts performing really well.” Moore says.
For his teammates, it’s usually selective targeting.
“I know who I can do it to and who can give their best. Some people can’t take it. It’s knowing your teammates.”
Such knowledge could come into play on Saturday afternoon when IU (2-2) plays at Maryland (4-0).
Moore has made major early impact, highlighted by two interceptions and 49 return yards, all against Akron. That includes a 22-yard touchdown. His 19 total tackles more than double his career total of nine from the previous season.
Despite battling minor injuries, Moore was a disruptive force against Akron with six tackles along with those interceptions.
“He was a little banged up, but he pushed through it,” Casey says. “He has had a good impact as a leader on our defense. He’s a high-energy guy who gives his all for his team.”
Football is a passionate sport, and few are more passionate about it than Moore. That, he says, explains his energetic leadership style.
“Somebody has to do it. Why not me? I love playing football. I love my teammates. I want to have a good time with them. I want to make them feel like they are playing with somebody who cares about them. I see them perform at a high level in practice, and I want to see them do it on Saturday. I try to bring out the positive side of everybody.”
Moore’s two-way talents were on display in high school (he once had a game in which he had an interception, returned a punt for a touchdown, and caught a 60-yard TD pass) and junior college, both in Texas. He thrived at receiver and defensive back.
At IU, he focuses on defense, with defensive coaches taking advantage of his receiver ability.
“(Against Akron), you saw the receiver skills, the ability to get a ball and then return it,” co-defensive coordinator Matt Guerrieri says. “Lou has earned his playing time. I expect him to play the way he’s playing.”
Moore calls transitioning from receiver to full-time defensive back, “easy.”
“I feel like I’m just a player. It’s part of the game. I feel I can do anything skill-wise. I played defense in high school. I went back to my fundamentals, my talent.”
Moore says he prefers defense over offense.
“I’m in a position to make a play on every play. On defense, you don’t know what the offense is running. I like my reactions and being able to react to stuff.
“Offensively, it’s a certain play call, certain reads, so the ball might not go to me. On defense, on every play, I can do something to help the team.”
Moore says playing defense is harder, especially as a defensive back, in part because he’s often back pedaling while a receiver, “runs full speed at you.”
“You have to know what you’re doing. That comes down to preparation and believing in yourself.
“Watching film helps a lot. With me having played receiver, I can see their hips. I can see the concept. That helps a lot, too.”
Good chemistry with the defensive line also helps. It did, he says, on his two interceptions.
“I watched my reads and watched the front seven get pressure on the quarterback,” Moore says. “They probably blurred his vision.
“They trust me to be back there. They give it their all on every play. They probably took a beating.
“It’s the trust factor. They’re doing their job and trust me to do my job. That makes it easy on all of us.”
What attributes are needed for strong secondary play?
“Somebody who’s willing to give it his all,” Moore says. “You have to have high confidence in the secondary because you’re the last line of defense. You can’t be scared back there.”
That describes fellow safety Phillip Dunnam, who has a team-leading three interceptions.
“With Phillip, you can see the talent,” Guerrieri says. “He has length, range, athleticism, and ball skills. He needs to improve the consistency.
“He’s earned that playing time because he’s been consistent in practice. When you talk about Lou and Phillip, their performance doesn’t surprise me because it’s what happens in practice. If there are break downs in practice, there are break downs in games. If there are good things in practice, there are good things in the game. We can predict based on that."