After Wednesday morning’s practice, I wanted to spend some time with sophomore wide receiver T.J. Moe. He immediately caught my eye in 11-on-11 drills and during special teams drills when he was catching punts. I noticed how much more confident he looked this year. After talking with T.J., I was right about his confidence.
Moe really struggled his freshmen year at Missouri. He was coming off a broken foot during his senior year at Ft. Zumwalt West where he was a dual threat quarterback, but the Tigers had plans for him at wide receiver. Moe said that coming back from that injury really shook his confidence, plus he needed to learn a new position at wide receiver as well. So, take into account all of the mind games that were going on in Moe’s head and it is easy to see why he had trouble catching the football.
However, this year he looks different. He looks quicker, his cuts are sharper and he’s pulling everything in within arm’s reach. At Wednesday’s practice, he made a great diving catch over the middle on a 12-15 yard pass from freshmen James Franklin.
Now, T.J. may need to step in for injured Jerrell Jackson who broke his wrist and will be out four weeks. While Jackson was the leading receiver returning to fall camp, Moe will not be the top guy, but with a healthy body and mind and a better understanding of his position, he could become one of Missouri’s bright spots this year.
T.J. Moe interview with Bill Pollock (4:00 mp3)
