Hard to believe, but there are under 40 days until the Broncos storm the Capital to take on the Hokies. As you may remember, last summer Drew embarked on the Herculean task of counting down a different roster spot for each remaining day until kickoff. So far this year, he is batting a thousand, and he has entrusted his streak to me for the next few days. Sorry, Boise State players who are stuck with me. Get ready for some really bad player look-a-likes.
We've got 34 days until kickoff...so today we'll be highlighting #34 on the Boise State roster— Kirby Moore.
#34, Kirby Moore, WR
Stats
Height: 6-2
Weight: 196
High School: Prosser HS (Washington)
How'd he get to The Blue™?
Moore followed in older brother Kellen's foosteps by joining the Broncos, birthing a thousand headline puns from the local media in the process. He and Kellen's football kinship traced back to the brothers' hometown of Prosser, Washington, where Kellen was the hunky high school QB and Kirby was the hunkier high school WR, at least that's how my wife would describe it.
Moore-to-Moore happened for two years before Kellen left for college, at which point Kirby just kept on being Kirby. By the time his high school career was finished, Kirby held the national record for most career receiving touchdowns, along with pretty much every form of personal accolade one could achieve in high school - all-conference teams, MVPs, dates. If you want to feel real sorry for your own high school career, check these numbers out. In his senior season, Kirby caught 131 passes for 2,126 yards and 34 TDs.
Stanford, Washington, and Washington State gave Kirby an offer, but he was sold on playing for the Broncos and with his brother. Thank goodness his brother was not Nick Lomax.
Nickname
The Kirbster, Kirb Your Enthusiasm, Kirbside Check-In
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Look-a-like
Ashton Kutcher.
Career highlight
Moore saw playing time as a true freshman last season and collected 21 catches for two scores. The first score is one that the Moore brothers cherish - an unintentional sideline streak that opened the scoring against San Jose State.
I think Moore's second TD catch was the more important of the two. That catch came late in the game against Nevada with Boise State needing a score to get some breathing room from the Pack. Moore caught a pretty fade in the back corner on a 3rd and five to make an 11-point game into an 18-point game.
Career lowlight
Moore played most of last season with a broken foot and has been off and on the injured list for as long as I can remember.
2010 prospectus
Moore's role on the 2010 Boise State football team will likely be decided by his performance in Fall Camp. Supposedly, he is behind Tyler Shoemaker on the team's depth chart at the slot position, but all that could change very quickly. Moore is capable of great things, as evidenced by his stellar high school career, and his connection with Kellen gives him an advantage that no other receiver on the roster has.
If he hadn't missed all of spring practice with an injury, there would likely be a lot more buzz around the true sophomore. As it is, Moore is kind of flying below the radar ... if a xx can fly below the radar. His route-running, body positioning, and football knowledge all remind me of parts and pieces of great Bronco receivers that have come before him (Jeremy Childs, Austin Pettis, etc.), and his bionic foot reminds me of that movie Iron Giant. Why couldn't people understand the robot was trying to help them?!
But I digress. In my perspective, a healthy Kirby Moore is a first-teamer, especially if he has made the freshman-to-sophomore jump that he is capable of. I guess we'll find out in a few days.
Completely made up fact
The mysterious third Moore brother, Cooper Moore, runs a successful dental practice in Prosser.