Moore: Ready to Go
By playerpress.com wire service June 26, 2009
Kyle Moore, a 6-5, 272-pound defensive end out of USC, is ready to make his mark with his new team.
The Tampa Bay Bucs grabbed Moore with the 17th pick in the 4th round of the 2009 NFL Draft. The native of Kathleen, Georgia, signed a four-year deal with the Bucs on June 23.
In his first year at USC, Moore served as a reserve defensive end, playing behind All-American strong-side end Lawrence Jackson in 2005. In his collegiate debut vs. Hawaii, he suffered a right knee sprain and missed the next two games. He saw brief action in 11 games that season and while he recovered two fumbles, he had just six tackles.
Moore shifted to right defensive end in his second season, but lost an intense preseason battle with Brian Cushing for the starting position. He appeared in 13 games, collecting five tackles and a pass deflection.
Moore began to emerge as a star in his third season. He started 11 games at weak-side end. He played the bulk of the running downs and had 35 tackles with 15 solos, two sacks, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, five passes batted down at the line of scrimmage, and two interceptions.
In 2008 as a senior, Moore started 13 games and was named Honorable Mention All-Pac-10 Conference. He started every game on the strong side, collecting 30 tackles with 16 solos, had five sacks, 9½ stops behind the line of scrimmage, two deflected passes, and one fumble recovery.
Moore has excellent size to go along with terrific bulk. He has a large frame whose long wingspan proved to be a major problem for the opposition. He is athletic with good strength and he does a nice job of holding his ground and shedding blocks and is solid against the run.
