Virginia football boasts the no. 25 defense in the nation in terms of yards allowed per game. The unit is also allowing 21.2 points per game, good for no. 39 in the nation. Led by linebacker Micah Kiser and safety Quin Blanding, the Cavaliers’ D is a talented group. However, it is also razor thin depth-wise.
“We’re doing the best to manage our existing roster personnel,” said Virginia head coach Bronco Mendenhall, who runs the Cavalier defense. “And really one player that can play one, two, or three spots is a great backup for us right now. The chance for a true two deep is not really realistic for our program at this point.”
Because of the versatility and production he offers, sophomore Chris Moore has emerged as one the defense’s most valuable players.
“He’s a great athlete,” starting Buck Linebacker Jordan Mack said of Moore, who has totaled 19 tackles (11 solo) with 1 tackle-for-loss and 1 pass breakup in 2017. “No matter where you put him, he’s going to go out and make a play.”
Moore laughingly says he would never have guessed he would play linebacker in college. After all, he mainly played cornerback at Broad Run High School in Ashburn (VA). SAM linebacker is exactly where the 6’0” 210-pound sophomore finds himself, though, and for the past two games he has been the starter there while filling in for injured regular starter Malcolm Cook. Moore also received a start at nickel cornerback against Indiana earlier this season.
Whether he starts or not, Moore is a valuable and versatile asset for Mendenhall. Whether he is playing in the defensive backfield or at linebacker, Moore has seen extensive action in every game. Heading into fall camp, Mendenhall wasn’t sure he’d be able to count on the talented sophomore as much as he has.
Moore played in 11 of Virginia’s 12 games, including one start, as a true freshman in 2016. A promising first season boosted Mendenhall’s expectations when spring practice came around.
“He did not play well in the spring,” Mendenhall said. “And did not perform well, and that was the feedback that he received at the end of spring practice.”
Mendenhall’s dissatisfaction with Moore was short lived, replaced once again with optimism.
“Through the summer, there were players that, when I would see them, when I’d show up for work and they were on the second floor, they’d be talking positively about different guys they liked at workouts, and Chris’ name started to come up,” Mendenhall recalled. “But really at fall camp, we just saw he was outplaying a lot of our defensive roster, and he was doing it really consistently, and he was doing it at multiple positions. So really, it was fall camp where we started to believe that he was going to continue and maybe pick up from where he had left off at the end of his first year fall, not the spring.”
Mendenhall credits Moore with accepting criticism last spring and applying what he learned to his preparation for games and performance during games. The standout sophomore has leaned on all-conference performer Blanding with helping him in both areas.
“I get some stuff from [Blanding], just more film study to know exactly what [the opponent] is going to do before they do it,” Moore said. “A lot of communication between me and him because I play safety a lot, too. He teaches me ways to slow the game down for myself, to see things before they happen.”
Knowing the coaches have faith in him at multiple spots has also helped Moore, who has become an important part of a stingy Virginia defense.
“I take it as the coaches have confidence in me wherever I’m put,” said Moore. “They believe I can make a play anywhere I’m put. It just gives me confidence that Coach Mendenhall thinks I’m an athlete enough to play multiple positions.”
