Laramie – Ask Devin Moore about pass blocking and the Wyoming running back gets a sly grin on his face.
The task isn’t the most glamorous aspect of the position, but it ranks near the top of the list in importance. And Moore takes great pride in his pass blocking, particularly picking up a blitzing defender.
“Pancaking a guy is as good as a touchdown to me,” Moore said of a block that levels a defender. “I know that if I pick a guy up off the edge that gives (quarterback) Karsten (Sween) extra time to find Greg Bolling, Michael Ford or someone else over the middle for a touchdown.”
Moore, a junior who leads the team with 237 yards rushing, started the season with a play just like that. Virginia safety Nate Lyles crept toward the right side of the line before the snap and then took a beeline for Sween. Moore picked up Lyles and Sween connected with Bolling over the middle for a 17-yard gain.
“We work on some sort of pass protection and blitz pickup each day. Devin and Wynel (Seldon) have really bought in,” running backs coach Bryan Applewhite said. “I preach being complete backs and that’s just as much a part of it as running and catching the ball.”
The task isn’t easy. First, the back must recognize that the cornerback or linebacker is blitzing. Then, he must know whether or not the blocking scheme that goes with the play is going to put a lineman in position to pick up the blitzer. Finally comes executing the block.
“It’s a lot of pressure and sometimes guys time the blitz just right so there’s going to be heavy contact and I have to jump in right away,” Moore said.
It takes many a year or more to learn schemes and techniques because most were not asked to help in pass protection in high school, Applewhite said.
“Guys really have to have the mentality of wanting to block,” he said. “These two have shown me that that’s what they want to do.”
