“Strength thrills, speed kills” –The Language of the Swift. Arguably the greatest offensive mind in football history, Bill Walsh, laid out the traits that differentiate the good and great wide receivers from the elite tier. The greatest traits for wide receivers are agility and strength. Agility and body control go hand-in-hand with a receiver’s ability to get position on a defender amidst their route. They must have the strength to endure the collision while catching the ball and the body control to reverse the body into a different position and complete the play. Focus is critical in these moments, as the receiver must be able to find the ball and isolate it in on it.
There are a lot of great wide receivers in college football right now despite losing what has been said as the deepest wide receiver class in recent history this year. Ja’Marr Chase had the best statistical season in 2019, and I don’t think it would be wise to argue that. Chase caught 38 balls for 870 yards and 10 TDs on the 59 targets that he saw while facing press coverage per ProFootballFocus. Ja’Marr added another 46 catches 990 yards and 10 TDs for an amazing season of 84 catches, 1,780 yards, and 20 TDs. Ja’Marr Chase is an unbelievable possession receiver. Chase probably solidified his position in the 2021 NFL draft as a first-rounder, and he will very likely be a good to great receiver in the NFL. However, there is someone else who can be a generational talent both in college football and the NFL.
Rondale Moore is stronger than you
That is Rondale Moore, wide receiver for the Purdue Boilermakers squatting more than three times his body weight prior to his true freshman campaign. This was a precursor for a historic season, but before that season, Moore showed off his superior athleticism at Nike’s “The Opening.” While still in high school, Rondale Moore tested more impressively than many. Blazing the track, Moore ran a 4.33-second 40-yard dash. He also showed that he’s not just a sprinter but has elite agility with his 4.01-second 20-yard shuttle. If that wasn’t enough, Rondale jumped 42” in the vertical jump. Altogether, Moore’s testing resulted in a 133 SPARQ score, best among all wide receivers in the class.
The first time Rondale Moore stepped on the college football field, he broke Purdue’s single-game, all-purpose yard record with 313 yards, highlighted by taking a jet sweep and making multiple defenders miss en route to a 77-yard TD scamper. On this day Rondale Moore officially broke out, leaving him with an elite 99th percentile breakout age. This is the same breakout age as current NFL stars DeAndre Hopkins and Amari Cooper. Rondale Moore did not lose any steam, going on to break the Purdue all-purpose yards record with 2,125 yards, powered by his 1,258 receiving yards, which was good for second all-time for the Boilermakers.
The historic season put Rondale Moore in rare air among some other wide receivers with elite, age-adjusted production. Only four other Power Five freshman receivers were able to record dominator ratings above Rondale Moore’s 36.4%. The only freshmen to surpass this were Chad “OchoCinco” Johnson out of Oregon State, Calvin Johnson out of Georgia Tech, Stefon Diggs out of Maryland, and Mike Williams out of USC. Moore finished above a couple other notably great age-adjusted seasons by Tyler Boyd out of Pitt and Julio Jones out of Alabama.
While many people may bring up Moore’s size as a concern at 5’8” and 180 lbs, he proved that he can handle a heavy workload when asked just as he handled that 600 lb squat. Rondale Moore catching 114 receptions as a true freshman is a rare feat. Only Antonio Brown out of Central Michigan (102) can say he has also accomplished that feat in recent history.
Speed Kills
Speed and agility come into full spectrum when looking at Power Five conference freshmen with elite efficiency. There are only three players to ever record over 10 yards per touch both rushing and receiving while setting a 20-touch minimum for each. These players are Rondale Moore, De’Anthony Thomas, and Percy Harvin.
An anomaly at the wide receiver position, Moore finds himself in yet another elite tier among Power Five conference freshmen receivers with 12 receiving TDs. Mike Williams and Dwayne Jarrett out of USC were the only freshmen who scored more than Moore with 14 and 13 respectively. Moore notably tied Sammy Watkins out of Clemson with 12 TDs.
Again, you will hesitate when looking at Rondale Moore’s size and look to players like John Ross and Will Fuller as speedsters who have struggled at times at the NFL level. You will say that Ja’Marr Chase is also an elite option, and you’re not wrong. Maybe you will play it safe and stick with Chase when it comes to your devy and future rookie drafts. That’s probably the right move right now. If you’re like me though, you will look at the 37 broken tackles that Moore forced in 2018 which were the most at the position (by eight) and you will, like me, believe in Rondale.
Rondale Moore had a 2019 season to forget. He missed most of the season after injuring his hamstring before the season began, as reported by Mike Carmin on Twitter. Before that hamstring injury, Moore went on to torch Nevada with 11 catches for 124 yards and a TD in the passing game. The following week Rondale Moore went crazy with 13 catches for 220 yards and another TD against Vanderbilt, with 134 of those yards coming after the catch per PFF. Before the injuries took down Rondale Moore’s sophomore season, he played in 15 career games and put up 138 catches for 1,602 yards and 14 TDs. All of this came with David Blough and Jack Plummer throwing him the ball, both three-star recruits according to 247Sports.
Catapult, a GPS tech company used by Purdue and worn at all practices, clocked Rondale Moore at 21 miles per hour in every practice. Actually, he hit at least 21 miles per hour on EVERY ROUTE RUN. Speed kills. Moore reported on Wednesday, March 5th that he is back to feeling 100%. Expect Moore to dominate the 2020 season by showing his agility, body control, strength, focus, and, yes, speed to regain his status as a generational athlete and talent this year.
Thank you for reading my article and if you enjoyed it, keep an eye out for my future articles. You can also follow me on Twitter @DynastyDiagnos1 and reach out with any questions, comments, or ideas you’d like me to explore for a new article.
