Doc 5: Top five individual seasons for a player who went undrafted -- No. 3 Kellen Moore
This offseason we will count down various topics from Monday through Friday, bringing you the top five of the important and definitely some not so important issues in college football. It's the Doc Five, every week until we will thankfully have actual games to discuss.
Some of the top collegiate players we have been watching play over the past few years were selected at the NFL Draft in New York City over the weekend. Players from schools all across the country achieve a life-long goal when they hear their name called or see it scroll across the bottom of the television screen, but some players with NFL dreams who were stars in college end up not being drafted.
The reality of some of last year’s top collegiate players not getting drafted, like Texas’ Jackson Jeffcoat (a consensus All-American and Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year), got us thinking. Who are the players from the past 10 years who achieved remarkable success in the collegiate game in their final season, but ultimately did not get drafted?
Let’s discuss.
TOP FIVE INDIVIDUAL SEASONS FOR A PLAYER WHO WENT UNDRAFTED
No. 3: Kellen Moore – Boise State (2011)
You’d be hard-pressed to find a quarterback who had a better four-year career than Boise State’s Kellen Moore.
By the time his senior season rolled around in 2011, Moore had led the Broncos to two 12-win campaigns in 2008 and 2010 and an undefeated 14-0 season in 2009. His final go-around in Boise made sure that the name “Moore” would be plastered all over the Boise State and NCAA record books.
The 6-foot, 200-pound Moore was known for his accuracy and completing his passes at a high rate, and that was only magnified in 2011. The Broncos opened the season against a BCS non-conference opponent for the third straight year, this time against No. 22 Georgia.
Like games against Virginia Tech and Oregon in the previous two years, Moore led the Broncos to a convincing win – this time a 35-21 triumph on the road. Moore picked the Bulldogs defense apart, completing 28-of-34 passes (82.4 percent) for 261 yards and three touchdowns.
The BCS-busting Broncos were off and running again. The momentum from the Georgia win carried over to the team’s next game, a road contest at Toledo. Moore had one of the best performances of his career with 455 yards and five touchdowns in a 40-15 win.
Moore and the Broncos continued to roll off dominant wins. Over the next five games – all wins – Moore tossed a combined 21 touchdowns and only three interceptions while completing 71 percent of his passes.
Boise was 8-0 and welcomed its toughest Mountain West opponent, TCU, to Bronco Stadium. Like always, Moore was at the top of his game. He completed 28-of-37 passes for 320 yards and two touchdowns, but the Broncos ultimately fell 36-35. After Moore drove Boise into scoring range in the game’s final 55 seconds, freshman kicker Dan Goodale’s 39-yard game-winning field goal attempt sailed right as time expired. Boise’s BCS dreams were crushed.
While the chance for another undefeated season fell by the wayside, Moore and the Broncos rebounded with resounding victories over San Diego State, Wyoming and New Mexico to round out the regular season.
At 11-1, the Broncos accepted an invitation to the Maaco Bowl in Las Vegas where they blew out Arizona State 56-24.
Moore finished the season with 3,800 yards and 43 touchdowns while completing 74.3 percent of his passes, which was tops in the nation. He ended his college career with a 50-3 overall record, giving him the most wins all-time in NCAA history.
When his career ended, Moore ranked top five all-time in NCAA history in touchdown passes, passing yards, pass efficiency, completion percentage and lowest interception percentage. He is also one of six players in NCAA FBS history to throw for 14,000 yards in a career.
Despite all of the accolades, Moore went undrafted in the 2012 NFL Draft, but he was signed as a free agent by the Detroit Lions. He remains with the Lions as the team's third-string quarterback and has yet to take a snap in a regular season game.
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