Moore raises expectations at Purdue with 'Big Ten Championship' talk
With three words following the win at Indiana, Rondale Moore raised the expectations of Purdue football.
When asked Saturday, after Purdue's 28-21 victory over Indiana what was next for the Boilermakers' program following back-to-back bowl appearances, Moore had a straightforward response.
"Big Ten Championship," Moore said.
And before, during and after Moore said those words, he didn't change his expression despite the relatively quiet chuckle by the media after the freshman wide receiver made the statement.
For the fourth time this season, Moore was named Big Ten Conference Freshman of the Week on Monday and finished the regular season as league's leader in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns . He is the leading candidate to be named the Big Ten's Freshman of the Year by the coaches and media when that award is announced Wednesday evening.
Through it all, Moore remains humble in the eyes of his coach.
"I think a lot his teammates like playing with Rondale Moore because he doesn't want the attention or the spotlight," Jeff Brohm said Saturday. "He just wants badly to play football and win."
Purdue hasn't won the Big Ten Conference title since 2000 when the quarterback was Drew Brees and the head coach was Joe Tiller. However, it's hard to argue against Moore being the biggest offensive difference-maker in a Boilermakers jersey since Brees' departure in 2000. Brees was a two-time Heisman Trophy finalist and Moore received a letter from the Heisman Trust that he's been identified as a player who could receive votes for the award with ballots having been distributed on Monday.
"We thought he would be a difference maker,," Brohm said Saturday. "I probably undersold him to be quite honest with you. Nobody stopped him. Nobody contained him and numerous teams tried in numerous different ways. He plays hard, tough and does all the small things the right way."
As big a difference Moore has made on the Boilermaker landscape, Moore is quick to credit his coach for creating an environment for success.
"The minute he came in, it changed the way everyone was thinking of Purdue," Moore said. "Immediately we went there and played hard, smart and tough. That's what we have to do every week against these kinds of opponents."
And Moore isn't the only one reason things look bright for the immediate future. Purdue currently has the No. 24 recruiting class in the nation, according to the latest Rivals.com team standings. The 2019 schedule has a non-conference road trip to Nevada and non-conference home games against Vanderbilt and TCU, none of which won more than seven games this regular season. The pair of Eastern Division games includes a road trip to Penn State and a home game against a Maryland program that will be rebuilding under a new coach. Purdue is expected to return a former starting quarterback (Elijah Sindelar), Moore, another starting outside receiver (Jared Sparks) and all but two starting defensive players (cornerback Antonio Blackmon and safety Jacob Thieneman). The message from fifth-year senior David Blough on the direction of the Purdue program was similar to Moore's.
"To the young guys coming behind us is keep going (and) strive for more," Blough said. "We compete on that side of the Big Ten West. Obviously, 6-6 with what we've been through in the last few years is an improvement and especially after the way we started this season, but I think the guys in that locker room and the coaches have more in them."
Of course, that comment is based on the assumption that Brohm returns to Purdue for a third season. Assuming that happens, More from Moore could be a rallying slogan for 2019.
Membership Info: Sign up for GoldandBlack.com now | Why join? | Questions?
Follow GoldandBlack.com: Twitter | Facebook
More: Gold and Black Illustrated/Gold and Black Express | Subscribe to our podcast
Copyright, Boilers, Inc. 2018. All Rights Reserved. Reproducing or using editorial or graphical content, in whole or in part, without permission, is strictly prohibited.