September 23, 2006: Boise State gets a verbal commitment from a generously-measured 6-1, 185-pound quarterback from Prosser, WA. Kellen Moore had set the Washington state high school record with 66 touchdown passes as a junior. That fall, Moore would go on to break his own mark by throwing for 67 TDs. He had flourished at the Broncos’ football camp that summer, but Chris Petersen’s staff was still hesitant—except for defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox, who was so sold on Moore that he told Petersen he’d give up a scholarship on his side of the ball if Boise State would take Kellen. And the rest, as they say…
The commitment flew under the radar when it happened, but by the end of the year, Bronco Nation’s curiosity was piqued. The Seattle Times named Moore Washington’s 2006 Player of the Year and ran a story on him. Turns out Kellen watched a lot of tape. None of this comes as a surprise today. “It’s what he does every day when he comes home,” said Prosser coach Tom Moore of his son’s study sessions. “On any given day, we have 30 or 40 college games TiVoed.”
“For Christmas and birthdays, he’d ask for money so he could buy college and NFL game tapes,” said Craig Beverlin, Tom Moore’s longtime friend and Kellen’s godfather. “The kid just loves football. In terms of strategy and X’s and O’s, I would put him up against a lot of college coaches. He’s as sharp as I’ve seen at that age.” For the record, Beverlin had coached football for 35 years at the college and high-school level at that point. It’s well-known that Moore and his dad attended the 2007 Fiesta Bowl together, and Kellen was in the stands identifying Boise State’s plays against Oklahoma before the ball was snapped.
Moore spent his first year with the Broncos as a redshirt, and nobody’s complaining now. By the time he was unleashed in 2008, defenses were helpless trying to match wits against him. Kellen anticipated everything. His receivers had to get used to it—turning around and seeing the ball just about to arrive. The result was 14,667 career passing yards, still ninth in college football history, and 142 touchdown passes, still second all-time.
It’s not hard to narrow down Moore’s biggest accolade as a Bronco. He is the winningest quarterback in college football history with a 50-3 record. But Kellen was also fourth in Heisman Trophy voting in 2010. He was a two-time first-team All-American and a three-time conference Offensive Player of the Year (twice in the WAC and once in the Mountain West). And Moore was the first former Boise State quarterback ever to take a snap in an NFL game—with the Dallas Cowboys in December, 2015. Here’s the whole enchilada, including Prosser High, Boise State and the Cowboys: Moore threw for 28,813 yards and 319 touchdowns against 68 interceptions.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra. He also anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK and one on News/Talk KBOI. His Scott Slant column runs every Wednesday.)
