PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – We've seen players have big games against Pitt recently only to join the Steelers. Western Michigan's Skyy Moore wants to be the next.
Moore caught 11 passes for 124 yards and a touchdown in a 44-41 WMU win at Heinz Field that you could argue kept Pitt out of the college football playoffs.
Some other notable performances against the Panthers who would end playing professionally in black and gold:
QB-Mason Rudolph-Oklahoma St.—1037 passing yards and 7 touchdowns in 2 games
WR-James Washington-Oklahoma St—420 yards receiving & 2 TD in 2 games
WR-Ryan Switzer-North Carolina—5 career TD vs Pitt, 2 on punt returns
QB-Bruce Gradkowski-Toledo—49 of 62, 461 yards and 3 TD
There is another hook for the 5'10" receiver. He not only starred against Pitt, but is from New Kensington. He was the Shady Side Academy quarterback who used to throw passes to Mike Tomlin's son, Dino, in high school.
When the Steelers had Moore in for a visit prior to the draft, he knew the head coach on a level that no other player in for a visit could.
"It's different," Moore told The PM Team on 93.7 The Fan of his conversation with Tomlin. "We are in a different space. Instead of somewhere casual where he is off-duty, I'm in his work space. It was a different environment talking to him."
Moore said Tomlin knows him so well, they talked about things other than the conversations he had with the other five teams he visited-Jacksonville, Buffalo, New Orleans, Tennessee and Atlanta.
Long-time ESPN NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper said Moore is the most underrated player in the entire draft and should be a first-round pick. None of the major mock drafts had him in the first round and none had him to the Steelers in the second (pick 52).
USA Today-43rd overall to Atlanta
Sporting News-46th overall to Minnesota
Walter Football-39th overall to Chicago
NFL.com—58th overall to Atlanta
CBS Sports-Ryan Wilson-50th overall to KC
CBS Sports-Chris Trapasso-53rd overall to GB
A two-time Allegheny Conference Offensive Player of the Year, Moore was also the Defensive Player of the Year one season as a DB. He was the first player in conference history to rush and throw for 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons. Moore totaled 100 career touchdowns at Shady Side Academy.
Then came the decision that may have given him a professional football career.
The day before he arrived on the Western Michigan campus as a freshman, he got a call from the coach that recruited him. Moore told Andrew Fillipponi and Chris Mueller the coach said don't be surprised if you get switched from cornerback to wide receiver. When the 195-pound Moore arrived on campus, the head coach told him to report to the receiver room and thus started his new career.
In his first season, not only in college but as a receiver, Moore was named First team All-MAC. He started 12 games catching 51 passes for 802 yards and three touchdowns. COVID limited his 2020 season to five games-25 receptions, 388 yards and three touchdowns. Last year, Moore caught 95 passes for 1,292 yards and 10 touchdowns.
"I feel like I have so much more to grow in the receiver position," Moore told 93.7 The Fan. "I feel like there is so much I don't even know yet because I haven't played it that long."
While he believes he has a lot to learn, he won't do it in college. Moore passed up on two additional college seasons, even the option to transfer to a Power Five school with no penalty to enter the NFL Draft.
"I'm confident in my abilities, but I also know I haven't done anything yet," Moore told The PM Team. "It's a difference between being compared to Steve Smith and doing what Steve Smith did. I feel like we play with that same edge."
It's lofty praise. Smith is one of the toughest receivers of his generation. Moore said he will do whatever a NFL team asks. He's been preparing in Pittsburgh and told 93.7 The Fan he's super excited to soak in the next few days admitting soon being drafted to the NFL hasn't sunk in yet.
He's planning a two-day party just in case he would get drafted in Thursday's first round. He does have one wish of the moment he is selected.
"If I see that 412 number pop-up, I will be really happy"
