Kaden Moorman: Future Kentucky Running Back Driven to Succeed

The alarm clock sounds early for Kaden Moorman. Even though he’s been doing it for a year, getting to the Franklin County Flyers’ Athletic Complex by 6 am isn’t getting any easier. Yet he’s still there, pushing through each rep, inching one step closer to fulfilling his lengthy list of goals.

“It’s not even about it for me. I want a ring,” the talented running back told KSR this week. “I’m tired of losing. I’m tired of getting this close, that close. I don’t want it to be that close. I don’t even want the game to be close. I don’t want any game to be close.”

In Moorman’s first two years with the Flyers he experienced heartbreak. As a sophomore he caught the eyes of Kentucky’s coaching staff when he rushed for two touchdowns in the 4A State Title game, but Franklin County ultimately fell by three to Boyle County in overtime.

He committed to Kentucky the following summer, then proceeded to rush for 1,447 yards and 27 touchdowns (103.4 ypg.) in 2021. He also caught 18 passes for 211 yards and a pair of scores. The Flyers were on the verge of another championship until they ran into a buzzsaw in the state semifinals at Johnson Central. Now he’s willing to do whatever it takes to avoid heartbreak once again.

“Kaden’s got that it factor… He just he has that inner dog where he competes at everything,” said Franklin County head coach Eddie James. “He’s a complete running back, a complete SEC running back. You watch this film. When it’s time to do blitz pickup stuff, he does it. When it’s time to lead block, he does it.”

When it’s time to lift, he does it. He can rattle off the milestones he’s surpassed over the last year in an instant. Benchpress increased from 265 to 315, squats and deadlift jumped from 365 to 405 and his power clean went up more than 50 pounds to 255. Those numbers are tangible results of the work he’s put in thus far. It’s all far one person, his mother, Whitney Washington.

“What really drives me is my mom because through my whole life it’s always been a single parent. When it wasn’t a single parent, you know, it was still kind of hard,” he said. “She’s always been there for me and it’s always just been like me, football and her. That’s what really drives me, my Mom.”

Setting that alarm each morning is never fun, but dreaming of a better future for him and his mother, it’s all worth it.

“I’m hungrier than I seem, way more hungry than I seem. And I’m not just talk at all. I’m not just talking. I will show you.”

Kaden Moorman: The Next Jonathan Taylor?

Moorman’s junior campaign did not begin with as much pop as he expected. The new Kentucky commit had all of the attention from opposing defenses, and he wasn’t running behind his pads. Now up to 225 pounds, physicality set him apart, yet he was too busy dancing through the defense.

“When I was a little kid all I watched was Devin Hester and Deion Sanders,” Moorman said. “Those guys run sideways; not a lot of straight running. So when I was little, all I wanted to do was juke. At the beginning of season I was doing a little bit too much juking. And at the end of the year you could tell that it was no juking. It was straight business.”

Business is a good way to describe his interactions with John Settle. During his frequent stops in Lexington Moorman spends time cutting up with Vince Marrow and chatting up other recruits. Those visits also include film sessions with his future running backs coach. A man who spent years cultivating running back talent at Wisconsin, Moorman reminds him of one his former pupils, Jonathan Taylor.

Kentucky Offense Suits the Runner’s Style

Last year’s offense highlighted another Frankfort talent’s skills, Wan’Dale Robinson. With more personnel sets that feature the fullback and a variety of formations, Kentucky’s rushing attack under Rich Scangarello might be its best yet. Moorman can’t wait to run behind blockers in the new scheme. By the time his Kentucky career has concluded, he’s hoping to see a new sign next to Wan’Dale’s, welcoming travelers to the home of Kaden Moorman.

“They’re going to have to put up two of them bad boys.”

You can see cut-ups from every game of his junior season or watch a compilation of his 2020 highlights.