Isaiah Moore talks return from injury, NIL at ACC Kickoff

Isaiah Moore is an All-ACC linebacker and one of NC State‘s strongest leaders. He returns this year after an injury-filled 2021 season, and it was very clear he is looking forward to hitting the field again this fall.

Here’s the transcript from his press conference at the 2022 ACC Kickoff.

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Q. If you guys have a successful year and accomplished all your goals, what would that do for the brand, the image of NC State football moving forward nationally?

ISAIAH MOORE: I think when we all came to NC State, we wanted to put NC State in a place it’s never been before. While it’s still in progress, it hasn’t been done yet. For the brand of NC State, it would do wonders for it. We’re always trying to get better as a group, and it doesn’t stop with our brand as well.

Q. I know when it comes to NIL, you have gotten involved with your clothing line and what not. Just what can you say about what your experience has been like with name, image, and likeness, and what it meant that Drake rocked one of your shirts to show support for you.

ISAIAH MOORE: I think NIL is a very — it’s something that’s continuing to grow across our country and then in this sport. I think it provides student-athletes with a great platform to not only build just monetary value right now, but have some longevity as well with an increasing platform of social media and things of that nature.

As far as Drake rocking my shirt, it meant the world to me considering what happened to me the week before. The way he played in my absence that following game, it meant the world to me.

Q. You missed part of the season because of an injury. How did losing football for a little while kind of reignite that passion?

ISAIAH MOORE: It definitely humbled me tremendously. I put a lot into last season, and I put a lot of hopes and dreams into last season, and to have it taken away from me was tragic and humbling and emotional, really just to be frank.

It definitely reignited a passion about how much I love the game and how much I really, really want this to be my life career. It’s just continuing to spark, and I plan to use that as my fuel this season.

Q. You were just harking on your injury. Are there certain things that you took notice to off the field that you learned about on the field, certain things that you can’t sort of grasp on the field?

ISAIAH MOORE: I think any time you go from being on the field a lot to being on the sideline, I think you look at the game differently. You look at different things differently. I think one of the things I did tremendously was I took a lock back at our entire scheme and how we attacked people and how people attack us, and I tried to just gain a better understanding of that and tried to pass that on to my teammates throughout the year, and I want to continue to pass that on to my teammates as we come into this next year.

Q. Last year 342 total snaps, only two missed tackles. What can you attribute to being such a great tackler?

ISAIAH MOORE: I just try to be as consistent as possible. We always preach about coming in and being the same guy every day, and I just try to be the best me that I can be every day.

As far as not missing tackles, I just try to my best to remain focused at the point of attack and not shoot until I can smell his breath is what we can say as far as our tackling technique. Just try to be strong at the point of attack and bring them down.

It doesn’t have to be pretty all the time, but as long as he is on the ground, that’s all we need.

Q. I want to get back to the topic of NIL. The players have been adamant about wanting to see it open up. Some of the administrators in schools have said they want to kind of see some regulations on it. I know you can’t speak for all players, but I was wondering what you thought about that and what you think when you see some other players and some other conferences making a ton of money versus others that really don’t do so well?

ISAIAH MOORE: They say comparison is the thief of joy. What we get as far as NIL at NC State and the platform that we have individually as student-athletes, that’s kind of just who we are.

We can’t sit around and compare that other schools or what other players are doing. We’re taking away from it all the things that we’ve accomplished and all the things that we have put forth to make our platform the way they are. NIL provides us with a great opportunity to continue to grow that platform. It’s up to us to really take action and do stuff.