Trey Moore bringing the sought-after "different element" to Texas' EDGEs
Just before the start of training camp, Texas defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski said UTSA transfer EDGE Trey Moore would add a “different element” to his position group and the Longhorns’ pass rush. Through five practices, that’s proven to be the case in Steve Sarkisian‘s eyes.
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Moore, who was the American Athletic Conference’s defensive player of the year in 2023 with 45 tackles, 17.5 tackles for loss, and 14.0 sacks for the Roadrunners, improved upon a standout 2022 when Jeff Traylor‘s program was a part of Conference USA. Moore entered the portal following the 2023 season and was On3’s No. 24 overall transfer prospect. The Longhorns earned the Smithson Valley product’s pledge over what was then a Nick Saban-led Alabama program.
Despite barely playing during the Longhorns’ Orange-White Game, Moore was one of the stories of the spring. That continued into the summer and has manifested itself in the early stages of preseason camp with Moore being the No. 1 player on the depth chart at the Buck EDGE position in the Texas defense.
What makes Moore an effective player?
“He’s very twitchy,” Sarkisian said following the Longhorns’ fifth preseason practice on Monday. “Trey is not the biggest guy. He’s not small, but he’s not the biggest guy. He’s very twitchy. He has a unique ability to bend when he comes around the corner and get underneath tackles. He’s a very natural athlete. He can up-and-under and double-move guys.”
Moore is listed at 6-foot-3, 245 pounds. Despite giving up several inches in height and nearly 100 pounds in weight to the Longhorn tackles of Kelvin Banks and Cameron Williams, Sarkisian said he gives those two bookends fits on a regular basis.
“He’s going against two good tackles in Kelvin and Cam,” Sarkisian said. “The sign of a good team is when you’ve got good players and not either side is dominating the other. Trey’s winning on some rushes, and that’s a good thing. That’s pushing those two guys at tackle as well.”
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One thing that makes Moore difficult to stop in practice his his variety of moves. Right now that’s making life tough for Banks and Williams. Come August 31, it’ll be the problem of the 12 teams on the Longhorns’ schedule.
“I also think he works at his craft,” Sarkisian said. “He’s not going to give you the same thing. He’s going to set things up as practice goes on. It’s a great challenge for him.”
Moore has elevated to this point in his career thanks to outperforming expectations every step of the way. Out of the four major services, only one elected to rank him as a high school prospect and it gave him two-star billing. A redshirt year unlocked his athletic potential ahead of 2022 and set him up for a 18 TFL, 8.0 sack season with the Roadrunners as they won 11 games and the C-USA title. Moore even managed two tackles and 0.5 TFL against Texas that year.
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His game leaped again in 2023 to the point where he became the AAC’s top defensive player and one of the most sought-after prospects in the portal. Ahead of 2024, the Longhorns think the “different element” mentioned by Kwiatkowski ahead of the preseason is being provided by Moore as part of an upgraded EDGE position.
