OTF Premium DeAndre Moore Jr.'s return from injury has injected Texas with confidence, energy on offense

[Jeff Howe]

The Texas offense didn’t resolve all of its issues in last Saturday’s 55-0 win over Sam Houston.

Still, getting DeAndre Moore Jr. back from injury went a long way toward helping the Longhorns cultivate an offensive identity heading into SEC play. A player that Steve Sarkisian said on Monday is “part of our personality,” Moore returned to action following an injury sustained during the team’s 38-7 win over San Jose State on Sept. 6, which caused him to miss the 27-10 win over UTEP on Sept. 13, with a five-catch, 79-yard effort in the victory, closing out the team's non-conference schedule with a bang.

Moore's five receptions came on five targets, showing his value in the passing game by catching ball within each of the four passing depths tracked by Pro Football Focus: one catch for eight yards behind the line of scrimmage, two catches for 17 yards on short (0-9 yards down the field) passes, one catch for 16 yards on intermediate throws (10-19 yards) and a 38-yard catch on a deep (20 or more yards) ball from Arch Manning.

Moore has a season-long PFF receiving grade of 72.6, which leads all Texas wideouts and ranks second to Emaree Winston (84.6) among all Longhorns on offense. Of Moore’s 13 targets, five have been behind the line of scrimmage (five catches for 18 yards, with 33 yards after the catch), three have been on short throws (26 yards on three receptions), four have come on intermediate throws (two receptions for 33 yards) and the deep shot against Sam Houston is the only time Moore has been targeted 20 or more yards down the field.

Where Manning has struggled, and where Moore can help him evolve as a quarterback capable of attacking multiple levels of the field, is in the intermediate game.

Before the Sam Houston game, Manning was 7-for-21 for 115 yards with a touchdown, two interceptions and two turnover-worthy plays (according to PFF, a TWP is a pass that has a high percentage chance to be intercepted or a poor job of taking care of the ball and fumbling) on intermediate throws. In the win over the Bearkats, Manning’s 16-yard connection with Moore was part of a 5-for-6, 77-yard night with a touchdown (a 13-yard RPO glance to Ryan Wingo) and no turnover-worthy plays.

Along with the 16-yard catch, Moore was 21 yards down the field when Manning hit him for the 38-yarder, which was highlighted by Moore gaining 17 yards after the catch.

“What DeAndre brings is our ability to work the middle of the field really well, and I think we saw that tonight,” Sarkisian said after the game. He highlighted Moore’s 16-yard catch, which came on third-and-9 on the offense’s first possession, a 12-play, 76-yard drive capped by Jerrick Gibson’s 13-yard touchdown run.

Moore has turned 84.6 percent of his targets into receptions, which is a higher percentage than Parker Livingstone (73.3), Jack Endries (70) or Wingo (44.8) have turned in among Texas players who’ve been targeted at least 10 times.

Along with the consistency Moore brings to the passing game, he upgraded the team’s perimeter blocking upon his return. In Monday’s film session with the team, Sarkisian said he celebrated the job Moore and Wingo did blocking on a bubble screen to spring Daylan McCutcheon for a 21-yard gain.

For an offense in desperate need of confidence and energy entering the non-conference finale, Moore’s return came in the nick of time. The Longhorns got a much-needed shot in the arm before the SEC opener against Florida on Oct. 4, which Sarkisian expects to last beyond the Sam Houston game with Moore back on the field.

“It's the confidence that DeAndre brings,” Sarkisian said after the game. “He's played a lot of football. This guy goes to practice with a great deal of energy, with a great deal of detail and he's hard on the guys around him about what they're supposed to do and how they're supposed to do it, whether he's in the play or not.

“For DeAndre to be in practice all week, I think, kind of set the tone for what the expectation was.” 

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[Jeff Howe]

Yes, it was against Sam Houston, but getting Moore back was big for the offense. He can be the kind of reliable, go-to target for Arch the way Jordan Whittington was for Quinn.

[Dread-headed Texan]

3 minutes ago, Jeff Howe said:

Yes, it was against Sam Houston, but getting Moore back was big for the offense. He can be the kind of reliable, go-to target for Arch the way Jordan Whittington was for Quinn.

I don't think that it was a coincidence that with Moore being back, both Arch and Wingo had their best game of the season. I wasn't focused on the opponent, with last week being nothing more than a televised practice, I was focused on the connection between Arch and his pass catchers that has been meh so far. It was encouraging to see guys make plays for Arch even if the ball placement was off on a throw here or there. Those things will get fixed as the connection and timing grows stronger.

[Here for the Wins]

I’m not sure how much it was considered versus UTEP, but there were lots of guys running routes that had not run many in live games.  And the completion percentages to those 4 targets, maybe toss Baxter in there, could be an indicator too.

Moore is a big deal.  And maybe a bigger deal than most realized.  Honestly, WR blocking may be the thing I pay least attention to but can see how Moore can be a key there based on how he plays the game.

[Dread-headed Texan]

1 minute ago, Here for the Wins said:

I’m not sure how much it was considered versus UTEP, but there were lots of guys running routes that had not run many in live games.  And the completion percentages to those 4 targets, maybe toss Baxter in there, could be an indicator too.

Moore is a big deal.  And maybe a bigger deal than most realized.  Honestly, WR blocking may be the thing I pay least attention to but can see how Moore can be a key there based on how he plays the game.

I'm going to focus more on reciever blocking more next week than I have all season. With the strength of Florida's defensive line being the tackles, you want to make those guys run side to side versus running right at them. Strong perimeter blocking will more than likely tire those guys out like we did Michigan last year. Once those guys get tired and out of position, the explosives will follow. 

[Judd_Irby]

Moore is a good blocker and a key reason why the dink passes behind the line of scrimmage went for good yardage last year.   

[Jarveaux]

looking forward to having all our players back for SEC play.

[harveycmd]

47 minutes ago, Dread-headed Texan said:

I'm going to focus more on reciever blocking more next week than I have all season. With the strength of Florida's defensive line being the tackles, you want to make those guys run side to side versus running right at them. Strong perimeter blocking will more than likely tire those guys out like we did Michigan last year. Once those guys get tired and out of position, the explosives will follow. 

Florida has two injured DTs. I haven't heard they are definitely out, but they didn't have much depth at DT before the injuries. That doesn't mean we can simply bust them inside, but you would think the chances are better. 

On the flipside, the Florida o-line hasn't pass protected well and given up a lot of pressure. It'll be interesting to see how PK decides to handle that.

Edited 21 hours ago by harveycmd

[alrightalrightalright]

I swear ESPN used to track Targets in the box score but maybe it was only ever for the NFL for Fantasy Football. How many targets do each of our WRs, TEs, and RBs have?

[Califashorn75]

He's the adult in the huddle!

[Itsamystery]

He watched and learned from J Whitt. Big part of who he is and why he is successful. 

[HTXHorn]

I might be over hyping this as a fan, but I think Moore’s return might be the catalyst to what this team needed in that game. That open strike across the middle in full stride was the best play of the year - and that wasn’t just because of Arch’s throw through that tight window - Moore looked more explosive than any other receiver we’ve seen so far. We talk about mental obstacles, but for me, that play felt like it reset the entire season for us. 

[AusMOJO]

7 hours ago, Judd_Irby said:

Moore is a good blocker and a key reason why the dink passes behind the line of scrimmage went for good yardage last year.   

Funny thing is, Mosley would be a plus blocker, too. So if he is back, that also helps that portion of the O out.

[Forrest J.]

20 hours ago, Jeff Howe said:

Yes, it was against Sam Houston, but getting Moore back was big for the offense. He can be the kind of reliable, go-to target for Arch the way Jordan Whittington was for Quinn.

I envisioned Mosley being that guy. How does he compare to Moore and how do you think he fits in when he returns?