Morgan Moses: A Closer Look at the Virginia OT
By: Justin Partlow
Heading into the 2013 season, Morgan Moses was finally given his chance to be the starting LT for the UVA Cavaliers. After starting at RT the past few years, Moses watched teammate Oday Aboushi graduate and got his chance to prove that he could a quality LT not only in college, but also in the NFL. After a very good senior year, Moses continued his success during the off-season bowl circuit. Moses wont wow you with his speed or how awesome he does things, but he just gets the job done and can shut down his opponent.
Technique:
Moses has significantly improved his technique since he first arrived at UVA. When you compare the film of Moses in 2012 to 2013 you can notice the improvement in his balance and base that he plays with. Moses in 2012 would play more out of control and would reach at his opponent. This lead to much of the issues of him getting out balance and leading to his opponent being able to work around the massive size of Moses and make a play. In 2013, Moses showed better balance and played under control when he would play in both the run game as well as pass protection. Moses displays good hand usage, but also needs to work on being more aggressive against his opponent and not let his opponent into his body.
Run Blocking:
As alluded to, Moses has used his balance fixes to become a better overall player, but it really has shown up on film with his run blocking. Moses is a massive player, and uses his size to be a dominant run blocker. On film the easiest thing that shows up is how strong Moses is and how dominant he can be over guys who are as big or smaller than him. I’ve seen multiple times on film where Moses can latch onto his opponent, and at times just throw him around like he’s a rag doll. Moses shows good footwork on film and doesn’t really tend to reach and get off position as compared to previous years of film. Moses can stand to work on his hand placement a little in the run game. Look for Morgan Moses to really make his name early on with his run blocking ability, but that doesn’t mean he’ll only be a run blocking kind of player in the NFL.
Pass Blocking:
As I alluded to just above Moses isn’t just a good run blocker, he’s also a very good pass protector and has proven himself against some of the top competition in the ACC. The most notable matchup was against Jeremiah Attaochu from Georgia Tech. Attaochu had a very good game if you look just at his stats, but when you watch Morgan Moses against Jeremiah Attaochu, you see a completely different story than what the stats just dictated. Moses was dominant and was able to shut down Attoachu from making the big plays that he’s known to make for Georgia Tech. Moses was able to do so by using his good arm length, and his pretty good footwork for someone his size to mirror Attaochu and be successful. Outside of that game, you could see many times throughout the year that Moses was able to mirror, redirect and stop his opponent from making a play at the QB. Moses can still work on his punch and his hand placement, but the main issue will come with working to stay lower in his stance. At times Moses would stand up high in his stance and lead to him getting a little off balance and susceptible to being beaten by his opponent. If Moses can fix up the technique issues that are shown on film, he can show to be a very good LT and a very good RT prospect for the NFL.
Overall:
Morgan Moses came to UVA after the long wait from his HS days, and finally at the end of 2012 and the 2013 season everyone was able to see the talent that existed. Moses has shown the ability to play as a LT and a RT, and will certainly get the first crack as a LT in the NFL. As a good friend of mine Seth Cox has said, Morgan Moses reminds him of Marcus McNeill, the very good former LT for the San Diego Chargers. Look for Moses to make his name early on and be a good consistent starter for a long time in the NFL.
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