Moore Has More Than Lived Up to UCLA’s Expectations

As Troy Aikman prepared last August to launch his Heisman Trophy campaign, Terry Donahue expressed concern about the inexperience of those assigned to catch the quarterback’s passes.

“His supporting cast is young and has to bloom,” the UCLA coach said of Aikman’s offensive teammates in general.

None of the young wide receivers has blossomed as spectacularly as Reggie Moore, a sophomore from Houston who has developed into Aikman’s most dangerous target.

Moore is UCLA’s No. 2 receiver with 31 receptions for 526 yards.

And, along with Mike Farr and David Keating, he is part of a group of receivers that may be the best in the Pacific 10 Conference.

“A better one doesn’t come to mind,” said Danny Schuler, the Oregon defensive coordinator, who is busy this week trying to devise a way to stop the Bruins in time for Saturday’s game at Eugene, Ore. “It’s a very talented group.”

Among them, Moore is probably the most explosive.

While Farr leads the Bruins with 41 receptions and is on pace to break the school record of 48, which is shared by Willie Anderson and Mike Sherrard, Moore is averaging 17.0 yards per reception to Farr’s 11.8. And Moore has scored 5 touchdowns, while Farr has not scored any.

Interestingly, though, Moore doesn’t think of himself as fast.

He would have a hard time convincing Art Malone, a Washington cornerback who was burned by Moore on a game-winning 48-yard touchdown pass play with 1 minute 28 seconds left in UCLA’s 24-17 victory over the Huskies last month at Seattle.

Running a simple post pattern, Moore caught Aikman’s pass at about the 32-yard line, put his head down and outraced the pursuing Malone, who got no help from a safety during an ill-timed blitz.

“I have a knack for running pretty decent routes,” Moore said.

He also has an eye for detail.

It was Moore who told Rick Neuheisel, a Bruin assistant coach, that the play probably would work. Neuheisel apparently relayed the message to offensive coordinator Steve Axman, who calls the plays.

“That was the highlight of my college career,” Moore said.

Karl Dorrell, who coaches the UCLA receivers, believes that it was only the first of many.

“The biggest thing is that he keeps playing to get more and more experience,” Dorrell said. “He has tons of talent and the more he plays, the better he’ll get.

“Before he’s through, he’ll be one of best that has ever come out of this school.”

The 5-foot 9-inch, 166-pound Moore came to UCLA from Houston’s Madison High School, where he was a teammate of Broderick Thomas, Nebraska’s All-American outside linebacker.

After catching 83 passes for 1,056 yards and 21 touchdowns in 3 years with the varsity, Moore was one of the nation’s most heavily recruited wide receivers. The oldest son of former Houston Oiler defensive back Zeke Moore, he also was a good enough shortstop to be a 3-year starter for Madison’s varsity baseball team.

He chose UCLA over Michigan, he said, after also making trips to Stanford and Texas.

“I guess the weather won me over,” said Moore, who wears a gold pendant in the shape of Texas around his neck and still spends his vacation time in Houston.

It was in Houston last summer that Moore was frequently reminded that his work in the weight room would serve a purpose.

“Guys kept telling me, ‘You’ve got the best quarterback in the nation,’ ” Moore said. “I knew they were right, so I had to make sure that I was in top condition so that when the time came for me to do something with him, I’d be ready.”

After a slow start--5 receptions for 75 yards in the Bruins’ first 3 games--Moore has caught 26 passes for 451 yards in UCLA’s last 5 games. Twice, he has had more than 100 yards receiving, including a season-high 122-yard game last month against California.

Among the regular receivers, only his roommate and former Little League baseball teammate, Charles Arbuckle, has a better reception average than Moore.

Moore said that he set lofty goals for himself this season, but when asked for specifics, he said: “I just wanted to contribute and help the team win.”

So far, so good.

Bruin Notes

A brochure noting UCLA’s No. 1 ranking and promoting Coach Terry Donahue and three of his players for postseason awards was scrapped by the UCLA athletic department this week because the Bruins fell to sixth in the polls when they were beaten last Saturday by Washington State, a spokesman said. However, sports information director Marc Dellins said that UCLA still believes that Donahue and the players--quarterback Troy Aikman, linebacker Carnell Lake and defensive back Darryl Henley--are worthy candidates for postseason awards. . . . According to Reggie Moore, Troy Aikman told him that freshman quarterback Jimmy Bonds--Aikman’s heir apparent?--has a stronger arm than Aikman.