The big question for Memphis Tiger football fans this football season was who would replace Riley Ferguson as the starting quarterback.
Four quarterbacks were battling for the job, and as training camp began in early August, the competition boiled down to David Moore and Brady White, until Moore announced last week that he would no longer wear Blue and Grey
Both quarterbacks competed to the best of their abilities, and there was never a definitive answer as to who would get the starting job. Some days White looked better than Moore and vice-versa. According to Moore, however, he was competing against more than a fellow student. In his mind, regardless of what he did on the field, he wouldn’t get the starter job.
“Well, a few JUCOs (junior colleges) had hit me up months ago and told me that an insider told them no matter what happened, I wasn’t going to be the starter this season for Memphis,” Moore said.
He acknowledged this could have been a recruiting method by these schools, yet he was told this in June. Moore admitted he never took the idea of going to a junior college serious because he was in denial about what he was told.
Moore was asked about how this made him feel, if he ever addressed this with the coaching staff at Memphis and if this caused him to not trust the coaches. Moore declined to answer those questions.
“This is kind of where I didn’t want things to go,” Moore said. “I kind of just want to move on with my life.”
After not showing up to practice last Tuesday, speculation began as to why Moore was not out on the field with his teammates. A source familiar with the situation told The Daily Helmsman Moore was transferring. Head coach Mike Norvell confirmed this in a press conference following the practice.
“David Moore is no longer a part of the program,” Norvell said. “He has elected to explore options, and he decided to transfer. And I wish him all the best. I can tell you that he’s got a lot of people that have been in his ear for that situation. He understands only one guy gets to play quarterback.”
Norvell was adamant after practice that neither Moore nor White were told they would be the starter. Nevertheless, Moore decided to leave Memphis and do what he thought was best for him.
Moore announced he was taking his talents to Garden City Community College (GCCC), in Garden City, Kansas. Moore chose to go to the Plains because of the reviews by Kentucky quarterback Terry Wilson, who was the quarterback at GCCC last season, after the two became friends earlier in the summer.
Wilson is a success story from the junior college, and he told Moore going there would put him in the best position to be successful.
“Once I knew I was going to leave, and I didn’t go to practice, I called Terry,” Moore said. “We spoke, and he told me G-City is the hardest thing I’ll ever do, but Coach (Jeff) Sims will get the best out of me every day. It’ll be hard, but I’ll become great because of him.”
Additionally, Moore said Sims and his program at GCCC would be the quickest path to get back to a Division 1 school. This was ideal for Moore because he plans on going to a major school by December.
When Moore decided to leave Memphis, there was a lot of speculation as to why he left. Some called him a quitter, while others said he was out-competed. But Moore said he couldn’t care less what the critics said because he knows who and what he is.
“Well, I honestly am not worried about what people think,” Moore said. “Everybody is entitled to their own opinion, but anybody who knows me knows I’m an extremely competitive person. I competed every day I was at the University of Memphis since I was a freshman.”
David Moore addresses the media during training camp. Moore decided to transfer a week before school started amid a competitive starting quarterback job with Brady White.
David Moore talks about his confidence in his skills with the media after practice. Moore transferred from Memphis and is now attending Garden City Community College in Western Kansas
