Senior lineman Dustin Moore
Graduates from Millikin’s Tabor School of Business are traditionally known for accepting jobs at corporations like Archer Daniels Midland, Caterpillar or State Farm. However, senior finance major and Big Blue offensive lineman Dustin Moore might find himself employed by the National Football League.
Moore, a Decatur native and Maroa-Forsyth graduate, has been contacted by NFL scouts for the Baltimore Ravens and the New York Jets during his Millikin athletic career.
At 6’6” and 280 pounds, Moore started all 20 games (primarily at right tackle) after transferring to MU from Truman State University. He believes his greatest asset to the team was his experience at the college level, a major factor in his selection as a co-captain of the 2011 team.
“[From a playing standpoint] on the field, it’s more or less about knowing what it takes to win and what work you have to put in to be a good team,” he says.
Moore understands what it takes to win and be successful. In high school, he was a member of Maroa-Forsyth’s 2006 Class 2A state football championship team, and played on the 2006-07 squad that won the Class A state basketball tournament.
According to MU Head Football Coach Patrick Etherton, Moore’s presence as a leader had just as large an impact on the team as his physical ability during games.
“He led by example and did a great job,” Etherton says. “He did everything the way it should be done, both on and off the field.”
In addition to garnering the interest of NFL teams, Moore’s dedication to academics earned him a spot on the 2010 CCIW Academic All Conference team.
From a physical standpoint, the No. 75 uniform was hard to miss on Saturday afternoons. Although his physical stature is evident, NFL scouts have also taken interest in his athleticism.
“As big as he is, he moves around very well,” Etherton says. “One thing that attracted the most attention is his speed ... he can flat out run. He’s athletic, has great feet and is agile for his size. I think that’s what impressed a lot of people.”
Moore didn’t always believe that playing college football was in his future. However, his father was a driving force, sending him to camps in high school and supporting his high school efforts. All that effort eventually generated collegiate and more recently, NFL interest.
“Coach Etherton called me last spring and said that a scout from the Jets wanted to talk to me. He had me run a 40-yard dash, measured my height and weight, and told me that I had the athletic ability to play in the NFL,” Moore said. “He said that I needed to get my strength up and people would be back after the season was over.”
The information taken on Moore was entered into a database accessible to all NFL teams. This fall, a scout from the Baltimore Ravens saw Moore’s data and visited Millikin. Since football is a game of detailed preparation and discipline, the scout from Baltimore tested Moore’s mental ability to process the game.
“[The Ravens scout] had me watch film with him and go over the playbook,” Moore said.
While playing in the NFL isn’t a career path Moore has set in stone, he doesn’t rule out playing some sort of professional football should the NFL situation not evolve.
“I could see myself playing semi-professional football, arena football or maybe going to Canada, but that’s just an option,” he said. “With my finance degree here, I was looking into going into financial advising or financial planning. I might just pursue something like that if football doesn’t work out.”