Maryland Football Film Breakdown: OT Carlos Moore Jr.
- rwelchie3
- 5 days ago
- 5 min read
As the offseason winds down, eyes shift towards the 2025 college football season as there are only seven Saturdays until Maryland kicks off their campaign. A lot of focus has been on the 2026 cycle but as the page flips we will continue to look at new faces that the Terps have brought in during the transfer portal.
Arguably one of the most impactful transfers was one of their most recent additions in former Elon offensive tackle, Carlos Moore Jr. Maryland beat out Auburn, Kansas State, and Syracuse for the coveted tackle. Moore hails from Bowie, MD and spent his high school years at St. John’s in DC. After redshirting in 2022, Moore played in five games as a redshirt freshman before stepping into a starting role in 2024. Moore played in 11 games and started ten as a redshirt sophomore last fall, with six of those starts at right tackle, joining the Terps with flexibility to play either tackle spot. With struggles at tackle last season, Moore will join fellow portal commitment Rahtrell Perry to solidify the starting tackle spots for 2025. Maryland will now get to utilize the flexibility of their offensive line with former transfer additions Isiah Wright and Alan Herron bumping to guard spots. Moore has two years remaining of eligibility and will look to fortify a struggling offensive line; we take a look at his film from his time at Elon.
Moore enters from FCS Elon, standing at 6-foot-6 and 305 pounds. His size certainly shows up in his style of play as he is not the most mobile big man out there but uses his aforementioned frame to stay square to his opponents. The one word I kept coming back to while watching his tape was “steady”. Moore is a pretty safe player and does not take many risks and does not make many mistakes. You will rarely find him reaching on blocks and he is aware of his frame and uses it to fit his technique. I believe Moore is a great plug and play at right tackle which will bump second-year Terp, Alan Herron, to the inside.
In the clips below, Moore is lined up at right tackle (#78).
The best part of Moore’s game is his composure in pass protection. For his size, Moore has a great kick-step as he almost glides for his size. At the same time Moore also stays square with edge rushers and leverages his size to keep a clean pocket. On this first play, Moore holds his leverage for an impressive amount of time, allowing for his quarterback to escape the pocket and make a play. The hand placement, pad level, and kick step adds up to a sound technique.
Moore has a great kickstep albeit a slow and methodical one. Despite his athleticism and mobility, he is excellent at using his frame to stay square to a bending edge rusher.
Even sometimes when Moore is seemingly beaten with speed he has great recovery with his framing and hip movement.
Moore’s lack of mobility and slow kick step can hurt his game at times. Fast edge rushers can beat Moore to the point of leverage and he has the liability of getting beat to the spot. As seen previously, his size can often gain him the upper hand in leverage, but if he is beaten to the spot it can be a detriment to the pocket.
Moore can also get caught sometimes off balance with swift moving edge rushers. Speed and finesse pass rush moves can get him off kilter and loses leverage quickly.
However, there were plenty of examples where Moore was slow on a kick step but still uses his hip and pad level in order to stay square with the defender. This goes back to his smooth kick step and size being the best part of his game. He does not panic and sticks to his smooth technique in order to be effective in pass rush.
A few more clips to highlight in pass protection showcase Moore’s size and strength. Moore can meet a defender immediately on the line and stop him in his tracks. Moore’s feet barely move as his strength and pad level stop defenders momentum almost like they are hitting a brick wall. This clip in particular showcases great hand placement and pad level.
Another key trait in Moore’s game is his leg movement and power through his lower body, particularly in the run game. Similar to that last point, Moore is like a brick wall in the run game. His size and hip movement are fluid in staying square to defenders.
This next play is one of the more impressive plays from Moore. Moore meets his defender immediately on an impressive first step in run blocking. Moore is quick to lock up the defender with his hands and establishes leverage with his lower body and strength. Moore stalls the defender allowing the running back to walk into the endzone behind his block.
As seen in that last clip, Moore also has an explosive first step off the line in run blocking. This next play emphasizes this trait as Moore flies off the line to blow the defender off the ball. A fun habit of mine is pausing the clip immediately after the snap and seeing how far a lineman has moved compared to his fellow lineman. Moore is a clear yard ahead of the rest of his unit on this play within one second of the snap. Moore continues the play by locking up the defender.
Moore also has a great motor. His lower body strength can also get moving and in this next play Moore keeps his feet churning and moves a defender away from the play which allows for a wide open pass lane. The second play also displays his motor in the run game.
With a solid frame and smooth kick step Moore is a solid pass protector. However, he tends to lose hand battles in pass protection. Moore routinely has solid hand placement in the pass game but sometimes can get them swiped away and quickly lose any leverage that he has. Moore is square and in good positions in these next clips but the hand battles are his Achilles heel.
Overall, Carlos Moore is a solid plug and play option at right tackle. It is clear why he was a highly sought after player in the spring portal, especially for Maryland. Moore is a smooth tackle who has a strong first step whether it is in the run game or kick stepping in pass protection. Despite his lack of speed, Moore’s frame and fluid hips keeps him square to edge rushers. There may be issues with speed rushers at the next level; however, Moore is a safe player who stays calculated and should slide into the starting right tackle spot this fall.
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