| No. 12, 9 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Quarterback | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | (1968-04-04)April 4, 1968 (age 57) Martinsville, Virginia, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 213 lb (97 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Martinsville | ||||||||
| College: | Virginia | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1991: 11th round, 284th pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Shawn Levique Moore (born April 4, 1968) is an American former professionalfootball player who was aquarterback in theNational Football League (NFL) andCanadian Football League (CFL). He playedcollege football for theVirginia Cavaliers and was recognized as a first-teamAll-American. He later returned to Virginia as an assistant coach underMike London. Moore was named Director of Community Relations for theCollege Football Playoff in March 2014.[1]
At theUniversity of Virginia, Moorestarted at quarterback for theCavaliers in 1988, as aredshirt sophomore; his college jersey number was "12." Moore led the 1988 team to a 7–4 win–loss record. In 1989, he and the Cavaliers went 10–2 for the regular season, winning a share of theACC championship.[2] Moore demonstrated the ability not only to throw accurately on both the long and short pass, he had the ability to run the ball effectively. The Cavaliers only losses of the 1989 regular season were to the previous season'sNCAA champion,Notre Dame, in theKickoff Classic, and toClemson in a game where Moore was injured and never played a down. The Cavaliers shared the ACC title withDuke, despite beating the Blue Devils 49–28, because the ACC had no tie-breaking system at the time. TheCitrus Bowl, traditional host of the ACC champion, selected Virginia anyway, pitting the Cavaliers against theUniversity of Illinois and future NFL quarterbackJeff George. The Cavaliers lost 31–21, but Moore was later quoted as saying "I think we knew (we had something special) my junior year, that 1989 season, after we won our first ACC championship. It was a team of veteran players. My class was about 23 strong. Everyone played as a redshirt freshman. We had a lot of playing experience. By the time we were fourth-year juniors, we had a lot of games under our belt. We knew going into that fifth year that we could probably be special."[3] Moore finished the 1989 season ranked fourth in the NCAA in passing efficiency.
In the1990 season, Moore and the Cavaliers started off with seven straight wins, including a groundbreaking 20–7 win over theClemson Tigers, a team that Virginia had not beaten in its previous twenty-nine matches. The offense was prolific, scoring a combined 337 points in its first seven wins, and Moore had a direct hand in scoring more than 50% of the team's touchdowns. For the last three weeks of the seven game streak, the Virginia Cavaliers were ranked #1 in both major polls.[3]
Moore relied on two main targets for his passing game:wide receiverHerman Moore, no relation to Shawn, andtight endBruce McGonnigal. Despite Herman Moore's reputation as the most dangerous receiver on the field, McGonnigal was known for making clutch catches for first downs. However, in the week before theGeorgia Tech game, McGonnigal ruptured his spleen,[4] and a vital part of the passing game was suddenly missing. Georgia Tech prevailed 41–38, despite prolific passing numbers from Moore, including a 63–yard touchdown pass to Herman Moore. Stealing the Cavaliers' momentum, Georgia Tech went on to an undefeated season, aCitrus Bowl win over theNebraska Cornhuskers, and a share of the national championship with theColorado Buffaloes.
Already invited to theSugar Bowl, the Cavaliers attempted to make the best of the season, and managed a 24–10 win over theNorth Carolina Tar Heels, but against theMaryland, the Cavaliers found themselves in another struggle, with both teams alternating the lead. Late in the game, Moore ran the ball and was tackled short of the Maryland goal line. In the resulting turmoil, a Maryland defender stepped upon the thumb of Moore's throwing hand, forcing it backwards, and dislocating (referred to as a "bad flipper") it for the rest of the season. Without Shawn Moore, the Virginia offense sputtered immediately, and Maryland took the win. The following week,Virginia Tech picked apart Virginia's inexperienced back-up quarterback,Matt Blundin, and the Cavaliers 7–0 start ended in an 8–3 showing.
Moore was brought back for the Sugar Bowl game against the #10Tennessee Volunteers, and at first his presence kept Tennessee wary and prevented them from stacking the line. Virginiarunning backsTerry Kirby and Nikki Fisher ran for over 100 yards and Virginia led 16–0 at halftime. But with a few errant long passes in the first half revealing that Moore was not the threat he had been most of the season, Tennessee tightened its defense in the second half, and battled back to win 23–22.
In that 1990 season, Shawn Moore passed for 2262 yards and 21 touchdowns, and rushed for 306 yards and 8 touchdowns.[5] Despite missing the last game of the regular season, Moore still led the NCAA inpassing efficiency, even over eventualHeisman Trophy winner,Ty Detmer. He had broken nearly every major record for a quarterback at Virginia. Moore was voted fourth in Heisman balloting, at the time receiving more Heisman votes than any other ACC candidate had previously.[3] His favorite receiver,Herman Moore, placed sixth in the balloting.
Moore was drafted in the eleventh round of the1991 NFL draft by theDenver Broncos.[6] Moore managed to share time at the starting position withTommy Maddox whenJohn Elway was out for the last six games of the 1992 season.[7] In between seasons with the Broncos he played for theBirmingham Fire of theWorld League of American Football. After serving as an NFL back-up from 1991 to 1994 with Denver and later theArizona Cardinals, Moore played for a number of CFL teams, including theOttawa Rough Riders,Winnipeg Blue Bombers, and theCalgary Stampeders.[3]
After his career in pro football, Moore pursued administrative jobs with the NCAA, and a brief stint as anXFLscout. He also has worked for the NFL to promote youth football and coached high school football atSt. Albans School inWashington, D.C.[8]
On January 8, 2010, it was announced that Moore would return to Virginia as an assistant coach for the Virginia Cavaliers football team.[9] Moore served as an assistant coach at Virginia until 2012.
In March 2014, Moore was named Director of Community Relations for the College Football Playoff.[1]
In April 2021, Moore returned to Virginia as an associate director of development for the athletics department.[10]