How Kashif Moore can help develop Penn State football’s young receivers
There isn’t a position at Penn State that’s come under more scrutiny in recent years than wide receiver. The coaches and the players at the position have been the subject of much consternation from the fan base because of their struggles in recent seasons.
Which is why Matt Campbell hiring Noah Pauley, one of the best receivers coaches in the country, was so notable. And why his departure for the Green Bay Packers a couple months later was even more notable.
That brings heightened attention to Kashif Moore, Pauley’s replacement, who will be tasked with developing the position at a high level in order to elevate the Penn State offense to where it needs to be.
And that’s a big part of what stood out about Moore in the interview process. Campbell went through a full search process to find a receivers coach.
“The hiring process with with Coach Moore was one where — I know, I maybe said this a couple times before — it’s why you interview. I think we really thoroughly tried to put a wide net of what’s the right — first of all, what are we looking for. Two, let’s make sure and identify those characteristics and those traits. And then number three, then interview the people,” Campbell said Tuesday. “And I think Coach Moore was the last guy we interviewed. And again, I think development was the key. A guy that’s developed his own self into a great wide receiver, had a great playing career, and then you saw what he did with those guys at UConn.”
Development will be key for Moore, especially with young players like Koby Howard and Karon Brookins, but it will help that he already has some established receivers at the top of the depth chart. The position will be led by Chase Sowell and Brett Eskildsen, both of whom are coming from Iowa State, where they were highly productive.
And Sowell, the team’s top receiver, has already gone through the transition from one program to another, going from Colorado to ECU to Iowa State and now to Penn State. And during his process, he’s already gotten to know Moore.
“He actually recruited me when I came out of Colorado to go to UConn,” Sowell said. “So I talked to him a little bit, and kind of had a familiar relationship, but not too familiar. And it just all came to a full circle once I talked to him on the phone, and they told me he was coming over here, and they gave us the news. It was really just a full circle moment, to realize that somebody that trusted me when I was that young could come in and could be my coach. And I know what he’s about.”
That relationship should help Moore, who said he got to know Sowell and his father as he worked through the process. Moore is one of the new members to an offensive staff that largely came from Iowa State with Campbell, and has to learn both his players and his fellow coaches as he tries to turn a weakness into a strength at Penn State.
He spent much of the spring catching up in that regard.
“Just coming along a little later in the process, I had to kind of accelerate things as quickly as possible,” Moore said. “Just being able to get on the phone before I got here with some of the receivers and try to establish a relationship from day one.”
For him, the personal aspect is going to be just as important as the football aspect. He’s the new person in the room in a group that, like Sowell, Eskildsen and Brookins, mostly came from Iowa State.
Which is why he’s prioritized getting to know everyone and did so immediately by having one-on-ones with players in the room. And those relationships will be what he has to lean on if and when this group hits rough patches. Because no position is immune from them, and when they hit this one in particular, the fan base will surely have an outsized reaction because of what has happened in recent years with the receiver production on the team.
And that’s when the group will have to lean on what Moore has already built with his players.
“The first thing he does is, he loves us,” Sowell said. “He loves us to the fullest. He always does a good job of asking us, how our families are doing. He always tells us, ‘self care Sundays, self care Sundays.’ You know, go reset. Talk to your mom, talk to your dad, talk to your family members. So he honestly cares about us.”
Quick hitters
- Campbell said Tuesday that quarterback Alex Manske is back with the team after going through a medical procedure during the offseason.
- True freshman wide receiver Amarion Jackson has stood out in camp to the point that he could see playing time this fall for Penn State.
- Campbell reiterated that Saturday’s Blue-White practice will include periods of 7-on-7 and team work. He noted the importance of players getting out in front of fans for the first time in the stadium.
