Rondale Moore gave us all something special
Reflections on a college football supernova, and his bond with a Purdue hero
“How tall is fast?”
Talk about a money quote. That was an answer that Rondale Moore gave recruiter JaMarcus Shepard to a question about his height back in high school, an answer that Shepard relayed to me in 2018 when I visited West Lafayette to write about Purdue’s freshman sensation.
It was a line that belied Moore’s humble nature, a brief acknowledgement that he knew that he could do some special things on the football field.
Moore did not want to do the interview with me, or with anyone. He, via Purdue’s media relations staff, had rebuffed multiple requests for sitdowns all season long despite how quickly he had burst on to the national scene as a rookie. He didn’t want to steal the spotlight from others. At 18, he probably wasn’t completely sure of himself yet, either.
Then Ohio State happened.
The Tyler Trent Game.
Moore’s national coming-out party.
If you watched “College GameDay” that morning, you were inspired by the story of Trent, a Purdue superfan who battled cancer courageously.
If you watched only the game, you were mesmerized by how Moore, the smallest player on the field, ran through, over and around Ohio State’s defense, knocking the Buckeyes out of the College Football Playoff picture and announcing himself as one of the nation’s best players.
I thought of that night during this past weekend, when news broke that Moore, 25, was found dead Saturday in New Albany, Ind., due to what police suspect was a self-inflicted gunshot wound. I thought of the Trent family, who were in the spotlight again this weekend as every mention of Moore conjured up highlight reels of that special night at Ross-Ade Stadium. And I thought of Matt Rector, the Purdue media relations director at the time who, sadly, is also no longer with us.
When Moore and the Boilermakers upset Ohio State, Rector told me that Moore was finally ready to talk. He said that I had been the first reporter that season to ask about Moore, that I had been respectfully persistent in checking in on the possibility of profiling Moore, and that he wanted to honor that by giving me the first big interview with Moore. Moore had become too good of a player, and his platform too big, for him to stay in hiding any longer.
I drove from Chicago to campus one morning that week and met Rector in the parking lot outside Purdue’s football facility. He told me that Moore had been getting cold feet at the last second, but the PR pro convinced Moore that it was too late to cancel on someone who had driven two-plus hours to see him. (He may have even jokingly — we think — threatened to tell on Moore’s about-face to Purdue’s strength coach, which scared Moore into going through with the interview.)
Boy am I glad that Rector came through.
Moore was a gentleman, even if this babyfaced star somehow looked younger in-person than on TV. He was listed at 5-foot-9. I am 5-10, and I can tell you that Moore was absolutely not 5-9. When I asked him if he was, he smiled, then said: “You could say that.”
His handshake was so firm, so earnest, that it would become a running joke among Big Ten media members over the years who had the pleasure of introducing themselves to Moore while he was with the Boilers.
He said he changed his cell number while in high school. He hated compliments. He didn’t care that he had a fast 40 time (4.33), because the number was meaningless unless it could be properly deployed on the field.
He had just lit up the nation’s No. 2 team for 12 catches and 170 yards, but he refused to utter a word of trash talk on the field.
“I don’t waste my breath,” he said, adding: “I’m not here for that. I’m here to play a game.”
Injuries derailed Moore’s next two seasons in college. They took a chunk out of a promising NFL career, too, after the Cardinals made him a second-round pick in 2021.
Rector died a few years later, during the 2021 season. Purdue wore helmet decals in his honor during the Music City Bowl. I thought a lot about Rector when Moore died. I thought a lot about Tyler Trent, too.
I texted Tyler’s mother, Kelly, on Sunday to offer my condolences. She texted back, in part:
“He was such a humble young man. Not one with a lot of words but what he did say, you wanted to make sure and listen! Gone far too soon! While the memories can be hard I am also thankful for them!”
She then sent me a video that had been going around this weekend, on Moore reflecting on his freshman season, which meant reflecting on Tyler Trent. The two had become friends after that Ohio State game, texting daily.
Watch the video for yourself, then try to keep it together:
“Tyler Trent will always be with me,” Moore said in the clip. “Regardless if that’s driving in my car on the way home from workouts or if I’m out there on the football field. He’s always looking down and shining on all of us.”
Check on your people, always.
Rest in Peace, Rondale.
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