The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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28 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY MATT CARTER hen Isaiah Moore was at L.C. Bird High School in Chester, Va., his football coach David Bedwell put him and fellow line- backer Rayshard Ashby, now at Virginia Tech, in a position of lead- ership. That and Moore's upbringing by his mother LeVonda Whitfield, who taught him to be a leader and not a follower, set the stage for Moore to leave an indelible mark on NC State far beyond his exploits on the football field. Not that Moore's play is to be over- looked. Head coach Dave Doeren noted that the redshirt junior leads the country among returning linebackers for tackles at or behind the line of scrimmage with 27 in 2020 — two more than his teammate, red- shirt sophomore linebacker Payton Wilson, who is second on that list. "That shows his disruptive ability to cre- ate havoc in the backfield," Doeren said. For Moore, it's where he strived to be since watching football with his parents growing up — playing major college foot- ball. He almost didn't get that opportunity out of high school. NC State was Moore's lone Power Five offer. "Being in Virginia growing up watching schools like Virginia Tech and UVA, and not getting opportunities for those schools definitely made me feel like I was under the radar," Moore confessed. "I always felt like I had a chip on my shoulder to prove myself even when I got here with NC State being my only P5 offer. "I bet on myself when I came here, and I just wanted to make the most of it." After being admittedly humbled by red- shirting and watching a veteran defense in 2017, Moore started as a redshirt freshman in 2018 and has been a mainstay ever since. Yet in the offseason before the 2020 season, Moore, along with a few teammates, began finding their voices. "After the 4-8 season [in 2019], it was myself, [center] Grant Gibson, [tight end] Dylan Autenrieth, we were all like, 'We can't let this thing run off the track again,'" Moore remembered. "We all got together and said we are going to make sure that we get this thing back on track, and I feel like that's what we did." Yet Moore went further. In high school, Moore tried to be an active member in the community. He was on the school's student- athlete advisory committee, worked with children with disabilities and participated as a mentor for a local elementary school. At NC State last summer, Moore was an active leader in the upstart PackUnited movement, which defines itself as a "stu- dent-led initiative through the Student- Athlete Advisory Committee that focuses on denouncing racism and police brutality while promoting racial unity." Moore's leadership on campus has left lasting impressions on the leadership at the top of the football program. It's partly why Doeren gave Moore the coveted No. 1 jersey last season. "I think Isaiah has earned the respect of his teammates and our staff with his consis- tent behavior and work ethic, how he treats people," Doeren said. "Then he seized op- portunities to use his platform as a leader, not just in football, but in the community and socially, and he does it in a way that is very inclusive and very respectful of other people but also very serious. "He's not just doing it for applause or pats on the back, he's doing it because he believes in our program, he believes in PackUnited. It's meant a lot, and it's been really impressive to watch from my leader- ship position." "It's just hard to explain in words what he means to this program, this defense and that linebacker room," defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Tony Gibson added. "He's just a special player and a special kid." Moore has expanded his horizons further by volunteer coaching at Cardinal Gibbons High in Raleigh, which he joked gave him a new appreciation for his own coaches. Pursuing a career in that avenue is Moore's down-the-road goal, but the immediate fu- ture is focused on winning and the NFL. "We are really looking forward to him having a breakout year — and I shouldn't say breakout year," Gibson said. "He's been W IMPACTFUL LEADER Redshirt Junior Linebacker Isaiah Moore Is Leaving His Mark On And Off The Field Moore's 27 tackles at or behind the line of scrimmage in 2020 are the most in the nation among all returning college linebackers. PHOTO BY ETHAN HYMAN/THE NEWS & OBSERVER