Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/199173
I'm really happy to be playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers, giving my maximum effort every day. " Moye was active for the Steelers' first victory of the season, a 19-6 road win against the New York Jets on Oct. 13, due to an injury to rookie wideout Markus Wheaton. Wheaton had a broken right pinky finger that required surgery, so Moye was the fourth wideout and played a few snaps. But he had no catches. A three-year starter at Penn State and three-time honorable mention All-Big Ten performer with 144 catches for nearly 2,400 yards and 18 touchdowns, Moye originally signed with the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2012. He was released after spring practice but was immediately acquired off waivers by the New Orleans Saints. When the Saints released him after training camp, he returned home to Rochester, Pa., about 30 miles north of Pittsburgh. The Steelers signed him to their practice squad Nov. 7, 2012, released him Dec. 4 and re-signed him Dec. 12, as injuries and attrition forced the club to make several roster moves near the end of the year. Moye finished last season on the Steelers' practice squad, and they signed him to a reserve-future contract (two years, $900,000) this past January. "There were a lot of things we liked about him, Steelers offensive coordinator " Todd Haley said. "He has good size, speed and hands, and he can go up to get a ball. He's a good young receiver with a bright future in this league." Moye had a solid spring with the Steelers, but his life was turned upside down three weeks before training camp when his father, Jerry, passed away at age 52. "Any time you lose somebody, it makes you think about your life and things like that," Moye said. "I was already pretty focused on football, as we were leading up to camp, but I still had time to grieve with my family. So it was all business after that. I realized how big of an opportunity that I was going into. "I had a chance to make the Steelers, and that made me want to work even harder. He's definitely watching down on me. I don't want to say that's the reason I'm doing well, because I put a lot of hard work in, but he's definitely up there smiling and bragging about me to everyone." Moye still keeps tabs on the Nittany Lions, watching games when possible and checking the stats of current players, especially friends Allen Robinson and Eric Shrive. "I still keep in touch with those guys," Moye said. "I definitely think Coach [Bill] O'Brien has Penn State headed in the right direction, and getting some of those scholarships back can help a lot. He's shown what he can do when he gets a little bit of talent, and I believe there's a bright future there for everyone." The same can be said about Moye in the I NFL. Get 15% OFF each time you visit your student Lion Co io u lioncountrylodging.com ntry Lo dging.c n .com PE ParentNN STATE Discoun t Plan