BOUND FOR THE BIG-TIME
Aug 30, 2003 | Football
Aug. 29, 2003
By Fred Robinson
Staff writer/The Times-Picayune
(This story originally appeared in the New Orleans Times Picayune on Aug. 29, 2003.
Escaping the hell hole in south Baton Rouge that was home wasn't the easiest thing for Mewelde Moore to do. But you'll never hear him talking about how tough it was.
On Tams Drive where Moore grew up, drive-by shootings, crack houses and gang activity were the norm. Just getting to school, which was a mile-and-a-half walk each way, could be an adventure.
"It's a tough part of town . . . one of the three toughest neighborhoods in Baton Rouge," said Pat Hall, Moore's high school coach at Belaire. "On a nightly basis, you could hear gunshots."
You won't hear Moore talk about the difficulties he experienced while growing up. What you will hear Moore talk about is how his mother, who at times worked three jobs to support her three children, convinced him that hitting the books, working and having faith in God would pay off some day.
That day is right around the corner.
Already the most prolific running back in Tulane history, Moore can enhance his position for next year's NFL draft with his third record-breaking season.
He has set 23 school records, three Conference USA records, and likely will set more this season. He enters his senior year as one of three returning Division I-A running backs that rushed for more than 1,000 yards the past two seasons.
While Moore had a lot he could have complained about growing up in Baton Rouge, he now has twice as much to brag about. But you won't hear a peep out of Moore about either. It's not his style to cry over the past, and certainly not to boast about his accomplishments.
While he acknowledges setting records are nice, and being selected C-USA preseason Offensive Player of the Year is great, he said there's still a void in his college career.
What could possibly be missing?
"A championship," Moore said. "A conference championship."
Since Moore began playing football, a district championship during his senior year at Belaire is the only football title of which he has been a part. Being left out isn't a very good feeling, Moore said.
"There's nothing better than being a champion. Everybody wants to be a champion; that's got to be your No. 1 goal every time you step out on the practice field," Moore said. "That motivates you."
Hall, who has known Moore since he was a freshman at Belaire, has remained very close him. When Moore goes to Baton Rouge, Hall's home is one of the first stops Moore makes. It's not unusual for them to sit and talk for hours.
"With him it's all about winning and losing," Hall said. "Winning a conference championship is what he wants to happen at Tulane. He wants to go out a champion."
Wanting to win a championship is one of the reasons Moore decided to return to Tulane for his senior year.
"He came back to win a conference title," Tulane running backs coach Greg Davis Jr. said. "That's what he wants. Records and all that stuff are nice, but he will be the first to tell you that he's a team guy and wants to win a conference championship. If the records and all that come, it's great, but he wants to win a team championship."
Of Moore's first three seasons, his sophomore year is the one that stands out. He rushed for 1,421 yards, a school record, in 2001. He also set Tulane and C-USA marks for all-purpose yards with 2,259, ending the year third in the nation.
It took Moore only 32 games to break the school rushing record Eddie Price Sr. set from 1946-49. Moore has 3,449 rushing yards and 16 100-yard rushing games.
But despite becoming the school's career rushing leader, last season was difficult.
Running behind a youthful offensive line, Moore gained 1,138 yards as opponents stacked the line. Moore admits that following the Wave's victory in the Hawaii Bowl he had thoughts about making himself eligible for the NFL draft.
"You always weigh your options," Moore said. "I didn't come from a family where everything is peachy and one person in the family doesn't have to work. You do weigh stuff like that, but you look at it from the standpoint that you made it this far without your family in some type of need, and just try to finish up school and continue playing football. The season is so important that I came back for it."
Hall recalled the day Moore spent at his home going round and round on the issue of leaving school. They spent half the day together and nearly 90 minutes talking about entering the draft.
"When he came in, I said, 'OK, what is it? I know you're not here just to visit, what's on your mind?' " Hall said. "He said, 'Should I or shouldn't I? I don't know what to do.' I asked him, 'What does your heart tell you? Are you the best running back in the country?'
"Once he said he probably wasn't the best back in the country, I told him it sounded like his mind was made up. Then he told me he wanted to go out a winner and a champion, and that he wanted to play his last year because you get to be a senior only once."
Finishing college has been a high priority for Moore, and having signed a contract that had a bonus worth nearly $500,000 to play baseball in the San Diego Padres' organization during the summer months certainly played a major part in the decision-making process.
The minute Moore signed with the Padres, he relinquished his athletic scholarship, which made him a walk-on. But Moore's baseball contract calls for the Padres to pay for his college education. Financially, Moore is not hurting.
"The main reason I came back is to get my degree and continue playing the game," Moore said. "I'm not worried about records, and it was never a monetary issue for me."
Moore was born in Hammond, and his parents separated when he was about 5. While in the fifth grade, he began playing football for the South Baton Rouge Rams. He played cornerback, running back and wide receiver his first two years.
"I made some plays and had my moments (on the field)," said Moore, "but I was more of a nerd. I made A's and B's in school, and school was the most important thing to me. I had fun and enjoyed playing football because my dad talked about football a little bit more than other sports."
From the time he began playing football to the time he reached high school, his body kept changing. At first he was short and stocky, then he began getting taller and faster.
When Moore reached high school, his brother, Jerry, was already playing football at Louisiana Tech. Moore began listening intently to everything Jerry would tell him about conditioning and lifting weights. His brother's advice soon became the plan Moore would follow.
"From my ninth-grade summer, I just started lifting and was doing anything and everything possible," Moore said. "My brother would give me pointers, and not a day went by that I wouldn't do something to try to get better. I'd do pushups, sit-ups, calf lifts, anything."
Even after the first couple of years of high school, Moore still hadn't hit the radar as an up-and-coming star. But everything changed when Hall, who was coaching running backs at Belaire, convinced Moore to concentrate on playing running back during his junior year.
In the fifth game of his senior year, against Baton Rouge-Catholic, he became a 1,000-yard rusher as Belaire was headed toward its first district title since 1988. Still, the scholarship offers weren't plentiful.
"(Former LSU) Coach Gerry DiNardo came by school and picked up his transcript," Hall said, "but they wanted him to walk on because he qualified for TOPS, and they wanted him to play something other than running back."
Tulane, however, was aggressive in pursuing Moore, and on the first day of fall practice the coaches couldn't stop talking about their freshman running back.
"From the first day he arrived, he had a work ethic that was unmatched, and that's the reason why he was able to play so early," Davis said, "And then after two or three games of his first season, we saw we really had a star quality in a back. He showed us that he was a star back, and we knew we had something special."
"Mewelde is very proud, and he's proud of where he came from," Hall said. "In spite of everything he went through growing up, I would have been shocked if he hadn't been successful. He had something special. When he walked across that high school stage, I knew he was going to be big time."
