Texas football is a brand as big as, well, the state of Texas.
The scrutiny, excitement and pressure that comes with playing for the Longhorns is a combination rarely topped by any college football program outside the SEC. Yet Colorado under Deion Sanders might be one of them.
DeAndre Moore Jr. is more than ready to find out.
Drawn to Colorado in part by the allure of Sanders’ program, along with a previous relationship with Buffaloes offensive coordinator Brennan Marion that ended before it truly began, Moore is aiming to play a key role for a Buffs attack breaking in a new look with Marion’s Go-Go offense.
“The Prime Effect,” Moore said of his decision to join the Buffs after three seasons at Texas. “I went from one brand to a really big brand. Every single day there’s going to be cameras on you. There’s going to be lights on you. That’s just another great way for me and my teammates to go showcase what we can do.
“And also, the environment. Not too many places around the country you can go into a building and be yourself. Sometimes you gotta walk on eggshells around certain coaches, or certain people won’t talk to you. It’s not like that here. It’s a real family, a real brotherhood, a real bond. The coaches are men building men, and so they’re going to treat us as such. That’s what I love about being here.”
Marion spent just one year at Texas, serving as the Longhorns’ receivers coach and passing game coordinator in 2022. Marion moved to UNLV following the season, but not before forging a relationship with Moore as he was being recruited out of Bellflower, California.
Moore played in nine games as a true freshman in 2023 and showed his potential the following year, finishing the 2024 season with 39 receptions for 456 yards and seven touchdowns. Moore posted similar numbers last year, recording 38 receptions for 532 yards and four touchdowns.
Moore described the Go-Go offense — which, when operating optimally, combines a versatile power run game with a vertical, big-strike passing attack — as “backyard football.” Moving from a team that has one of the top quarterbacks in the nation in Arch Manning to the Buffs and their talented but unproven redshirt freshman quarterback Julian Lewis certainly is somewhat of a gamble.
Moore’s reunion with Marion got off to an uneven start, as an injury kept Moore out of spring practice. As CU’s preseason workouts shift from Fountain-Fort Carson back to Boulder, San Jose State transfer Danny Scudero has emerged as a leader among the Buffs’ receivers. And Moore is battling for playing time alongside fellow transfers Kam Perry (Miami Ohio) and Ernest Campbell (Sacramento State), as well as a cast of returning players that includes Joesph Williams, who was CU’s second-leading receiver last year with 37 catches for 489 yards and four touchdowns.
“(Marion) is like an uncle, man,” Moore said. “I’ve known the guy since I was about 16-years old. He was recruiting me to Texas and we was playing cards and I was beating him in speed all night.
“My role is just however I can help the football team win. That’s what I’m here for, bro. If I’ve gotta go down on punt and make an impact, that’s what I’m going to do. If I gotta go stick my nose in and block for (my teammates), that’s exactly what I’m going to do. Whatever I can do to help the team, that’s my job.”