Texas A&M Football: What You Need to Know About Aggies' DE Damontre Moore

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Texas A&M's Damontre Moore will help lead the Aggies' defense into their inaugural season in the Southeastern Conference in 2012. Moore had a breakout season in 2011 and should be an impact defender for A&M going forward.

The junior from Rowlett, TX is one of the best returning pass rushers in the nation. The SEC should provide him with the kind of stage that will allow Moore to become a national name. 

This is a look at Moore as he enters the top conference in the nation.

Moore Is Changing Positions

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With the Ags move from the 3-4 defense to the 4-3, Moore is going to change positions in 2012.

Moore will move from rush outside linebacker to the weak side defensive end. It should be an easy transition from Moore who basically played DE in 2011. He is accustomed to lining up with his hand on the ground and rushing the passer.

As a weak side DE he will not have to bump wide receivers before they enter their routes and will not be asked to cover slot receivers.

Moore should excel in his new role for the Ags.

He Will Be One of the Top Returning Pass Rushers in the SEC

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Moore had 8.5 sacks in 2011. If he can continue with that kind of production in the SEC, then he will rank in the top 10 in the league in sacks.

Moore has accumulated 14 sacks during his career at A&M. He has the potential to put up double digit sacks in his first season at defensive end.

He has the potential to be an All-Conference and All-American player.

He Was an Unknown Recruit Who Was Discovered on One Play

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Moore is a great example of how recruiting lists and rankings do not matter. He was a nobody recruit coming out of high school.

Moore played mostly basketball at Rowlett (TX) High School but saw some time at backup defensive end during football season.

Mike Sherman and his assistants were watching video from one of the Rowlett games because they were checking out another prospect. Sherman saw a 3rd down play where Moore came off the edge to rush the quarterback and decided that he had to have him.

Sherman offered Moore a scholarship and Moore committed. This was all before Moore had ever started a single game in high school.

He Is an Award Winner

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After a freshman season in which he put up 5.5 sacks, Moore was named ESPN Freshman All Big-12.

As a freshman he was named National Defensive Player Of the Week for his performance against Lousiana Tech.

Moore has also earned some preseason love as the Ags enter their inaugural SEC season. As with any player in the SEC, if he earns All-Conference honors then he will be a viable candidate for national honors.

Moore Has Had off the Field Problems

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Moore had a couple of run-ins with the law after his freshman season. He displayed a lot of immaturity off the field and his reputation and the reputation of the program suffered because of it.

He was arrested for a possession of marijuana charge during the summer of 2011 and was allegedly also involved in the fight that landed a teammate in jail.

By all accounts Moore has grown up off the field and has learned from his mistakes. Hopefully his brushes with the law after his freshman season will be his last.

He Has Never Started an Entire Season

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Moore was the backup rush OLB to start the 2011 season as punishment for his poor choices off the field. As a freshman in 2010 he missed multiple games due to injury.

If Moore can stay healthy and focused for an entire season, he could be the Ags best defensive player and one of the best pass rushers in the SEC.

He has the potential to be a consistently dominant player, he just needs to put it all together on the field for a 12 game season.