RB Gilbert Moye Leaves Team, Will Transfer From Missouri

The crowd that is Missouri's offensive backfield has become a little less dense.

Running back Gilbert Moye has left the team and will transfer from the university upon completion of the current semester, school officials confirmed to the Columbia Daily Tribune on Monday.

According to MU beat writer Dave Matter, a source close to Moye confirmed the news, as did team spokesman Chad Moeller, who told the paper Monday evening that the running back has, indeed, parted ways with the team.

Matter reported that Moye intends to transfer to a program from either the Southwestern Athletic Conference or Southland Conference—both of which are part of college football's Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA—where he hopes to play his old high school position of quarterback.

Missouri will now enter next month's spring practices with three scholarship running backs on its roster, but that number may very well double entering preseason workouts. The trio of senior Derrick Washington, junior De'Vion Moore, and sophomore Kendial Lawrence will be joined in the fall by freshmen Marcus Murphy (DeSoto, Tx.), Henry Josey (Angleton, Tx.), and Greg White (DeQueen, Ark.), all of whom were part of MU's recent recruiting class.

Considering Moye's past in the MU program—which was laden with variety but light on production—his decision to leave should not be altogether surprising.

A former standout quarterback from Diboll High School in Texas, Moye was quickly converted to the safety position upon his arrival in Columbia in 2007 as one of the country's top-rated "athletes." After a redshirt season, he played in 11 games in 2008, with a significant portion of his time spent on MU's kickoff return unit. All the while, Moye was receiving plenty of reps in practice while learning from one of the best safeties in MU history—current Atlanta Falcon William Moore.

But along with the 2009 season came yet another position switch. In an attempt to utilize Moye's coveted blend of size, speed, and athleticism, the Missouri staff moved him to running back, where the 6'2", 220-pound native of Jasper, Texas, figured to challenge for a backup role.

However, with Washington and Moore entrenched as the team's top two backs, Moye struggled at times with inconsistency and fumbles during preseason workouts in August, resulting in him losing his No. 3 role to Lawrence.

Buried on the depth chart as MU's fourth option at running back, Moye was nearly invisible this past season, rushing for only 35 yards on six carries, all of which came versus Furman on Sept. 19.

Photo courtesy of Columbia Daily Tribune.

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