Growing Into a Leadership Position
Apr 18, 2023 | Football, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Austin Moore is back for more. While it's easy to get caught up in the hype surrounding the return of Daniel Green for a sixth season (and deservedly so), Kansas State is blessed with another linebacker story as well. It's about a young man from the small northeast Kansas town of Louisburg, who had a dream. He wanted to play college football. Now Moore enters his fifth year and he is the Wildcats' top-returning tackler.
"It was definitely a special year," Moore says.
Moore led K-State with 87 tackles and finished second with 10.0 tackles for loss en route to All-Big 12 Honorable Mention accolades by the league's coaches. Moore also had 1.5 sacks, one interception, four pass breakups, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery in his first year as a full-time starter. Moore was the guy that coaches raved about last summer and the 6-foot-1, 219-pounder lived up the billing, as he recorded at least five tackles in every regular-season game while also recovering a fumble in the Wildcats' 31-28 overtime victory against No. 3 TCU in the Big 12 Championship Game.
They call him "The Machine" — a nickname bestowed upon him by former defensive coordinator Scottie Hazelton during his redshirt season in 2019 because "I wasn't showing a lot of emotion and I was answering questions really fast."
The Machine eventually earned a scholarship and started all 14 games a year ago. He made 27 tackles and had five tackles for loss in the first four games. He had as many tackles against TCU and Oklahoma (18) as he did during the entire 2021 season. So far, he has 109 career tackles, including 13.9 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, one interception and five passes defended in 34 career games with 15 starts.
Not bad for a guy who arrived in Manhattan unranked by all major recruiting services. He had no stars. He was an all-state running back and all-league linebacker while helping Louisburg to an 11-2 record and a berth in the 2018 state playoffs.
Blake Seiler, K-State's linebackers coach at the time, liked the way Moore moved. He liked the way Moore played. He offered Moore a chance to walk on. Moore eagerly accepted. Although Moore admits that he spent his younger years a KU fan — his mother is a KU alum — Moore's allegiance shifted to purple and white, and he had long been a fan of K-State's walk-on tradition.
"I've learned that it's hard for me to give up whenever I really have a goal that I want to work toward, and I've learned how to push through adversity and what it takes for me to continue to get better," he says. "I've learned what it takes for me to be prepared each day."
Perhaps Moore's greatest adversity arrived following the departure of Hazelton to Michigan State. Safeties coach Joe Klanderman took over as defensive coordinator and head coach Chris Klieman hired Steve Stanard as his linebackers coach.
"My whole freshman year, the coaches didn't really notice me too much because I was on the scout team and didn't attend fall camp," Moore says. "Then before the (2019 Liberty Bowl) game they noticed me. Then Coach Hazelton left and I felt like I was right back at the bottom. I had a Zoom meeting with Coach Stanard and I didn't know much about him and he didn't know me. It took a while from there, but throughout that whole 2020 season, that was my biggest adversity."
Interesting how things work out.
It was Moore's ability to make the most of his experience in games and in practice — Moore often spent practices playing in place of sixth-year senior Cody Fletcher in order to keep him fresh for games — that caught the eyes of Klieman and Stanard. Klieman liked how Moore continued to learn the system and learn how to play at the major college level. Stanard appreciated how Moore learned the defense. Both coaches were excited for Moore heading into last season.
The Machine began playing faster.
Now everybody knows Moore.
And this season, more and more players will listen to Moore because he is spending this spring and offseason applying himself as a vocal leader.
"Not easy for me, but it's becoming easier," he says. "I'm just trying to get comfortable being uncomfortable being that type of leader. The more I do it, the easier it's gotten. I've definitely stepped up that way."
For everything that Moore has learned about the defense along the way to becoming the team's top tackler, he's grateful for those players who came before him, and plans to carry the role of leader with pride going forward.
"Those leaders we had last year on defense lifted me up and allowed me to be in this position I'm in now as a leader," Moore says. "I'm hoping I can do that for other people and hopefully I can have an even better year this season."
Austin Moore is back for more. While it's easy to get caught up in the hype surrounding the return of Daniel Green for a sixth season (and deservedly so), Kansas State is blessed with another linebacker story as well. It's about a young man from the small northeast Kansas town of Louisburg, who had a dream. He wanted to play college football. Now Moore enters his fifth year and he is the Wildcats' top-returning tackler.
"It was definitely a special year," Moore says.
Moore led K-State with 87 tackles and finished second with 10.0 tackles for loss en route to All-Big 12 Honorable Mention accolades by the league's coaches. Moore also had 1.5 sacks, one interception, four pass breakups, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery in his first year as a full-time starter. Moore was the guy that coaches raved about last summer and the 6-foot-1, 219-pounder lived up the billing, as he recorded at least five tackles in every regular-season game while also recovering a fumble in the Wildcats' 31-28 overtime victory against No. 3 TCU in the Big 12 Championship Game.
They call him "The Machine" — a nickname bestowed upon him by former defensive coordinator Scottie Hazelton during his redshirt season in 2019 because "I wasn't showing a lot of emotion and I was answering questions really fast."
The Machine eventually earned a scholarship and started all 14 games a year ago. He made 27 tackles and had five tackles for loss in the first four games. He had as many tackles against TCU and Oklahoma (18) as he did during the entire 2021 season. So far, he has 109 career tackles, including 13.9 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, one interception and five passes defended in 34 career games with 15 starts.
Not bad for a guy who arrived in Manhattan unranked by all major recruiting services. He had no stars. He was an all-state running back and all-league linebacker while helping Louisburg to an 11-2 record and a berth in the 2018 state playoffs.
Blake Seiler, K-State's linebackers coach at the time, liked the way Moore moved. He liked the way Moore played. He offered Moore a chance to walk on. Moore eagerly accepted. Although Moore admits that he spent his younger years a KU fan — his mother is a KU alum — Moore's allegiance shifted to purple and white, and he had long been a fan of K-State's walk-on tradition.
"I've learned that it's hard for me to give up whenever I really have a goal that I want to work toward, and I've learned how to push through adversity and what it takes for me to continue to get better," he says. "I've learned what it takes for me to be prepared each day."
Perhaps Moore's greatest adversity arrived following the departure of Hazelton to Michigan State. Safeties coach Joe Klanderman took over as defensive coordinator and head coach Chris Klieman hired Steve Stanard as his linebackers coach.
"My whole freshman year, the coaches didn't really notice me too much because I was on the scout team and didn't attend fall camp," Moore says. "Then before the (2019 Liberty Bowl) game they noticed me. Then Coach Hazelton left and I felt like I was right back at the bottom. I had a Zoom meeting with Coach Stanard and I didn't know much about him and he didn't know me. It took a while from there, but throughout that whole 2020 season, that was my biggest adversity."
Interesting how things work out.
It was Moore's ability to make the most of his experience in games and in practice — Moore often spent practices playing in place of sixth-year senior Cody Fletcher in order to keep him fresh for games — that caught the eyes of Klieman and Stanard. Klieman liked how Moore continued to learn the system and learn how to play at the major college level. Stanard appreciated how Moore learned the defense. Both coaches were excited for Moore heading into last season.
The Machine began playing faster.
Now everybody knows Moore.
And this season, more and more players will listen to Moore because he is spending this spring and offseason applying himself as a vocal leader.
"Not easy for me, but it's becoming easier," he says. "I'm just trying to get comfortable being uncomfortable being that type of leader. The more I do it, the easier it's gotten. I've definitely stepped up that way."
For everything that Moore has learned about the defense along the way to becoming the team's top tackler, he's grateful for those players who came before him, and plans to carry the role of leader with pride going forward.
"Those leaders we had last year on defense lifted me up and allowed me to be in this position I'm in now as a leader," Moore says. "I'm hoping I can do that for other people and hopefully I can have an even better year this season."
Players Mentioned
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