Rondale Moore Named Midseason All-American

It has been a very long time since Purdue football has had an All-American. The last Associated Press All-American was Ryan Kerrigan in 2010. Before him you have to go back to Taylor Stubblefield in 2004. Their names hang on the walls of the Mollenkopf, and they may soon be joined by a newcomer. Today the Associated Press released its midseason All-America team and freshman receiver Rondale Moore was a Second Team selection:

SECOND TEAM

Offense

Quarterback — Dwayne Haskins, sophomore, Ohio State.

Running backs — Travis Etienne, sophomore, Clemson; Benny Snell, junior, Kentucky.

Tackles — David Edwards, junior, Wisconsin; Greg Little, junior, Mississippi.

Guards — Terronne Prescod, senior, North Carolina State; Ben Bredeson, junior, Michigan.

Center — Michael Jordan, junior, Ohio State.

Tight end — Noah Fant, junior, Iowa.

Receivers — Marquise Brown, junior, Oklahoma; John Ursua, junior, Hawaii.

All-purpose player — Rondale Moore, freshman, Purdue.

Kicker — Cole Tracy, senior, LSU.

Officially, he is listed as an all-purpose player and that is appropriate. We’re using him as a return man in addition to getting him the ball on offense in a variety of ways. he is 26th nationally with 558 receiving yards and sixth with 7.5 receptions per game. He is fourth nationally at 167.83 all-purpose yards per game, which is also the best in the Big Ten.

And he is doing all of this as a freshman. He is one of only three freshmen on the three All-America teams, joining Andre Szmyt (First Team kicker) and Adrian Frye (Second Team cornerback). Only five players have been an All-American more than once at Purdue (Paul Moss, Duane Purvis, Dave Rankin, Bob Griese, and Leroy Keyes). I believe this only refers to First Team honors, because even Drew Brees was never a First Team All-American (and is thus ineligible for the College Football Hall of Fame).

In terms of conference honors Moore will almost certainly be Purdue’s first First Team all-B1G selection since Cody Webster in 2013.