In the fall of 2005, I had high hopes for Kestahn Moore. Moore brought a blue collar work ethic with him to Florida which outshone DeShawn Wynn, Marcus Manson and Skyler Thornton on the practice fields. (”He taught those kids how to work,” said running backs coach Stan Drayton at the time.) And I liked Moore’s ability to travel north and south without D. Wynn’s stutter-stepping and Marcus Manson’s trippability. But during his two years in Gainesville, Moore has seen only limited action at tailback, carrying for less than 280 yards in both ‘05 and ‘06. He’s rarely been exciting to watch, and most would agree that he’s yet to give any indication that he’s potentially a feature back.

In 2007, DeShawn Wynn has graduated, Skyler Thornton has transferred and Marcus Manson is now playing cornerback. A new crop of young players are competing with Moore, now a junior, for touches at the position: Mon Williams (out with an ACL injury this year), Chevon Walker (great spring scrimmage), Chris Rainey (fast, but short and thin) and even our beloved midget punt returner, the 4′ 3″ Brandon James.

But I look at all of those players and want to like Moore the most. He outworks the field. He’s a sinewy mass of muscle. Although he’s not a 230+ lb. bowling ball like DeShawn Wynn, he’s by far the biggest and toughest of the current corps. He has handled two moderately disappointing years with nary a complaint. He’s done well as a lead blocker for B. James on punt returns and is definitely the best backfield blocker among the RB corps, good at picking up the blitz as well and gluing himself to his guy. And of course, in his third year as a Gator, he brings the most experience to the position.

Season’s almost here. Where does he stand?

After three days of practice, Drayton says Moore will be the starting RB, and right now the race isn’t even close.

From the Gainesville Sun:

“We’re still waiting for that guy to step up and take control of that position. Kestahn is the guy,” Drayton said. “He’s the work horse of the group right now. He’s coming out here every day and making it tough for anybody to even challenge him at the position.

“He’s the guy; we’re going to put everything on him. Right now, he’s the clear No. 1 guy.”

Urban Meyer also spoke Kestahn Moore’s praises in a video interview. “He’s a guy that’s off the charts right now in terms of doing what we’re asking him to do,” said the head coach.

Knowing Meyer’s tendency to refrain from praising his players rather than offer it freely, I think it’s safe to say a compliment like that rates about a 8.5 on the Urb-meter. Meyer likes what he sees in Moore. That’s a big deal: the HBC liking anything about his running backs is newsworthy, because last year he said the unit was “trash.”

I’d love to see Kestahn Moore make some noise. Florida hasn’t had an outstanding running back since C4, Ciatrick Fason, who left as a junior in 2004 for the NFL. In that time we’ve seen RB-by-committee, the QB rushin’ attack, WRs carrying the ball out of the backfield and on end-arounds, and Percy Harvin (whooooo-eeee!) This has been more effective than it seems; Florida had the third-highest rushing totals in the SEC last season. Still, wouldn’t you love to see a tailback who can give you 100 yards a game, force linebackers to collapse in on the line and give Tebow even more space to lob the leather to his receivers? You’re like me, right? You want a guy back there whose mere presence forces the Gators’ opponents to seriously consider cheating up to the line of scrimmage. You want a durable, reliable threat, someone who can break the occasional big play, and can take care of business on third and short.

I want Kestahn Moore to be that guy.

Right now, Florida’s starting quarterback, Tim Tebow, is still the team’s biggest threat on the ground. I’m hoping Kestahn Moore can change that in 2007.