ECU's Chris Moore Named Freshman All-America
December 16, 2002 | Football
Moore is a second-team Freshman All-America selection. He is only the third Pirate to receive that honor and the first since linebacker Pernell Griffin, who went on to break the Conference USA career tackles record, was named by two publications in 1998.
As a redshirt freshman, Moore gained attention early in the 2002 season by tallying 19 tackles in his first collegiate game at Duke. Through the end of September, he was leading all freshmen in the nation in tackles per game. A knee injury suffered on the opening kickoff of the South Florida game on Oct. 19 forced him to miss ECU's next three contests. However, he returned to action for the Pirates' upset of nationally ranked TCU on Nov. 23 and finished the season as fifth-leading tackler with 72 tackles in nine games.
Moore, a native of Havelock, N.C., tied for the team lead in tackles for losses with 10. He also had 3.5 sacks. He was named Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week in early October after a great performance against Army when he had two interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown, plus caused a fumble to set up another score.
Besides Moore and Griffin, the only other Pirate to be named Freshman All-America was linebacker Robert Jones, who was a first-team selection by The Sporting News in 1988.
