Moore Ready To Erase Reputation Tommy Knotts, the football coach at Independence High in Charlotte, N.C., saw Dre Moore walking around campus and envisioned his athletic future. Knotts worked hard to convince Moore, who enjoyed playing basketball, he could go further athletically sacking quarterback than dunking balls. "He said he thought I would be good at it," Moore said. "My growth spurt was right around 11th grade and I was starting to grow a little bit." Knotts may have seen potential, but he witnessed the unforeseen Sunday. Tampa Bay traded up in the fourth round with Chicago (120th to 115th) to draft Moore, a 6-foot-4, 305-pound defensive tackle from Maryland who ran the 40-yard dash in 4.8 seconds at the NFL Scouting Combine. The Bucs' acquisition of Moore likely means they are hoping he eventually will replace Chris Hovan, a nine-year veteran who turns 30 on May 12. Hovan started every game last season and had 95 tackles, a career high and sixth-most on the team. Tampa Bay previously tendered Jovan Haye, a restricted free agent, a lucrative contract he is expected to sign, meaning Moore will not immediately compete for a starting position. "I really like his size," Jon Gruden said. "A middle push. A middle pass rusher. A guy we think can collapse the pocket. When he's on, he's really on." Moore started 13 games at weakside defensive tackle last season, leading his team with six sacks for 41 yards, the most in a season at Maryland since Shawne Merriman had 8.5 sacks in 2004. Moore recorded 63 tackles, with 8.5 stops for losses of 45 yards, and had two quarterback pressures. He was selected to the All-Atlantic Coast Conference first team. Moore originally was projected to be a first-round pick, but his stock dropped when scouts watched film and believed he did not play hard on every down. It is a reputation Moore has heard, but said was inaccurate. "I think when people say that, they don't really understand the kind of defenses that we played, and the style of defense that we played at Maryland," Moore said. "I spent a lot of time dropping into coverage, so I had interceptions, batted down passes, and a lot of times I was used in different ways. For example, our two defensive tackles were used a lot in the spy technique to offset the option attack from a lot of the teams we saw in the ACC. I think a lot of times people say that, they don't really understand what the play was that was being called, and what I was actually doing on that play." It also is something Tampa Bay's coaches are not worried about. "I think he's a good kid and gives us a different dimension inside in terms of size," Gruden said. "He's a long, linear guy with power, and he can run extremely well for a big guy. He has tremendous upside if we can get it all out of him." Anwar Richardson, The Tampa Tribune 28 April 2008