The growing legend of Harrison Moore started in preseason camp, Georgia Tech coach Brent Key recently chronicled.
Key spotted Moore, during a red-zone drill, frantically searching the ground off to the side of the field. When Key demanded Moore explain why he was coming out of the play, Moore’s response followed, “I’m trying to find my tooth.”
Confused by this, Key watched Moore jet back to the huddle to get ready for the next snap. When Tech’s offense broke the huddle, Key found the entire bottom half of Moore’s face covered in blood.
“He’s like, ‘I’m good.’ I said, ‘No you’re not!’ They saved the tooth, put it back in, didn’t miss one practice,” Key said. “Right then I said that’s the kid I want playing for us up front, man.”
Moore was an integral part of Tech’s 24-14 win over Duke on Saturday at Bobby Dodd Stadium. And the 6-foot-5, 290-pound freshman could continue to play an even bigger role over the second half of Tech’s season.
The Yellow Jackets (4-2, 2-2 ACC) rotated Moore in for 13 plays against the Blue Devils. Most of those plays were on short-yardage situations where Tech was looking to run the ball to pick up a first down and keep drives alive.
Moore came in as an extra blocker using his strength and athletic ability to help spring the ball carrier forward.
“I don’t think there is a ceiling for him,” quarterback Haynes King said. “How fast he’s picked up on stuff, the dog that he has, he just competes each and every day. The grit that he has, toughness — he’s one of those gritty, dirty offensive lineman that you love. He’s not gonna complain, he’s just gonna get in there, ‘Hey, what’s the next play?’ He doesn’t complain about anything, he just gets in there and rolls.”
Moore, like King, hails from Texas and wasn’t necessarily under the radar as a recruit, but really wasn’t on Tech’s big board originally. Key said he and his staff knew of Moore, but Moore had committed to Vanderbilt in June 2023, was a bit undersized (originally listed between 230 and 240 pounds) and had also played more tight end than offensive line at that point at Carroll High School in Southlake, Texas.
Tech, meanwhile, was recruiting Carroll High quarterback Graham Knowles. Tech quarterbacks coach Chris Weinke kept noticing Moore on film, alerted offensive line coach Geep Wade, offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner and, of course, Key that Moore may be worth another look.
Key offered Moore a chance to take an official visit to Tech the weekend the Jackets hosted Syracuse in November. A few days later Moore decided he wanted to play in Atlanta instead of Nashville.
“When you sit down with him and you meet him, there’s just something different about this guy. There’s something different about him. Maturity,” Key said. “We knew it was just gonna be a matter of time when he put the weight on and added the strength. The athletic ability and the toughness and those things were gonna stay. And they have.”
Moore has played in four games this season, his best outing coming Sept. 14, when he saw the field for 30 plays against Virginia Military Institute. His run-blocking grade of 70.3, according to Pro Football Focus, is the third-best mark among Jackets with at least 49 snaps this season.
He also has fit into a unit that mostly was full of veterans at the position coming into 2024. Moore has impressed those veterans on and off the field.
“That boy Harry, he good. He gonna be a leader for the O-line down the road,” Tech’s right tackle Jordan Williams said. “He got that mentality. He got everything you want as an offensive lineman. Ever since he came in in the offseason and last semester — he was always in my little workout group, so I’ve always been around him since day one, and I’ve always known since the first day he got that mentality you want. He’s just grown as a player. He’s kind of like a Swiss Army knife, you can play him anywhere.”
Tech will need more of the same from Moore when the Jackets face North Carolina (3-3, 0-2 ACC) at noon Saturday. The Tar Heels are allowing 125.2 rushing yards per game (the 10th most among ACC teams) and the last three weeks, all losses for UNC, opponents have averaged 182.3 rushing yards and 4.8 yards per carry against Carolina’s defense.
The matchup appears to favor Moore, Tech’s new “sixth man,” and the Jackets.
“From the first day (Moore) stepped on campus I already knew he was like a young vet,” Tech running back Jamal Haynes said. “Just the way he carries himself day in and day out, all it took was for the coaches just to trust him, and they see that he’s been working, keeping his head down and working. Great to see him out there and playing hard.”
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