Greatness awaits Sio Moore

Audio/Story posted April 15, 2013 in CommRadio, Sports, NFL Draft by Patrick Woo

“Sio” means “greatness.”

University of Connecticut linebacker Sio Moore instills greatness in everything he does.

“It’s a blessed name. I love my name,” Moore said. “Being someone who has strength, courage, determination and faith is what got me to the point where I’m at now.”

Where the Liberian-born All-Big East performer is now is on the path to the NFL Draft and becoming an impact linebacker in the National Football League.

Moore comes from a UConn defense that in his senior season ranked ninth in the country in total defense and allowed just 19.8 points per game. It’s a defense that also featured NFL prospects Blidi Wreh-Wilson, Dwayne Gratz and Trevardo Williams, with Moore as the leader.

Moore takes pride in putting UConn Football on the map and despite offensive struggles, his unit was dominant at times.

“We played with an attitude and mentality that we were going to go out there and shut teams up,” Moore said. “We played with a chip on our shoulder each and every game. Our mentality was attack, to cause chaos and wreak havoc.

"We did that passionately and we believed it. Once you have a group of men that believe in one mission, one thing, one goal, one thing to accomplish, it becomes scary.”

I spoke to Moore one-on-one exclusively on the ComRadio NFL Draft Show and what became scary, was his ever-present voicing of his relentlessness to be successful.

“I’m a born leader,” Moore said. “I don’t go out there and try to play for myself. I go out there and try to play so that the people around me can believe as much as I do and create an environment that makes people want to work harder, want to work more, want to up their game.”

Moore has all the tools from strength, speed, instincts, discipline and leadership. He was a constant playmaker on the field for the UConn Huskies.

Moore says he is the number one linebacker in the 2013 draft class. He has the tools, fundamentals and technique to play anywhere on the field. Watching him, he can cover like a safety, play linebacker in the box and rush the passer like a defensive end.

“I can do everything on the field and I take pride because I’ve put in the work day in and day out to showcase that,” Moore said. “Any point in my game that was a weakness has now become a strength.”

Moore may not be at the top of many NFL boards, ahead of the more talked-about linebackers in this year’s class, and Moore acknowledges he’s underrated but doesn’t have time to pay attention to it.

“If I have time to look into that,” he said, “I could be using that time to get better.”

“For me, going to UConn, I’ve always been underrated. When I go on the field, I play pissed off. I play with the biggest chip on my shoulder. It’s OK because at the end of the day, I’m going to have the last laugh because I’m going to prove each and every person wrong.”

That may sound arrogant from Moore, but it’s not. He is genuine and a tremendous leader.

Moore says the key to being a great player starts with being a great person. In interviews from the all-star games and the Combine, Moore said teams were more interested in his personality than his workouts.

“(NFL teams) want to know who you are as a person,” Moore said. “Are you a leader? Do you have the proper work ethic? The person who you are, makes you the person you demonstrate on the field. If you’re a person with bad habits, you’re lazy and you don’t have a work ethic, you don’t have leadership ability, it’s going to translate to the field.”

Moore seems to have all of that and more and he credits his school and his coaches. He grew up in Connecticut after moving from Liberia. He attended high school in North Carolina but returned to his northeastern roots for college football.

Moore played in both the East-West Shrine Game and the Senior Bowl, which is rare but he seized the opportunities to show his passion for where he came from.

Moore said the most exciting part of the all-star game process was getting to put his UConn helmet and representing the university one more time.

His respect for this game, his school and his coaches are traits that are hard to find in players that are on the verge of becoming millionaires and potential NFL stars.

“It’s really going to help put UConn on the map,” Moore said.

For the full interview with Sio Moore, click the play button below. 

Patrick Woo is a junior majoring in broadcast journalism, a ComRadio Sports Director and a NFL Draft Show Producer. To contact him, email pwoo3315@gmail.com.