Third of an 11-part series. Coming tomorrow: tight ends.
You’re 5-foot-9 and 3/8 and an All-State high school quarterback and your hometown college doesn’t want you, and the biggest one that eventually does recruits you as a cornerback and almost immediately switches you to wide receiver.
And somehow, someway, you are less than two weeks away from likely hearing your name called on Day 2 of the NFL draft in the second round.
From Shady Side Academy in Pittsburgh to Western Michigan, the skyy was never the limit — as long as you spelled Skyy Moore with two ys.
“I would never ever bet against him,” Western Michigan assistant coach Eric Evans told The Post. “He has elite intangibles. The things that make Michael Jordan great in terms of being a competitor, the Tom Bradys of the world being great because of his competitiveness and his work ethic, Skyy has it. And I think that it factor will help him have just an incredible NFL career.
“He’s one of those guys that when he stepped on the field, 10 other guys got better. When Michael steps on the basketball court, doesn’t matter who he’s playing with, those four other guys are automatically better because Michael Jordan’s playing.
Skyy Moore USA TODAY Sports“Skyy’s the same way.”
“A lot of different NFL teams have been reaching out to me and kinda asking me, ‘What is his superpower?’ is one question that I get from these guys a lot,” Chuck DiNardo, who coached Moore at Shady Side Academy, told The Post from Pittsburgh. “He’s certainly a guy that’s very explosive, very talented and does things with the ball that are amazing. I’ve been watching him do that since he was 14 years old.
“I think really his secret sauce, or his superpower, however you want to put it, is that you’re gonna get a kid that’s gonna come in and work every day like he’s underrated and has a chip on his shoulder and he went to a small school in Western Michigan and he went to a small school in Shady Side here, and do everything he has, he’s worked for.”
Moore played both ways but was rarely tested at cornerback, but DiNardo quickly recognized that the best way to win games was to make sure that his quarterback had the ball in his hands as often as possible, especially as a senior.
“He took the ball and went for an 88-yard scramble on the very first offensive play of the season,” DiNardo said.
But it wasn’t so much his legs or his football IQ or his live arm as much as it was those intangibles that lifted the entire program.
“One of those guys that everybody looks to and gets confidence just looking at him,” DiNardo said. “He’s a natural leader, he’s a natural competitor. He’s one of those guys that’s an energy-giver. You’re around him, you want to put your best in. As a coach, I wanted to make sure I was at my best when we went to the practice field so that we could match his best.”
When Western Michigan WR Jayden Reed transferred to Michigan State, Moore welcomed the chance for playing time at a new position.
“And so because Skyy had experience on offense, we just said, ‘Hey, let’s take a look at him for the first couple of days at wide receiver,’ and I think one of the coolest things was just immediately in practice, one, you knew he was a natural talented receiver, like he was gonna be a good one,” Evans said. “To see him compete immediately and succeed immediately was something special right off the get-go.”
Moore is widely viewed as a 195-pound slot receiver in the NFL.
“He may not be the tallest guy, but he’s definitely a strong, sturdy, put-together receiver,” Evans said. “He has great quickness, and his ball skills are elite. He has a phenomenal catch radius and wherever you put the ball, he’s going to be in a position to catch it. A lot of people will probably compare him to like the Wes Welker types of the world. I think he’s a guy that can play in any spot because he’s smart enough and he’s had success in all those spots.”
He’s a guy who scored a rushing TD against Ohio University from the Wildcat.
Skyy Moore Getty Images“Explosive vertical receiver,” said Tony Pauline, NFL draft analyst at Pro Football Network. “Plays much faster than his 40 time. A guy who will turn it on in a step, and he’s gone and he runs past opponents. Not just a fast guy but he will get downfield, track the pass in the air and catch the ball with his hands in stride. Very smooth. Plays big football but the problem is he’s small. And he doesn’t have a huge route tree ’cause they ran a lot of downfield stuff with him.”
Moore ran a 4.41 40 at the NFL Scouting Combine. Added a 34.5 vertical. Has 10 ¹/₄-inch hands.
“I think he’s the most underrated player in this draft at any position,” ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. said last month.
Moore has drawn comparisons to Golden Tate, Christian Kirk and a player he emulated in high school … Antonio Brown.
“I saw some Antonio Brown traits from him when I studied him, minus some of the newer Antonio Brown info,” NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah said last month.
A highly motivated Moore (11 catches, 124 yards, 1 TD) put on a show when the visiting Broncos shocked Pitt 44-41 in September.
“Skyy really chewed them apart,” DiNardo said.
Keep an eye on the Skyy.








