A quarterback fraternity, betting on himself and developing maturity: David Moore's journey to Central Michigan

He has spent time either working out with or getting to know Deshaun Watson, Kyler Murray, Dwayne Haskins, Joshua Dobbs, Tua Tagovailoa, Jalen Hurts, Justin Fields, Jarrett Stidham, Jacob Eason, Jarren Williams, Emory Jones, Dru Brown, Jordan Yates and Jawon Pass, among others.

Moore has also competed against Feleipe Franks, Malik Henry, Jarrett Guarantano and more big-name stars at camps.

Related Stories

He once was the focus of a position battle at Denton Guyer High School with U.S. Army All-American Bowl participant and four-star dual-threat quarterback Shawn Robinson.

Of course, there are more, but that's just an insight into the world Moore comes from. He befriended all of those players along the way.

"They’re all on this group chat where they all give each other props and encourage each other," said Michael Moore, David's father. "He’s grown up around some really good football. I think all of this is a fruit that’s coming fruition now.”

Shortly after Tagovailoa and Hurts won the national championship for Alabama in the 2017 season, Moore threw the ball around with Hurts. Stidham, a two-year starter at Auburn, has counseled David on multiple occasions. Dobbs made it a point to take Moore under his wing, and the two still keep in touch on a regular basis.

Moore’s quarterback coach in Texas from middle school to early high school was Murray's father, Kevin.

Watson is the starter for the Houston Texans. Murray starts for the Arizona Cardinals. Haskins plays for the Washington Redskins. Dobbs is with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Stidham is the backup for the New England Patriots. Tagovailoa (Alabama), Hurts (Oklahoma), Fields (Ohio State), Eason (Washington), Williams (Miami) and Pass (Louisville) are all starters in college. Jones plays for Florida, while Brown and Yates are at Oklahoma State and Georgia Tech, respectively.

David is also a starting quarterback, but it's not at the NFL or Power Five level. He's at Central Michigan, a place he never expected to be coming out of Milton High School in Georgia.

"I got two years (left)," David said. "This is my last shot at it."

'As good as the best of the best'

The journey to Central Michigan has been far from simple.

David got his first taste of reputable football at Prosper High School in Texas after his mother, Kimberly, moved from the Atlanta area to the suburbs of Dallas for work.

For the first home game of the season, his father Michael made the trip from Georgia. He said there were nearly 10,000 fans in the stadium.

David played JV as a freshman, and he eventually made his way up to the varsity level as a sophomore in 2013. He completed 8-of-9 passes for 198 yards and two touchdowns in limited action.

"That was really the first time he was thrown to the wolves, and he did great," Michael said. "He came in, moved the team and threw some nice passes. The platform wasn’t too big for him."

Transferring to Guyer High School in Denton, Texas, Moore lost the starting job to Robinson, a top-ranked athlete who started seven games in 2018 as TCU's quarterback before transferring to Missouri. He was honest in his evaluation of the competition.

"What's the talent like there?" Michael asked his son.

"I did well, but there's this other guy here," David responded, referring to Robinson. "He's really good."

Four games into the 2014 season, Kimberly moved back to Georgia. David settled in at Milton High School, but he was unable to play that year.

That's when he focused intently on working with Quincy Avery, a quarterback guru that trains high school and college signal callers.

David always had a natural passion for football. He wanted to learn from a young age, which is why Avery began working with him as a sophomore in high school.

The desire for greatness was proven at every camp David attended. He would find the best quarterback, grow close to him and gauge how he compared. Even when he was invited as an eighth-grader to Football University's Top Gun Showcase, age didn't matter. David was there to compete.

"I remember he went up for a rep and some other older guy tried to jump in front of him, but he held his ground," Michael said. "That gave me a sense of his confidence."

Avery had been spending a lot of time in 2014 training Watson and Dobbs. Working with David was frustrating and difficult, the quarterback coach said.

The physical talent to play in the NFL was there, and it was obvious. The mental maturity, however, was lacking.

"He was as good as anybody I’ve ever seen," Avery said. "He was one of the most talented players I have ever worked with. I think he can extend his career past CMU. He can play.”

Avery's struggle with David as his trainer led to a "tough conversation" between the adviser and his 16-year-old prodigy. It was something David might've struggled to digest at the time.

"I think you’re as good as the best of the best, the best in the world and the people you look up to, but I don’t think you’re where you need to be," Avery remembers telling David.

Back when that conversation occurred, Avery said David probably thought he was as talented as Watson or some of his other mentors.

David wasn't mature enough to get the point. But now, after years of hardship, the Central Michigan quarterback finally understands.

"I think he’s mature now," Michael said. "In some ways, he’s a man and has matured through his years in college. He brings a lot of perspective and confidence that comes out in his game.”

In 2015, after years of waiting behind others, David had the chance to start at Milton High School. He already obtained plenty of college offers, stars from recruiting websites and awards from camps, but it was his first opportunity to command a team of his own.

The 6-foot-2, 180-pound quarterback threw 26 passing touchdowns and accounted for 13 rushing scores as a senior.

Rated as the nation's No. 24 overall dual-threat quarterback, he packed his bags and left for Memphis, following former Arizona State coach Mike Norvell.

"He was heading to Arizona State, or he was feeling good, because he liked Mike Norvell," Michael said of his son. "When Norvell went to Memphis, he pulled him along with him.

"Ultimately, that didn’t work out."

'It was extremely frustrating'

In five games as a true freshman at Memphis, David completed 7-for-10 passes for 63 yards and one touchdown, adding 47 rushing yards.

Once senior Riley Ferguson departed from Memphis due to the end of his eligibility, the quarterback position was wide open.

It was between David and Brady White, a graduate transfer with two years of eligibility that Norvell recruited as an assistant at Arizona State. The fit was perfect for White, but it pushed David out the door.

"People in the press, based on their viewing of the team, were telling him he was great and the No. 1 quarterback," Michael said. "The coaches were telling him that; his teammates said he was doing well. So, you know, it was frustrating."

David lost the job. 

“There was some political stuff that got in the mix, and it was uncomfortable,” Michael said.

What followed was an impulse decision.

David transferred to Garden City Community College, a JUCO program in Kansas.

He showed up in Week 2 and led the team to an undefeated regular season and an appearance in the NJCAA football championship.

Even though the Broncbusters didn't throw the ball as much as David would've liked, he made the important throws when called upon by his coaching staff.

After the season, before David's departure to CMU, former Garden City coach Jeff Sims made that clear.

"There’s no way we go undefeated and get to the national championship without you," Sims said. "You won four of five games on your own for us."

Sims compared David to Kentucky quarterback Terry Wilson, who was at Garden City the year prior.

"I love Terry, but David did more things to win football games than Terry did," Sims said. "If we were having a combine, Terry would probably beat David in the combine. In a game, David made decisions that won the football game, where sometimes Terry made decisions that put us in tough situations."

For example, there were moments when David would run for a first down rather than try to sneak a pass into a tight window for a big gain. He always did his best to protect the football. Wilson wasn't like that.

Wilson relied on his athletic abilities, Sims said, whereas David conformed to what the Garden City coaching staff wanted him to do. He bought into winning football games, not making himself a star.

"If David Moore does what Central Michigan’s coach wants him to do, they’re going to win football games," Sims said. "To be honest, it's hard to find (that). He knows how to win."

The process David went through also goes back to his ability to bet on himself. He didn't get a single offer until near the end of the JUCO season and oftentimes coaches would plan to see him throw and never show up.

But he went through that process, bet on himself successfully and ended up with offers to Central Michigan, Texas State, Albany, Northern Iowa, Southern Illinois, Eastern Michigan and East Tennessee State.

Of course, he picked the Chippewas.

'They’ll fall in love with him as a player and person'

David got his first start as a Chippewa against Akron Sept. 14 after an injury to starter Quinten Dormady, a rare double graduate transfer from Houston and Tennessee.

A piece of advice Michael has shared with his son since he was a child holds an in-depth meaning: "Luck is when preparation meets opportunity."

David made the most of his opportunity, throwing for 316 yards and two touchdowns. He's always had the physical abilities to do so, but he's now added the element of maturity.

“We’ve got total confidence in David,” said first-year CMU coach Jim McElwain. “Nothing changes in the game plan. He can execute everything that we want from him.”

The new starter's entire family was at the game, and they went out to dinner at Texas Roadhouse following the 45-24 victory. It was there his maturity shined brighter than ever.

A family of five sat at a table near David's crew. A young boy, approximately 10 years old, was also at the game. He continuously looked at David throughout the evening meal. On the way out, the boy walked over to David's table and expressed how happy he was to see such a performance.

David put down his fork, turned 45 degrees and took time to engage in a conversation with the fan, who had recently broken his foot in a dirt bike accident.

"You've got to get back on that bike," David told him. "You can't let that beat you. Don't be afraid. If you want to be a motocross rider, you just have to believe in yourself and your dreams."

The 10-year-old was in awe, David's father said.

"As his dad, that kind of thing speaks to who he is growing into as a man beyond what’s on the football field," Michael said. "I think there are elements to that which speak to the maturity in a number of contexts.”

David's maturity was also proven to Sims at the JUCO level when he was willing to conform to the team, leaving personal accolades behind. He showcased his newfound maturity to Avery, as well, following fall camp at Central Michigan.

"When he didn’t win the starting job, he didn’t pout," Avery said. "It wasn’t until then that I realized he was mature enough. I knew when he got the job, he’d be successful.

"He just had to mature and stop looking at outside variables that he couldn’t control."

By not showing negative emotions when being named the backup, Avery said David was able to gain the trust of his teammates as more than a football player, rather, a true leader.

That evaluation from David's longtime quarterback trainer was spot on. Through the adversity and maturity, David has truly earned the trust of his team on both sides of the ball.

Just ask senior starting linebacker Michael Oliver.

"We all knew David could play," Oliver said. "It didn't surprise us. It was his opportunity, and he took advantage of it."

'Right time, right situation'

Now that David is the starting quarterback for the Chippewas, lofty expectations are sure to follow.

The junior can run, throw and fully command the offensive led by coordinator Charlie Frye. However, being able to do something and actually executing on it are two different entities.

Sims, now the head coach at Missouri Southern State, said it'll come down to David buying into the plan set in place by first-year coach Jim McElwain. After all, McElwain was one of the main reasons why David picked CMU.

"With his background and pedigree with quarterbacks, I feel like this is a great opportunity," Moore said of McElwain. "I probably would've went somewhere else. Coach Mac is a big deal, for sure."

Missing out on an opportunity to start at Memphis, taking the JUCO route and being the No. 2 quarterback out of fall camp are all angles of the game that have shaped David as a quarterback, teammate and person.

As someone that has known David since he was in high school, Avery said those tough moments will pay off this season.

“You’ve got someone who is selfless," Avery said. "He’s going to do whatever it takes, whatever he can to win. He’s as physically gifted as anyone you’ll see."

His father, the man who took David to his first football practice at 6 years old, is proud of his son's accomplishments regardless of the outcome.

But Michael believes David is now fully equipped for the challenge to cement himself as the quarterback of the future for the Chippewas.

"It’s been a long journey, and it feels like he’s where he was always meant to be," Michael said. "It’s the right time, right situation."