Former Kentucky defensive lineman Ellery Moore says not to blame coach Rich
Brooks if players are not eligible to play next season.
“Brooks wants guys to get their degrees,” said Moore, a free agent signee with
the Cleveland Browns. “That’s one thing I respect about him. He wanted you to
go to study hall. He wanted you at class. He wanted you to have tutors and get
the help you needed for your classes.
“Don’t use him as an excuse for not being eligible. If you are ineligible,
either you couldn’t do the work, which is possible, or you didn’t want to do
the work, which is also possible for some players. But coach Brooks wanted you
to do well academically.”
Moore said he was not an “academic guy” and he often struggled with his class
work. However, he knew if he wanted to play football at Kentucky, he had to
make the necessary grades.
“I think too many guys come to school and think they are going to be there for
four years so they will just get their grades later,” Moore said. “It doesn’t
work that way. If you think that way, then you end up ineligible and have no
one to blame but yourself.”
Moore also says it might be unfair to think Brooks’ team can make major
improvement this year based on the players it lost from last year.
“It’s going to have to be a season where some guys overachieve. A lot of
talent left two years ago. A lot of talent left last year. Some key pieces are
going to be missing for this team this year,” Moore said. “There are some big
holes to be filled and some guys are going to have to step way up to do that.
“It is not coach Brooks’ fault. But he knew what he was facing when he took
the job and he still came to Kentucky. I admire him for that, but he needs
some guys to really step up for him this year because it could be a tough season.”