Moore endures wait, goes to Niners
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BY STEVEN M. SIPPLE / Lincoln Journal Star
Jay Moore was locked into an uncomfortable nowhere land. He had hoped to be selected Saturday during the first three rounds of the NFL Draft. That was the plan anyway. Then day lapsed into night, and nothing. Nobody called. The silence was awkward, disconcerting. Party postponed.
He didn’t have to wait long Sunday for a jolt of positive energy.
With the fifth pick of the fourth round — the 104th selection overall — San Francisco chose Moore, the 6-foot-5, 280-pound former Nebraska defensive end from Elkhorn. He said he should fit well in the 49ers’ 3-4 defensive scheme, probably as an outside linebacker and pass-rush specialist in obvious passing situations.
“I was really uptight Saturday night, to be honest,” Moore said from Elkhorn. “I sat in the hot tub for 45 minutes to try to relax, just because I was so nervous. I was really kind of disappointed that I wasn’t picked as high as I wanted.
“But, you know, now the Niners have me, and it’s exciting.“
Moore said he was somewhat shocked to get the big call Sunday morning from first-year San Francisco defensive coordinator Greg Manusky, who spent the past five seasons as linebacker coach for the San Diego Chargers (who also use a 3-4 scheme).
On the other hand, Moore noted that the 49ers had a lot of coaches and officials on hand at the Senior Bowl in January in Mobile, Ala. In fact, Moore burned Central Michigan tackle Joe Staley — one of the Niners’ two first-round choices Saturday — for at least one of his three sacks in the annual all-star game.
“It was a good battle with Staley the whole time,” Moore said.
Moore now will battle for playing time at outside linebacker with, among others, 6-5, 240-pound Manny Lawson, a 2006 first-round choice from North Carolina State who made 57 tackles last season. The 49ers also drafted a linebacker in the first round this year, taking inside backer Patrick Willis of Mississippi, the 2006 Butkus Award winner.
A starter at Nebraska for two-plus seasons at the “open” end position, Moore last season led the team with 17 tackles for loss and ranked second in sacks with six behind Adam Carriker’s seven.
Carriker, Nebraska’s standout “base” end, was selected in the first round Saturday, as expected. ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. had pegged Moore as a third-round choice.
“This whole time, I really didn’t know what to expect in the draft,” Moore said. “I didn’t go on any pre-draft visits (to NFL cities), so I didn’t know who was going to take me. But this makes me happy. The 49ers have a great franchise, a great history.
“The thing is, they have a good, young quarterback (in Alex Smith). They started getting better last year. It’s going to be fun.“
San Francisco struggled mightily on defense last season, especially early on. The 49ers fired defensive coordinator Billy Davis in January after yielding an NFL-worst 412 points. They ranked No. 26 in total defense, allowing 344.2 yards per game, and also No. 26 in pass defense while finishing with a 7-9 record, good for third place in the NFC West.
Moore will attend a mini-camp sometime next month. He said he plans to shed about 10 pounds to be ready to play outside linebacker. The biggest adjustment may be dropping into pass coverage more often than he did at Nebraska.
“It’s exciting to finally have a team to represent,” Moore said. “I’m just going to do the best I can. Right now, everything’s just going a million miles an hour for me. I’m trying to look at everything and keep it in perspective, and just get ready for it all.“
Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.
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