Living his dream: Oberlin High grad Jason Moore trying to prove himself as an NFL receiver

Jason Moore has proven he's patient. After a standout football career at Oberlin High School — where he earned All-Ohio recognition after two seasons — Moore didn't get any Division I college offers. So he accepted an offer to play for the University of Findlay, a Division II program, and then preceded to set nearly every school receiving record during his three seasons with the Oilers. Blessed with prototypical size for an NFL receiver at 6-foot-3 and 213 pounds, Moore again didn't get much attention following his senior season and ended up attending pro days at the University of Toledo and Miami (Ohio). He wasn't selected during the 2019 NFL Draft but signed a free agent deal with the Los Angeles Chargers. After turning some heads during training camp, the Chargers kept Moore on their practice squad, where he trained with the team for five weeks and never losing sight of the ultimate goal. "When you reach certain heights I feel like you always have to find things to motivate you," Moore said. "Your original motivation, what has driven you from the beginning, has to evolve. My motivation when I got here, when I first signed, was to get better every day. "I had the opportunity to become a professional, so I was going to take advantage of it. I was in my playbook, studying it. Before I even landed in Cali I was studying my plays. Our assistant receiver coach sent me some things I could use to get ahead and I took advantage of that. "I let my motivation and how much I wanted to get better drive me. I let my family, trying to help them out, drive me." Finally, in the Chargers' Week 6 home game against the Steelers, Moore got the news he had been dreaming about for most of his life. He was going to play NFL football. "It was crazy how it happened," Moore said. "I was listening to the signs of the universe and listening to God, really, and watching how things unfolded. The week leading up to my first game I kind of had a feeling that I would be called up. "The week before I knew it would probably be in the next couple of weeks, but with (receivers) Trav (Benjamin) going down and Dontrelle (Inman) already being out there were a lot of things going on. I kept my mind clear and focused and my opportunity came. "I found out that Saturday that I would be playing Sunday so I only had a day to process everything. I found out Saturday after walk-through that I would be activated and I went up and signed my contract and everything. When I was officially activated it was a great feeling. "It really felt like a dream come true. You dream about moments like that growing up and really don't know how it plays out until it really happens. That's the memory you have. Unlocking memories, that's what I tell my little brother (Jaelin Moore). Everything I'm doing I've already seen it before and I'm just unlocking the memories now. "It was cool going home, calling my mom (Lavonda Moore) and her crying. That was a great experience, the tears of joy, because I had finally made a dream come true. I would be playing on Sunday night against my rival growing up, the Steelers." Not only would he be playing against the Steelers, as a member of various special teams units, he would be on the field for the opening kickoff. "Kickoff was called up and I remember going out there, the first play of the game," he said. "I was like the fullback, guiding the kick returner where he was going. It was my job to signal which way he was supposed to go. "It was kind of dope, my first play. I saw the ball coming, it goes behind me and I was just looking for some black and yellow to hit. I laid somebody out and ended up on the ground my first play. It was cool. Coach brought it up the next day in film, talking about my first play. "I was on the ground and he said, 'J-Moore, out here, going hard his first play in the NFL. He's on the ground, making something happen.' It was pretty cool to hear that from Coach. You can't make something like that up, it's just the kind of moment you live for." Moore caught a pair of passes against the Steelers as well, for 43 yards. His first NFL reception was a 32-yard strike from Phillip Rivers in the fourth quarter of the Chargers' 24-17 loss. "(Benjamin) came out, he kind of hobbled off the field, and Coach (Anthony Lynn) just pointed at me and put me in," Moore said. "I got in, Keenan (Allen) relayed it to me, and it was a play I was very familiar with from camp and everything. Phil (Rivers) called it, I was in the slot, in the middle, and I just took off. "Phil put it up there, I saw it coming and my first instinct was to just make the catch. I catch the ball, it was kind of behind me, and I get up and put my hand forward to celebrate my first catch in the league. "It was a dope experience, catching my first pass from Phil. We talked about it after the game and shared the moment. We just kind of laughed when I told him I would share this with my kids. That was one of those moments you dream about as a kid, catching your first pass from Phillip Rivers on my first play." After seeing action in 10 games last season, mostly on special teams, Moore is looking forward to showing what he can do in 2020. First, however, he must wait out the uncertainty surrounding professional sports due to the coronavirus pandemic. "I'm just doing what I would be doing if everything was intact," he said. "I'm still getting workouts in, I'm still training, working on my body, eating right ... just preparing and staying ready. I'm also keeping my mind focused on the important things and making this time count. "I'm working on myself spiritually, physically and taking the time to better myself." Moore is preparing to continue a career that began as a long shot. He's only the fourth player in NFL history to have graduated from Oberlin High School, joining Dwight Peabody (two years with the Toledo Maroons in the early 1920s), Cliff Stoudt (four years with the Steelers in the early 1980s) and Hugh Thornton (four years with the Colts and Falcons starting in 2013). "The things that drove me growing up are still there, but I have other motivations now," Moore said. "My city knows what I've been through. For them to know what I've been through, stay behind me and see me have some success has meant a lot. I know I can't let any setbacks define me. … I have to keep working to try to make my dreams come true. "I enjoy representing Oberlin a lot because, as we know, not a lot of people come out of there and get to do what I'm doing. There's a lot of O.B. pride, so I carry that with me every day in my heart. "I really do enjoy representing the city that I came from. Everyone I grew up with has touched me in a way. There is a lot of love, a lot of people I miss because I don't get to see them all the time." Moore means a lot to Oberlin, as well. Oberlin High boys basketball coach Kurt Russell, who coached the team Moore led to the regional tournament in the 2015-16 season as a forward, thinks the example his former player provides current Oberlin students is extremely valuable. "The simple fact that he decided to come back to Oberlin High School speaks volumes of his character," Russell said. "He's out in California. He could stay out there, adopt another school in California and put some energy into that. "He decides to come back every single year. Even in the summertime, we have our open gym and he comes back and helps out. That says a lot about him. He's someone that the kids really look up to. "It means a lot to them that they can see him in themselves ... someone that made it with hard work and dedication. They can buy into that." Moore said the ability to go home, to spend time in a place he's comfortable, keeps him in the right frame of mind. "I worked at the playground so a lot of the kids that are in the high school now knew me as a counselor," he said. "I really love being around them and motivating them. To be able to come back and just be myself, to be 'Jason' they knew growing up, is really cool. "I'm a brother, I'm a cousin, a son, a grandson, whatnot ... so to be able to go home and be back in those roles is inspiring. "Being out here, playing my role out here, you sometime can forget who you are at heart. To be able to go back home, see everybody and get that love from them, always brings me back to who I was and keeps me grounded." Moore is signed through the 2021 season. He is expected to compete for the Chargers' third receiver slot. "I'm always looking forward to showing the coaches why I belong, to showing them what I can do," he said. "I'm excited to be around the guys and to take the field every day and work on my craft to get better. This is my passion and any time I'm able to get out there I look forward to it. "I'm ready to take that next step and am always embracing (the challenge). I will be again this year as I step into a new role. I'll be ready to embrace it." Contact Mike Perry at 329-7135 or macsportstalk@gmail.com.