Chiefs interview: WR Alonzo Moore on minicamp and his X-Games hopes
By Matt Conner
Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Alonzo Moore hopes to make it big after wrapping his career at Nebraska.
Alonzo Moore’s numbers won’t bowl you over. Even as a primary wide receiver for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, the reality is that the team’s run-first offense took away much of Moore’s ability to blow scouts away with inflated numbers. Fortunately, after the 2017 draft, the Chiefs came calling and gave him the same chance as any other prospect.
So far, Moore has turned heads and hopes to remain in place for training camp and beyond. Yet if he can’t make his pro football dreams come true, he also has his X-Games hopes from his childhood to reach for. Here’s our interview with one of the Chiefs hopefuls at wide receiver.
Now that minicamp is over, you have any big plans for your time off?
IThere’s a lot to work on coming in to traning camp, so it’s good that you get a good amount of time to go back and work what you need to do to get better. It’s work. This is my job. I’ll do whatever I’ve gotta do to keep my job. You can’t just work twice a week and still expect to have your job or maintain your job. You gotta put in the work. [Laughs]
I get what you’re saying but the pre-draft season and everything seems to drag for so long that you’ve been just working out non-stop for months.
I’m going to take a couple days off. For the rookies and all, we’ve been training ever since we finished our college career, ever since January. We’ve had no time off really, because we’re just training and training. This is about to be our first little break where we actually get to rest our bodies from training since January. So I’ll take a couple days off, but it’s not going to be where I’m just kicking back and not doing anything.
Given that you haven’t stopped, have you had the chance to chat with old teammates or reflect back on the college career now that it’s over?
Man I’m sitting here right now, no lie, literally watching the spring game of Nebraska that just passed. [Laughs] I’m literally watching it right now. I don’t think about it too much because it’s in the past and I don’t live in the past. I live in the present and just go from there. But I do miss playing with my teammates and being around those coaches. Coach [Mike] Riley gave me a call the day. My receivers coach. Coach [Keith] Williams, gave me a call the other day. I miss it but there’s no turning back.
When you look back, what are you most proud of?
I would say having my son and then getting my degree are the two things I am most proud of. As far as on the field, I would say the proudest moment is when I caught a slant and took it for a six. It was 63 yards and I remember hugging a random fan. That Monday I got in the training room and a guy came up and said, “Hey man, thanks for hugging my dad.” I didn’t even know that. It was a proud moment because he was just so exciting. He was smiling from ear to ear and said that meant a lot to them. I didn’t know that was his dad. I just told him that I saw the guy reach out, so I hugged him.
Had you talked to the Chiefs quite a bit in the pre-draft process?
Well, I’d talked to them on pro day and then that was all.
Were you surprised to hear from them?
It was one of those things where I knew I was going to get a phone call, but I didn’t know where. At first I didn’t recognize the number and then they said it was the Kansas City Chiefs, I was like, “Man, that’s right down the road.” I’ve got a son, so I thought it worked out perfectly. I’m three hours away down the road, so I can go see my son without catching a fligth or anything. I can drive! I was like, “Hell, yeah. Let’s go!”
How was the draft for you? Was that a hard process to watch that play out?
I wasn’t nervous or anything. I stuck to my normal plan. I was with my son and we were just watching cartoons. We never even watched the draft. The only thing I knew is that if I get a call, I get a call. I wasn’t going to change my routine. If it happens, it happens. It’s all in God’s plan, you know?
How is it to be through your first minicamp?
I’ve got a lot of work to do. I’ve got a lot to learn. It is an amazing feeling and it’s a blessing to be a part of something like this. It’s a blessing to be an NFL player, period. Not a lot of guys can say that. Every day I thank God for the opportunity.
For fans who haven’t been able to watch you play much at Nebraska, what are some of the Chiefs you’re bringing to the game?
One thing is that I can stretch the field. All receivers can catch, but that’s one thing I can do. My route running is pretty good. I learned a lot from my position coach in Nebraska, which he helped me tremendously. He helped me learn the game and the position.
Do you feel you’ve progressed as a player even in the last few weeks?
I think I’ve progressed a lot. Learning this stuff helps it all to slow down. Earlier I knew what to do on the play, but before was how the play was drawn. Now I feel more comfortale and I can put a little extra on there.
How are you feeling about the competition at WR?
Man, I feel real good. We all come back there and compete. It’s a great room. Those guys compete. They all push each other. Man, I love that.
What are some of your interests off the field?
If it’s not concerning football, if I’m done studying and all of that, then I’m usually at the house just relaxing. If I’m not with my son then I just like to relax and watch TV and learn stuff off of that. I love Discovery Channel and National Geographic and stuff like that. Other than that, through my college days, in my free time, I used to be on four wheelers and dirtbikes. I grew up loving that. I’d say, ‘When I grow up, I want to be in the Motocross or the X-Games.’