Derek Robert Moye (born August 12, 1988) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

wide receiver. After playing

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

, he was signed by the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2012.

Early years

Moye attended Rochester Area High School in

Rochester, Pennsylvania Rochester is a borough in central Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located northwest of Pittsburgh, it is part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. The population was 3,480 at the 2020 census. Like many places around Pittsburgh, ...

, where he was a four-sport standout. In

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

, he gained over 3100 rushing and receiving yards combined in his junior and senior seasons and scored 53 touchdowns. He was recruited to

by Tom Bradley and committed in January 2007. He also earned first-team All-section honors in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

. In

track & field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

, Moye was one of the state's top sprinters. He recorded a career-best time of 11.04 seconds in the

100-meter dash The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contest ...

at the 2006 Pennsylvania T&F State Championships, where he took 7th in the finals. He won the

200-meter dash The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

(22.04 s) and

400-meter dash The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is on ...

(48.04 s) Class AA state titles at the 2007 Pennsylvania T&F State Championships.

College career

Moye entered the 2009 season starting at wide receiver. Since he

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

his freshman season, Moye was an academic Junior with Sophomore eligibility. He finished his sophomore eligibility year with 48 receptions for 785 yards. Moye finished his junior year with 53 catches for 885 yards with a 16.7 yards per catch average and 8 touchdowns. For his senior year, he was elected captain and had 40 receptions for 654 yards with 3 touchdowns. In his career, he had 144 receptions for 2,395 yards and 18 touchdowns. He is the third all-time leading receiver at Penn State.

Professional career

2012 NFL Draft

After going undrafted in the

2012 NFL Draft The 2012 NFL draft was the 77th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players for their rosters. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held ...

, Moye signed a free agent deal with the

. He was waived on June 12, 2012, and the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

claimed him off waivers on June 13. On November 7, 2012, the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

added him to the practice squad. On December 5, 2012, the Steelers released Moye, however, they re-signed him to the practice squad on December 12, 2012. The Steelers brought Moye back for the 2013 preseason and he performed well, leading the team with 10 catches and 149 yards. In the 4th and final pre-season game, an errant pass intended for Moye was intercepted by

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

defensive back Josh Norman at Carolina's 8-yard line; Moye ran the length of the field and made a spectacular tackle. Some felt this effort and determination in the final preseason game helped him secure the fifth and final WR spot on the 53 man roster. Moye caught the first touchdown of his professional career in Week 2 of the 2013 season, during Pittsburgh's 20-10 loss to the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

Monday Night Football ''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, AB ...

. He was signed to the Tennessee Titans practice squad on October 22, 2014.

References

External links

*
New Orleans Saints bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moye, Derek 1988 births Living people People from Rochester, Pennsylvania Players of American football from Beaver County, Pennsylvania American football wide receivers Penn State Nittany Lions football players Miami Dolphins players New Orleans Saints players Pittsburgh Steelers players