Ryan Moats
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Ryan Moats (born December 17, 1982) is a former American football running back. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the third round of the
2005 NFL Draft The 2005 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The NFL draft, draft was held April 23–24, 2005 NFL seaso ...
. He played
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 ...
at Louisiana Tech. Moats has also been a member of the
Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...
,
Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...
and Minnesota Vikings. Since the completion of his
NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...
career, Moats has transferred his skills to rugby union and plays for
Griffins Rugby Dallas Griffins Rugby, formerly Frisco Griffins, is a rugby union team based in Allen, Texas, United States, founded in 2008 by Phil Camm and Jeff Walton. Dallas competed in USA Rugby's first tier amateur competition, Red River Conference D1, and ...
of
Allen Allen, Allen's or Allens may refer to: Buildings * Allen Arena, an indoor arena at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee * Allen Center, a skyscraper complex in downtown Houston, Texas * Allen Fieldhouse, an indoor sports arena on the Univer ...
, Texas.


Early years

Moats attended Bishop Lynch High School in Dallas. While there he was a two sport athlete in both
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 ...
and track and field. He ran a 10.9 in the 100 meter dash for track. In football, he won All-State ( private school) honors, the Dominic Norman Award, given to a player who demonstrates excellent leadership, and the Dave Campbell Texas Player of the Year. He rushed for a school record 4,782 yards, and 56 touchdowns. Moats was also named Offensive MVP of the DFW All-Star game, following his senior season at Bishop Lynch. In addition to being named the Offensive MVP of the DFW All-Star game, Moats was voted MVP of the 2006 Main Mein's squad and was widely regarded as the steal of the draft.


College career

Moats then played
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 ...
at Louisiana Tech University, playing 32 games over three seasons. He was named Western Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year in 2004.


Professional career


Philadelphia Eagles

Moats was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the third round (77th overall) of the
2005 NFL Draft The 2005 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The NFL draft, draft was held April 23–24, 2005 NFL seaso ...
. Following injury to starter
Brian Westbrook Brian Collins Westbrook (born September 2, 1979) is a former American football running back who played for nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the third round of the 2002 NFL Draft af ...
, Moats was given the opportunity play in the latter half of the 2005 season. On December 11 he scored a 40-yard touchdown on his first carry of the game, his first NFL touchdown, and finished with 114 yards on 11 carries in a 26-23 loss to the
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
. Moats saw limited playing time during the 2006 season and missed the entire 2007 season after breaking his ankle during the Eagles' first preseason game. On August 29, 2008, Moats was waived by the Eagles during final cuts.


Arizona Cardinals

Moats was signed to the
practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...
of the
Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...
on September 16, 2008. He was released on October 1.


Houston Texans

Moats was signed to the practice squad of the
Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...
on October 8, 2008 when the team released practice squad Running back
D. D. Terry D. D. Terry (born February 16, 1984) is a former American football running back. He was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He played college football at Sam Houston. Terry was also a member of the Houston ...
. Moats was promoted to the active roster on October 25 after the team waived running back Darius Walker. Moats got his first carry of the 2008 season in Week 8 against the Minnesota Vikings. Moats was promoted to second on the depth chart because of an injury to Ahman Green. In week 8 of the 2009 season Moats scored three touchdowns after replacing starting running back Steve Slaton. Moats ended with 126 yards on 23 carries. He was named starting running back for the week's following game at Indianapolis. He was waived on June 10, 2010.


Minnesota Vikings

Moats was claimed off waivers by the Minnesota Vikings on June 15, 2010. He was waived on August 24.


Griffins Rugby Club

In the summer of 2013, Moats joined th
Griffins Rugby Club
in Allen, TX to become one of the first NFL athletes to play the sport. The Griffins, formerly the Frisco Griffins, are a semi-pro team with strong affiliations with English Premiership Rugby.


March 2009 police stop

In early March 2009, Moats's
mother-in-law A parent-in-law is a person who has a legal affinity with another by being the parent of the other's spouse. Many cultures and legal systems impose duties and responsibilities on persons connected by this relationship. A person is a child-in-la ...
, Jonetta Collinsworth, died from breast cancer. When they were informed that Collinsworth was close to death, Moats, his wife Tamishia (Collinsworth's daughter) and other family members rushed to Baylor Regional Medical Center in Plano, Texas. After driving through a red light, Moats was stopped by
Dallas Police Department The Dallas Police Department, established in 1881, is the principal law enforcement agency serving the city of Dallas, Texas. Organization The department is headed by a chief of police who is appointed by the city manager who, in turn, is hir ...
officer Robert Powell, who delayed him for 13 minutes outside the hospital's emergency room, even after Moats's explanation was corroborated by a hospital nurse. By the time Moats reached Collinsworth, she had died. When asked if he felt that Powell should be fired, Moats said, "I really don't know. All I know is what he did was wrong. I mean, he stole a moment away from me that I can never get back. I'm really not the judge on what should happen to him. I think maybe his superiors and the Dallas police should handle what should happen to him." The police chief and Powell issued an apology to the Moats' family and the traffic charge was later dismissed. Police officials investigated Powell's actions; he was placed on administrative leave but later resigned from the department.


References


External links


Houston Texans bio

Arizona Cardinals bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moats, Ryan 1982 births Living people Players of American football from Dallas American football running backs Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football players Philadelphia Eagles players Arizona Cardinals players Houston Texans players Minnesota Vikings players