When Dorsey Moore graduated from Martins Ferry High School, the future was unclear. With dreams of playing at a Division 1 school, Moore was only receiving small school offers. Fueled by doubt, his Florida background, and a strong desire to never give up, Moore was able to make his dream a reality.
A multi-sport athlete at Martins Ferry, Moore always had dreams of playing at Florida State but when he finished his high school football career, that didn’t seem like too much of an option. Florida State was always in the back of Moore’s mind, though, after spending most of his life in Florida before coming to the Ohio Valley before ninth grade. Moore enjoyed a senior season playing quarterback for the Purple Riders. When the season was over, Moore was receiving offers from small Division III schools. Moore was even being looked at for his basketball talents.
“A few schools talked to me about possibly playing basketball as well as football for them but nobody approached me about playing a different sport exclusively,” Moore said.
By the time he narrowed it down, Mount Union and Marietta were the final two schools. Doing what any high school student would do, Moore weighed his options. He sent several applications out, including one to Florida State, as a back up plan. Moore was eventually accepted to FSU, and decided to put football aside and become a Seminole.
“It was pretty tough,” Moore said of the decision, “I didn’t really know anyone going to FSU at the time and anytime you make a decision that moves you a thousand miles away from your friends and family, it isn’t easy.”
Nonetheless, Moore made the transition from a student athlete in high school to just being a student at FSU. Being a football player at heart, and always having the dream of playing for his favorite team, it wasn’t long before Moore would wind up at the football facilities.
Moore, who could’ve went to a smaller school and have the chance to possibly start, decided to attempt to walk on at Florida State.
The fact that he wasn’t going to start didn’t matter to Moore. He had a passion for football.
“A big reason was to prove myself,” Moore said of his decision to walk on to the team. “When I started kicking around the idea of walking on at Florida State I had a lot of doubters and that really motivated me.”
The opportunity was one of a lifetime and Moore seized it. When he joined the team, Florida State’s starter was future first round draft pick, EJ Manuel. Sitting behind a guy who makes it to the pros as a first round pick is nothing short of a great experience. The experience was both mental and physical for Moore.
“It definitely fuels me and not just athletically. EJ is one of the hardest workers I’ve ever been around and seeing his determination and work ethic pay off fuels me to work hard in everything I do.”
Though Moore is exceeding many’s expectations by making the Florida State roster, he remembers well where he came from.
“Playing in the Valley really increased my passion for the game. The love and support that the community pours into high school football really affected me in a positive way. The huge turnout of fans is awesome, there’s not many places in America where the crowd at your high school’s football games is bigger than your town’s entire population in big games.”
Moore said that the time he spent playing in the Ohio Valley prepared him well for the next level of competition in Division I.
“The demand for perfection and expectation of greatness that the town, coaches, and teammates hold each other to really made the process of transitioning into college football easier,” Moore said, “My time in Martins Ferry taught me to be an extremely coachable player, to do whatever the team needs of you to win.”
As Moore moves forward, he’ll continue to work hard to move up in the depth chart, while always remembering the hard work he put in to get this far, as well as where he came from.
