Christian Moore taking strong passing arm to Central Washington

Take one look at Bellarmine Prep senior Christian Moore these days, and it’s easy to envision him enjoying the finer things of California.

Moore’s hair is long and wavy. He loves to surf, a hobby he surely picked up spending many summers in Orange County where his father - former Washington State University tight end Eric Moore - lives.

But don’t let the cool-kid stuff completely fool you. Christian Moore also loves other outdoor activities - hiking, camping and fly-fishing.

And he will have plenty of time for that around Ellensburg as Central Washington University’s newest quarterback addition, part of the Wildcats’ recruiting class for 2017.

“I am very faith-driven, and knows God has a plan,” Moore said. “Wherever he wants me, that is where I will be.”

If you don’t know Moore, the football player, he was the one throwing missiles all over the field the past two seasons for coach Brian Jensen at Bellarmine Prep.

Many thought because of his size (6-foot-5, 225 pounds), his underrated athleticism and strong arm, Moore would be a likely addition to an NCAA Division I program’s roster.

But he admits now the reason that did not happen was on him, not any recruiter.

“I did not put in the tine to be really, really good at my craft until last summer,” Moore said.

The two flaws that kept him off the recruiting radars were pace of play, and his throwing mechanics.

“The No. 1 thing colleges said was that I played too slow,” Moore said. “And the other thing was that my throwing release was low-ish.

“Nobody likes 6-5 quarterbacks throwing sidearm.”

But Moore has made enough progress with a revamped throwing motion working with former Bethel High School and University of Washington quarterback Johnny DuRocher that Central offered him a scholarship in December.

“Obviously it is one of the things that we will continue to work on with him,” Wildcats coach Ian Shoemaker said. “We are excited about his size and his athleticism. He plays basketball, and he is a leader. He also plays for a great coach who speaks very highly about him.”

Justin Lane, Central’s starting quarterback last season, was a senior. But his backup, Jonathan Hillel, did see action, and returns next season as a redshirt sophomore out of Mount Si. Third-stringer Andrew Graham is also back.

And Shoemaker landed a pair of Div I transfers in Tommy Hays (Austin Peay) and Reilly Hennessey after the season. Both shouild be in the mix for the starting job in 2017.

Since Shoemaker views Moore as a “developmental” player, and likely redshirt candidate, the Bellarmine Prep standout comes into the mix as the No. 5 quarterback right now.

“We will have a great (quarterbacks’) room,” Shoemaker said. “There will be five guys sitting in there with some really high-end talent.”

EASTERN WASHINGTON SIGNS 19

New Eastern Washington coach Aaron Best knows Beau Baldwin’s departure for Cal in mid-January could have done serious damage to the Eagles’ recruiting three weeks before signing day.

“We were the salty six (remaining assistant coaches), and we kind of developed a game plan,” Best said. “We did not know if it was the best plan, but we executed it flawlessly. And thanks goes to the student-athletes themselves.”

Overall, Best said he likes the “length” of this class, particularly in the back seven on defense.

As far as positional need, the Eagles graduated all three starting receivers, including All-American Cooper Kupp.

Best said the three wide receivers of this class - Emerald Ridge’s Andrew Boston, Bishop Alemany’s Johnny Edwards IV and Steilacoom’s Marques Hampton Jr. - are “dynamic” additions to the passing game.

This story was originally published February 1, 2017 at 10:03 PM with the headline "Christian Moore taking strong passing arm to Central Washington."