“Wait, what?” Saints players surprised to learn their coach was once a Heisman finalist
When a photo surfaced in the Saints’ locker room this week, it stopped just about everyone in their tracks. Four college football stars, suited up and smiling in a theater in New York City.
One of them? A young Kellen Moore - shaggy hair, baby face, and apparently, a Heisman Trophy finalist.
The reactions from his players were instant and priceless.
“Coach was a Heisman finalist?” wide receiver Mason Tipton asked, eyebrows raised.
“I didn’t even realize he was young enough to have played at the same time as Cam Newton,” added cornerback Isaac Yiadom, still trying to process it.
To be fair, many of these guys were still in grade school when Moore was lighting it up at Boise State. But back in 2010, Moore was the real deal - a quarterback who didn’t just win games, he orchestrated them like a maestro.
That season, he threw for 3,845 yards and 35 touchdowns, leading Boise State to a 12-1 record and earning a trip to New York as one of four Heisman finalists. The others?
Cam Newton, Andrew Luck, and LaMichael James.
Newton took home the trophy that year, but Moore held his own. And while he didn’t win, he still remembers that weekend fondly.
“It was a cool experience,” Moore said. “It was the first time a guy from Boise State had ever been to anything like that, so it was cool to represent the school and be a part of that moment. It was fun.”
Moore came back even stronger the next season. In 2011, he passed for 3,800 yards and 43 touchdowns - another 12-1 campaign for the Broncos.
He finished eighth in the Heisman voting that year, just behind a familiar name to Saints fans: Tyrann Mathieu. Baylor’s Robert Griffin III ended up winning it.
Now, another class of finalists is preparing to take the stage in New York this weekend. Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza is widely expected to take home the hardware, but he’ll be joined by Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia, Ohio State’s Julian Sayin, and Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love.
Saints defensive end Chase Young knows exactly what they’re about to experience. Six years ago, he was right there with them - a defensive force at Ohio State with 16.5 sacks to his name, sitting among the best players in the country.
“It was crazy and a helluva environment with a lot going on,” Young said. “It was surreal.
I wouldn’t say growing up I dreamed about going to the Heisman because that wasn’t something I ever thought about. It was one of those things that just happened.
I was just blessed to be there.”
Young finished fourth in the 2019 voting, behind LSU’s Joe Burrow, Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts, and his own Buckeye teammate Justin Fields. He was chasing history - trying to become the first defensive player to win the Heisman since Charles Woodson in 1997. And Woodson, who was in attendance that night, had a message for him.
“You know if you didn’t get suspended you would have won this thing,” Woodson told him.
Young had missed two games that season due to a suspension related to an unauthorized loan from a family friend. It still stings.
“I could have had six more sacks with those two games,” Young said. “I was unblockable that year.”
Even so, it’s hard to say anyone was catching Burrow that season - the LSU quarterback put up video game numbers en route to a national title. But had Young pulled off the upset, he would’ve joined a pretty elite group of Saints players who’ve lifted the Heisman Trophy: Earl Campbell, George Rogers, Danny Wuerffel, Ricky Williams, Reggie Bush, Mark Ingram, and Jameis Winston.
Of course, winning the Heisman doesn’t guarantee a successful NFL career - the league has seen plenty of college legends struggle at the next level. But just being invited to New York? That’s a legacy moment.
“I tell people this all the time,” Young said. “It doesn’t matter if you spend three years in the league, two years in the league or one year in the league. The fact that we made it to the Heisman ceremony, you’re a legend.”
It’s a sentiment his head coach would likely echo - even if half the locker room had no idea he was once in that same spotlight. Turns out, Kellen Moore wasn’t always just the guy calling plays. For a moment in time, he was the play.