Cal Football: Damien Moore Refuses to be Defined by One Painful Play

Running back had a shoulder injury when his goal-line fumble let UW win in overtime.

Cal running back Damien Moore was handed the football exactly 100 times last season, but one of those carries probably stands out more than the rest with fans.

It certainly does with Moore.

“I look at the plays that I wasn’t able to make — those are the ones I focus on the most just because I know that I can make those plays,” Moore explained. “Any competitor, any athlete, has that feeling.”

Moore had just picked up eight yards for a first down at the Washington 2-yard line, with the Bears trailing 31-24 in overtime last Sept. 26 at Seattle.

He got the ball again on first-and-goal and was hit by linebacker Jackson Sirmon — who has since transferred to Cal — and defensive back Cameron Williams.

The ball popped loose, linebacker Ryan Bowman recovered and the game was over — the Bears’ third loss in four games to start the season. And a painful one.

Turns out, it was physically painful for Moore, who remained in a heap on the field after the decisive play.

“My shoulder had come out of the socket and back in. As soon as that contact happened the ball came out,” Moore said. “I haven’t had that before. It went numb . . . like a tingling sensation right away. No clue what it was.

“I was so shocked I didn’t know what was going on with my arm. At that point I wasn’t thinking (about) the ball. I was thinking about my arm.”

Running backs coach Aristotle Thompson said Moore actually injured his shoulder on the previous play — the 8-yard gain to the 2.

“It popped out on the play before but he didn’t come out. I didn’t know it happened because he got up,” Thompson said.

Determined to score the game-tying touchdown, Moore not only remained in the game but he rushed the play a bit, Thompson said.

“He should have pressed that thing outside more,” his coach said. "That would have made Jackson have a longer distance coming and the other guy that got to the party as well would have been caught up in the wash.”

*** Cal offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave talks in the video above about the progress he's seeing this spring in Moore's game.

When a quarterback throws an interception, any number of people can be at least partly responsible. A lineman misses a block. The receiver botches his route. It’s not always the throw.

But when a running back fumbles, all eyes are on him, regardless of the circumstances. It can be a lot to digest.

“It definitely sucks,” Moore said. “But I had great people around me — my teammates, my coaches. They all kept me up, letting me know that, `Hey, you make so many plays and this one play doesn’t define you.’ That was definitely encouraging for me.”

Moore carried the ball 38 times as a freshman in 2020 and did not have a fumble. But he lost the ball three times last fall, and the opposition recovered two of them. Those were Cal’s only two lost fumbles all season.

Moore’s opportunity and production diminished after the Washington game, partly because of his health and partly because Christopher Brooks began running well.

Through the Bears' first four outings, Moore averaged nearly 15 rushes and 76 yards per game. The rest of the way — excluding a 111-yard performance against Oregon State — he totaled just 102 yards.

Moore underwent arthroscopic surgery after the season to repair a torn meniscus in his knee that he suffered vs. Oregon State on Oct 30. He talks in the video at the top of this story about the offseason work he did in preparation for spring ball.

Thompson, who talks in the video immediately above about Moore's improvement, said the coaching staff never lost confidence in the 5-foot-10, 210-pounder. But he stressed that players are accountable to one another.

“As a running back you have a responsibility to the program. We talk about when we give you that football, you have the program in your hands. What are you going to do with it?" Thompson said.

“It’s never a matter of losing faith in Damien. It’s more him earning the trust back and the respect back of his teammates that he’s going to protect that thing.”

Moore makes no excuses for the final play in Seattle.

“At the end of the day I have a job to do. I have to do what’s best for this team and be that spark with playmaking ability, be the player I know I can be for this team,” Moore said. “That’s what I take from last season and I’m working on for this season.”

Moore said he isn’t stressing over the fumbles but is definitely more mindful of keeping a grip on the ball.

Thompson, in fact, sees Moore going the extra mile in everything he does now.

“He’s spending more time in the weight room, spending more time on what’s going on with his body,” he said. “And the way he’s attacking his school work, showing that he wants to be a great student.”

Moore, who broke onto the scene with a 121-yard rushing game as a freshman in the 2020 Big Game, is determined to make 2022 a special season. He is the most experienced of the Bears’ four primary running backs, supported by juniors DeCarlos Brooks and Chris Street and freshman Jaydn Ott.

“I’m really excited. Last year wasn’t the year that was expected,” Moore said. “I just have to continue building my confidence up. I know what I can do and my teammates know what I can do and they believe and trust in me. That’s all I need.

“One-hundred percent, I’m good. Physically, mentally, spiritually, all there. I just can’t wait for Game 1 to show everybody what I can do.”

Thompson said he loves where Moore is at right now, but no one is satisfied. There’s work ahead, always.

“We’ve got some good backs in this team. We’ve had some great backs here at Cal,” Thompson said. “We’re pushing for greatness.”

Cover photo of Damien Moore by Al Sermeno, KLC fotos

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo