Coming into 2025, Devin Moore had a mission: stay on the field. His collegiate career had been plagued with injuries, which limited his impact despite his flashes of excellence when healthy.
Now one game away from finishing his senior season, Moore has done just that. He’s played in all 11 of UF’s contests this season, standing out as one of the Gators’ top performers regardless of position. He has recorded 35 total tackles, two interceptions, three pass deflections, a sack and a forced fumble, all of which set career highs.
With his time in Gainesville winding down and his next chapter ahead of him, Moore has remained grateful for his opportunity to be a Florida Gator.
“The amount of things that the University of Florida has done for me and my brothers, we owe the world to the university,” Moore said. “It changed my life, it changed a bunch of people's lives in the locker room. It's a standard at the university, and we've got to uphold it.”
Originally a four-star recruit out of Naples, Florida, Moore committed to UF on Dec. 15, 2021 over a number of other top programs, including Alabama, LSU and Notre Dame, who he originally committed to in 2021.
For Moore, it was a dream come true as he “wanted to represent” his home state.
"Florida was always in my heart from the start when they were recruiting me and they were one of my first really big offers,” Moore said in 2022. “Growing up in the state of Florida, that is the team everyone wants to go play for.”
After arriving on campus in 2022, Moore played five games as a freshman before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury that required surgery. Since he surpassed the four game threshold, he was unable to take a redshirt.
Then, in 2023, Moore showed signs of becoming an impact player for the Gators, deflecting three passes and recording his first career interception in UF’s win against Tennessee. However, he missed five games due to back issues and a concussion.
Last season, Moore started in six of his seven appearances, picking off two passes and deflecting two other throws. The injury bug would once again bite, though, as Moore once again injured his shoulder and was knocked out for the season.
Coming into 2025, Moore’s primary focus was on his health and preserving his body for the grueling season ahead.
“I did blood tests with the medical staff, the training staff, and then I’ve also done like nutrition — foods that cause inflammation in my body tests with the nutrition staff,” Moore said in August. “They’ll just give me a great plan, and all I got to do is execute it.”
And while the Gators’ season has not gone to plan, Moore’s performance and his health absolutely has.
Moore has played nearly half of his collegiate snaps in 2025, which has been his most impressive season to date. His best performance arguably came in UF’s massive 29-21 win over then-No. 9 Texas Oct. 4. Moore only allowed one catch for 11 yards despite being targeted five times, and he picked off UT quarterback Arch Manning in the fourth quarter.
Advanced stats further illustrate Moore’s great season. He has allowed only 16 receptions on 29 targets against him, with those catches resulting in 172 yards and two touchdowns. That gives quarterbacks a 67.0 passer rating when throwing against UF’s No. 1 cornerback.
Overall, Moore has a 84.2 Pro Football Focus grade, the highest of any Gator who has played at least 100 snaps this season and the 34th best grade among 928 qualified cornerbacks across the nation.
“I think there’s always gonna be some things I can clean up,” Moore said about his 2025 season. “But as a total of this year, I feel like this has probably been my best year. I’m always focused on little things I can improve on.”
His play has helped Moore leap on draft boards, including into the Top 100 of Mike Renner’s Big Board, where the CBS expert ranked him at No. 99 and called the 6-foot-3 defensive back a “uniquely tall corner who thrives at the line of scrimmage.”
While Moore’s play has raised some eyebrows, his leadership has stood out as he has steered the ship in UF’s secondary that has been demolished by injuries in 2025. He also has been a constant positive force despite UF’s overall struggles, consistently emphasizing the brotherhood can rely on in the face of adversity.
“I've bled, I've cried, I've sweat with these guys,” Moore said. “The motive is just to keep going … We're playing for each other. Those guys in the locker room don't want us to go out on a bad note.”
Moore and the rest of UF’s seniors will suit up for the final time at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium when the Gators (3-8, 2-6 SEC) host Florida State (5-6, 2-6 ACC) at 4:30 p.m. Saturday.
Contact Max Bernstein at mbernstein@alligator.org. Follow him on X @maxbernstein23.
Max is in his sixth semester at The Alligator and now serves as The Alligator's Football Reporter and is a junior sports journalism student. He previously served as The Alligator's Sports Editor, and served as reporter for women's tennis, volleyball and lacrosse. He also has made multiple appearances on the Paul Finebaum Show. He wants to shoutout his cats, Scooter and Zoe, and niche former Florida Panthers players (shoutout Tomas Kopecky).
