The 5-10, 182-pound junior received 46 votes, which was third most among defensive backs behind Derek Pegues (60) and Eric Berry (56). Moore was voted first team by the AP and second team by the coaches following an impressive sophomore season in 2007.
“D.J. Moore is a very special football player,” head coach Bobby Johnson said at media days. “He’s one of the most natural football players I’ve ever been around> he just seems to know how to play the game at cornerback. He anticipates where the quarterback is going to throw the ball.”
Moore had 83 tackles, 10 pass breakups and six interceptions last season. He also averaged 25.7 yards on kick returns and played a few snaps on offense mid-season, which is something he may do again in 2008.
“He’s a great returner,” Johnson said of Moore. “He seems to be able to find the soft spot and we even played him on offense a bit and he made some big plays for us.
He’s really working hard in the offseason and I think he wants to expand his role on offense,” Johnson added. “You have to be careful as a coaching staff when you do that because he’s very valuable to our defense. You don’t want to strip him out of being available to play on defense in the fourth quarter.”
Moore was the only Vanderbilt player chosen to the All-SEC team.