Rondale Moore opts back in at Purdue, wants to be best receiver in America

Rondale Moore opts back in for 2020 season to play for Purdue football.

Rondale Moore has decided his college career at Purdue football is not over just yet.

On ESPN’s College Football Live on Thursday afternoon, the Purdue Boilermakers’ standout wide receiver and return specialist announced his intentions to opt back in. Moore was a First-Team All-American as a true freshman in 2018. Though he missed half of his true sophomore season in 2019 due to a hamstring injury, he is a sure-fire first-round pick in the upcoming 2021 NFL Draft.

“So for me, I think the whole decision behind me opting out was the uncertainty and to secure my safety and my mother’s safety,” said Moore on ESPN’s College Football Live. “It was important to me to kind of dig deeper and find out some more information and hopefully, the Big Ten would come to terms and find a way to get things done and we have a season.”

“So the Big Ten found a way to consistently test and have safety protocols that made me feel safe. So I want to thank them and thank Purdue for keeping me safe as well as I’ve been here. So I’ve decided to opt back in and play for the Boilers this season.”

Can Rondale Moore become the best wide receiver in America in 2020?

In two seasons with the Boilermakers, Moore played in 17 games, totaling 143 catches for 1,645 yards and 14 receiving touchdowns. It is important to keep in mind the bulk of that came in his unforgettable 2018 true freshman campaign. He had 114 receptions for 1,258 yards and 12 trips to pay dirt through the air that season. This is the type of production we’re hoping for in 2020.

As for if he can be the best wide receiver in America, that door is wide open at this time and here is why. The best wide receiver in America has opted out of the 2020 college season in former LSU Tigers standout Ja’Marr Chase. He won the Fred Biletnikoff Award from a season ago. Chase will be a top-10 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. He would have been the first wide receiver taken last year.

So with Chase out of the picture, Moore will have to compete with guys like Rashod Bateman of the Minnesota Golden Gophers, Tylan Wallace of the Oklahoma State Cowboys and a pair of Alabama Crimson Tide standouts in DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle. These are among the guys who will contend for the Biletnikoff, as well as First-Team All-American honors this fall.

Though Moore plays for the weakest of these four teams in question, he’s already been a First-Team All-American before, and he did it at a program like Purdue. Even if the Boilermakers have their best season since Drew Brees was their quarterback, Purdue isn’t even a fringe College Football Playoff contender like Minnesota and Oklahoma State are. He will have to earn it.

While it may have been a risky proposition for Moore to return to Purdue, the Big Ten got better on Thursday afternoon simply by him opting back in. Purdue now becomes a team we have to keep close tabs on, strictly because of the dynamic playmaker Moore is with the ball in his hands. If he stays healthy, they will upset a few teams and could make some noise in the Big Ten West.

If Moore can get Purdue above .500 and pushing to be ranked, he’s the best receiver in college.

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