Florida State has signed some talented wide receivers from the high school ranks who have not panned out during Mike Norvell’s tenure. Hykeem Williams, Destyn Hill, Vandrevius Jacobs, Bryan Robinson, and Malik McClain, just to name a few.
Another who fits that bill is former four-star wide receiver Elijah Moore. The 6’4”, 206-pound freak of nature never seemed to put it together in his two years at Florida State. He redshirted in 2024 after appearing in four games with two receptions for 17 yards. His sophomore year saw his playing time increase, appearing in 10 games, but he only had three receptions for 52 yards before deciding to enter the transfer portal.
Florida State had a terrible offensive line and quarterback in 2024. Alex Atkins was the offensive coordinator before getting fired near the end of the season. Gus Malzahn became the new offensive coordinator, and his offense emphasizes the run and limits opportunities through the air.
It didn’t help that Thomas Castellanos didn’t play great at quarterback, and Duce Robinson was the player getting the bulk of the opportunities (and rightly so as a future pro). Moore didn’t do himself any favors when he got on the field, running the wrong routes at times or missing blocks.
Moore opened up about the decision to leave Florida recently and spoke candidly. Had he stayed, it would have been his third offensive coordinator in three years. He admitted that he took a pay cut to transfer to Syracuse and wanted the opportunity to prove himself since he didn’t have much game film.
“Even though it’s not as much as I was making at Florida State, Coach Fran definitely was gonna take care of me. But he wants to see you work, and I want to show him that I can work. I’m a new player. I don’t have a lot of in-game film. I know that the coaches know that as well. So, I wasn’t really going in on too much compensation because I really want to earn my way.”
It was good to see that it was a mutual decision among all parties involved.
“I talked to the coaches about it, and we came to an agreement as far as taking the next step of things,” Moore said. “There were no hard feelings or anything. ... It was a good offense, but for a receiver it’s not as ideal if you want to do some of the goals that I have.”
The decision to transfer was before he knew that Gus Malzahn would retire and Mike Norvell would call the plays again, with Tim Harris Jr. as the offensive coordinator. I can’t say I blame Moore for transferring after the last two years at Florida State. The Noles won’t play Syracuse in 2026, so Moore won’t get the opportunity to show what he can do in person against the Noles. He has the tools to become an impact player if he ever figures it all out.