He’s not playing, but ex-Cat is still having ‘really cool experience’ in the NFL
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We Meet Again
The Lexington Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com are publishing a series of stories catching up with former University of Kentucky athletes. Click here to read all of the installments published previously.
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Editor’s Note: This article is part of an occasional series in which the Herald-Leader is catching up with former University of Kentucky athletes.
Want to build a winning culture? Bringing Austin Moss into the fold can’t hurt.
A former University of Kentucky walk-on who earned a scholarship during his time in the football program, Moss currently is the director of player engagement for the San Francisco 49ers — the same 49ers who played in the most recent Super Bowl, their seventh overall and first since 2012.
Moss during that 2012 season made his NFL debut as an intern with the league’s PREP program, which focuses on player engagement and development prior to and after their careers in professional football. Within a year he was hired in a full-time managerial role in player engagement, and in 2016 was named senior manager of football administration and development for the NFL. He served in that role until last season, when he joined the 49ers in his current role.
He liked learning about the league’s mission from the macro level but is thrilled to be a part of a single football team once again.
“On a day-to-day basis, being back around football is awesome, especially being a former athlete,” Moss told the Herald-Leader in a recent phone interview. “I’m out there at practice, I help audit practice with drills in certain aspects, and then I’m working with the guys after, going through the locker room and talking with fellas and seeing what they need or supporting them in a certain way. It’s a really cool experience to have on a day-to-day basis.”
Team player
Moss before last year didn’t have a locker room to call his own since 2008, his final season with the Wildcats.
Most Kentucky fans are probably more familiar with Austin’s brother — former UK hooper Ravi Moss — than him, but the younger Moss was a notable athlete himself. The former Christian County High School standout could have attended Eastern Kentucky University or Georgetown College on athletic scholarships, but he’d spent enough time around UK’s campus to be comfortable with walking on as a Wildcat. By his final season, the defensive tackle and scout team MVP earned a scholarship from Coach Rich Brooks’ staff.
His first year on campus was nothing to write home about — UK finished 3-8 in Brooks’ third season — but the next three saw them make, and win, bowl games. It was the first time since the Bear Bryant era, and only the second time, that UK had ever made that many consecutive postseason appearances.
UK had never won three straight before then. Moss wasn’t at the forefront — he’s quick to credit former teammates like Randall Cobb, Jacob Tamme and Wesley Woodyard, as well as the discipline instilled by Brooks — but he was along for the ride and representative of a locker room that connected for one of the best stretches in the Wildcats’ history.
“I obviously wasn’t a huge contributor in terms of starting and things of that nature, but I do think I contributed in a lot of ways toward building our team and doing things at a high level,” Austin said.
After graduating with a bachelor’s in business marketing, Austin ended up at Central Florida, where he earned master’s degrees in business administration and sports business management. He worked in the construction industry and as a player representative for two years before getting the opportunity with the NFL.
While in the league office, Moss oversaw multiple programs focused on helping top emerging athletes — those with likely NFL futures — in their transition from college to the NFL, as well as those focused on aiding current NFL players and coaches in their efforts to prepare for a life after football. It wasn’t the type of work he had in mind when he first got into the league, but it’s something that suited him well.
“I honestly wanted to get into scouting and talent evaluation with the goal of becoming a general manager,” Austin said. “But the foot in the door at the league office was to do player engagement, do player development, and I just found that I had a natural skill set and ability to put together these programs and help support these guys in outlining their strengths and weaknesses within football, outside football, and then putting together their plans to help them be successful on and off the field. It kind of took off from there.”
Moss hasn’t given up the dream of becoming an NFL general manager, but he’s thrilled to be in the position he is currently.
“I want to do everything I can to be the best director of player engagement I can be right now and really maximize that skill while learning others,” Moss said. “There’s so many things that go into being a general manager, to being able to evaluate talent to understanding the salary cap and making the decisions around your roster. Also, too, just leading a staff and groups of people. I’m very fortunate to be able to report to our general manager and learn from him on a consistent basis as well as a lot of other experts on our staff that have great experience.
“I’ve just always wanted to challenge myself to gain skill sets.”
Q&A
(Edited for clarity and brevity.)
What do you remember most about Coach Rich Brooks?
“I loved Coach Brooks, man. He was just a great leader overall. What I remember most is his discipline. He was a hard-nosed, old-school football coach. Looking back on it now, he held everybody accountable and didn’t treat anyone differently regardless of if you were the starting quarterback or a walk-on defensive lineman like me. He was definitely all about the team and making sure that everybody on the team was disciplined and working toward turning our football program around. Because when he got there, we weren’t winning a lot of games.”
Was there ever a time when you questioned picking UK?
“For me being an in-state student athlete and always wanting to play for your home state, it was something that I took pride in and took the challenge on to go there and prove my skills and abilities. I never regretted it.”
What was your favorite on-the-field memory at UK?
“The moment we beat LSU and they were ranked No. 1 in the country, the year they ended up winning the national title. I think that kind of let the whole world know that Kentucky wasn’t just a basketball school, that we had good athletes there and could compete in the SEC.”
What’s the most recent UK sporting event you attended?
“It’s hard in-season because I’m on the road with the guys and our team, so I haven’t gotten to go to a game in a while, but I’ve come back in the offseason. My family still lives there and I just recently spoke to the UK football team via Zoom, something that Courtney (Love) set up. It was awesome to engage with them.”
Who’s been your favorite UK player to watch during the last couple seasons?
“Josh Allen, for sure. Being a former defensive lineman, that affinity for his motor and skill set to get after the QB and playing hard every single down. It reminded me of when I was there with guys like Wesley Woodyard and Corey Peters, people that just play at a high level all the time and raised the bar for our entire team to compete.”
Who was your sports idol growing up?
“I loved Reggie White. He was a phenomenal defensive lineman and a great man off the field.” (Moss also mentioned Vince “Sweet Pea” Burns, Dewayne Robertson and Dennis Johnson.)
What do you wish someone had told you before you began your college sports career?
“I learned this quickly: Keep the main thing the main thing. It’s hard when you walk on and you see different treatment, guys getting things that you may not have access to or the hard part of working your way up the depth chart. But you’ve gotta remember the goal that you set out, be intrinsically motivated and not get bogged down by the little things, man. Keep the main thing the main thing.”
What is your biggest regret from your time at Kentucky?
“My biggest regret is we never beat Tennessee while I was there. That was disappointing. Florida as well. I have a lot of colleagues that are either employees or current athletes that come from those schools and the bragging rights, talking always gets a little hard during that time (when we play them).”
Which of your former UK teammates do you stay in contact with the most?
“There’s a lot of guys. I think that’s what was so special about our teams and the locker room, is we were so close and bonded well off the field. In the NFL I always keep up with my brothers up here. Wesley Woodyard, we were just on a panel Monday. Corey Peters is one of my best friends, I go spend time with him each summer. I talked to Randall Cobb the other day and Avery Williamson this morning. I always make a point to reach out to my guys, and then Bud Dupree when we play the Steelers. I talked to Lynn Bowden when he was home in Lexington. But even the non-NFL guys, like Dicky Lyons and Ricky Lumpkin, we’re all in group chats.”
