Kellen Moore's Work Ethic

Good article on Boise St. quarterback Kellen Moore in last week's Sports Illustrated. His mindset is top-notch:

Moore is also working on his master's in kinesiology. And this fall he's immersed in an independent study project with left tackle Nate Potter. They're steeping themselves in the subject of "what highly successful people do to become successful," says Moore.

Among the books he's read on this topic: Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell and Talent Is Overrated by Geoff Colvin. Moore's preliminary conclusion: "There's no magic. A lot of times there's this misconception that people are just given this talent, that they never had to work hard to get where they are." Their common denominator, he says, is the willingness to submit to "that grueling, grinding, not-fun task, and to do it over and over. That's what successful people do."

He cites the 10,000-Hour Rule from Outliers, which holds that greatness requires the investment of massive amounts of time. Moore, it turns out, has been investing since at least the second grade. For show-and-tell, recalls Kris, he would draw a play on the whiteboard: "He'd tell the class, 'This is what the [Prosser] Mustangs are going to be running this week.'"

It's all in the Preparation

Here is an article from Sports Illustrated about Boise St. senior QB Kellen Moore. Moore threw for 39 TD's and only 3 INT's last year in leading Boise State to another BCS game. Moore is very well respected by his teammates for his work ethic and preparation. Here are some quotes and excerpts from the article (article from Nov 2009):

"The other day I asked Kellen how many touchdowns he had, and he had no idea," says junior tight end Tommy Gallarda, one of Moore's roommates. "He just goes about his business, and he couldn't care less if he gets any recognition."

"I've always known my limitations," says Moore, "but I've also known there are things you can take advantage of to be successful, and that's to be as prepared as possible."

When Petersen announced that he was tapping a redshirt freshman as his starting quarterback before the start of the 2008 season, the coach says he had a "gut feeling," one that came primarily from watching Moore's day-to-day preparation. "The first time I knew that Kellen was going to be something special was when we were preparing for our bowl game [against East Carolina in 2007]," says Petersen. "I'm looking in to a meeting with our coaches and our offensive players. There's Kellen, in Hawaii during his redshirt year. It's obvious there's no chance he's going to get in the game. Most guys would sit back, but he's hanging on every word from the coaches, taking down notes, absorbing everything. I'm thinking, This kid's an animal."