When I was down in the Los Angeles area visiting both of Travelle Gaines’ Athletic Gaines gyms recently, watching NFL receivers like Brandin Cooks, Kenny Golladay, and Randall Cobb start their offseason workouts, and draft prospects like Antoine Winfield Jr., Xavier McKinney, Gabe Davis, and Zack Moss prepare for the combine, Moss definitely stood out in one way. Most of the players and prospects were easily accessible, and eager to talk about their training.
Moss was a different cat. When I would get in his vicinity, I’d get a side-eye more often than not. Not in a menacing or off-putting way, but there was a definite message: I am here, but I am all business. Don’t get in the way. So, I tabled my intention to speak with the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year, who starred in Utah’s backfield over the last four seasons, until later.
“When I come in, I’m just focused on my mission, and what I want to accomplish at the combine,” Moss told me when we did speak this week. “I was doing a lot of speed work, mostly when we went out onto the field, and just trying to get stronger and things like that.”
Moss originally committed to the University of Miami, but then de-committed to get away from home, and as he put it, to get out on his own as a man on and off the field. In addition, head coach Kyle Whittingham and his staff offered Moss an opportunity to contribute immediately as a freshman, which he did.
Moss could have left the Utes after the 2018 season, but the aggravation of a knee injury that cost him four games, and Utah’s inability to get past Northwestern in the Holiday Bowl, put Moss on a track of “unfinished business” that saw him return and set career highs in rushing attempts (235), rushing yards (1,416), rushing touchdowns (15), receiving yards (388), and receiving touchdowns. Overall, Moss’s statistics and tape tell the story of a player who’s more than just a bull rolling through the proverbial china shop. With three 1,000-yard seasons, 5.7 yards per carry, and 66 catches for 685 yards and three receiving touchdowns, Moss could be a legitimate three-down back in the right system.
“Unfinished business came from what I wanted to do with the team,” Moss said. “We lost our last two games that year [the Pac-12 Championship against Washington, and the Holiday Bowl], I got injured, and our quarterback [Tyler Huntley] went down, too. We felt that we were a very talented group, and we showed that this last year. We came up short in the Pac-12 Championship game again this last year [losing to Oregon], but that’s pretty much where the whole ‘unfinished business’ thing came from.”
Another running back who used the “unfinished business” mantra in 2019? This guy.
When I asked Moss about the similarity in styles between himself and Lynch, he said that Lynch was the back he watched the most growing up, and that he’s heard the comparison a lot. Which shouldn’t be surprising, as Moss, like Lynch, combines overwhelming power with a anarchic running style and underrated acceleration that makes him very difficult to tackle.
“I just have really good balance with the way I run; guys just tend to bounce off of me,” Moss said, when explaining how he does what he does. “I kinda know how guys want to tackle me, and I use that to my advantage to put myself in the best positions to break tackles.”
One of the concerns about Moss’ violent running style is that it will leave him open to injury through his career, but he’s unconcerned.
“It’s just being blessed, honestly. I’ve only had one serious injury that’s taken me out of the game, with all the lower-body shots and head shots I take. I have a pretty good history of being durable,m either taking those hits or avoiding them. It starts in the weight room, but most of it is about being blessed.”
As it turns out, getting Moss to open up in an appropriate environment is no problem at all, especially when you turn on the tape and ask him about how he has frustrated college defenses since 2016.