The Joe Moore Award - What Makes The Best OL?
Nov 14, 2024 1:57 pm
Coach -
The Joe Moore Award has named its Semi-Finalists for 2024:
Alabama - CoachChris Kapilovic
Army - Coach Matt Drinkall
Indiana - Coach Bob Bosta
Iowa - George Barnett
Notre Dame - Joe Rudolph
Ohio State - Justin Frye
Oregon - A’lique Terry
Tennessee - Glenn Elarbee
Texas - Kyle Flood
Tulane - Dan Roushar
We have been fortunate to have half of the coaches of these finalists present in our clinics!
The process for selecting the best offensive line unit in America is very detailed and the committee watches every single team as the season begins. Here is Joe Moore Award Founder and CBS College Football Analyst Aaron Taylor explaining the criteria at the C.O.O.L. Clinic:
Video: Joe Moore Award Criteria
History of the Joe Moore Award
In 2014, Aaron Taylor had an idea to honor his college coach Joe Moore. Coach Moore had a tremendous impact on the players he coached as well as a track record of helping develop them to get to the next level.
Joe Moore is widely regarded as one of the best offensive line coaches in college football history, most notably for his work at Notre Dame and the University of Pittsburgh. Coach Moore sent 52 players on to the NFL, including Bill Fralic, Mark May, Russ Grimm, Jimbo Covert and others.
The Joe Moore Award for the Most Outstanding Offensive Line Unit annually recognizes the toughest, most physical offensive line in the country, making it the only major college football award to honor a unit or group.
The Process Reveals Who is Best
The voting body of 200-plus members to select the annual recipient of the Joe Moore Award. This voting body includes all of the current offensive line coaches at the Division I/FBS level, as well as former players, coaches, colleagues of Coach Moore, select media members and the Joe Moore Award voting committee.
In addition to reviewing game tape every week of the season, the Joe Moore Award voting committee will go through each of the finalists’ season-long highlight reels and multiple back-to-back quarters of game film.
This is a great teaching tool for the off season!
What Aaron Taylor put together with Joe Moore disciple Harry Hiestand is nearly four hours of instruction.
Spring is the perfect time to use a comprehensive resource to teach offensive line football IQ and the intangibles of playing the position.
While some of this is fundamental to you as a coach, your players will benefit from viewing it with you and it provides great opportunity for discussion as well as gives your players some things to work on outside of the time spent with you.
Fundamentals are the foundation as Coach Hiestand explains in this video:
Free Downloads
Coach Hiestand put together two free downloadable pdfs. You will want to share these with your players. Click on the link for downloads:
If you want to develop a top offensive line, then this is a great one to share with your players. It’s everything that the JMA committee looks for in selecting the top offensive line, and certainly a list of things you want from your players.
The questions organized here are great for evaluating your own linemen or linemen that you are recruiting.
The Moore Method - OL University proceeds go to support the Foundation for Teamwork dedicated to fostering the essential aspect of all great societal endeavors: teamwork. This is a non-profit developed in conjunction with the Joe Moore Award.
Thank you to Aaron Taylor for his work in putting this together!
Always be growing!
Coach Grabowski
P.S.
Do you want to learn more about the award and the process behind it? Listen to this podcast in which Aaron Taylor explains it all: The Impact of a Coach and the Joe Moore Award
Aaron Taylor’s presentation at the C.O.O.L. Clinic:
Resources from Semi-Finalist OL Coaches:
Justin Frye - Progression Teaching For Your O-Line — Film/Technique/Scheme
A’lique Terry - OL - Working with each other vs. Against each other
Glen Elarbee - UpTempo OL Bundle