Leap of Faith Brings Offensive Lineman Logan Moore To UAB

By Steve Irvine

BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - April 8, 2025

The weight and strength gain came at the training table and the weight room. The improvement as an offensive lineman came on the practice field. The growth as a person came over a period of time. The perseverance to come back from a broken leg largely came in the training room.

All of those things were important from Logan Moore’s ascension from a 238-pound offensive lineman when he arrived at UAB to one that is fighting for a starting spot at offensive tackle. Moore said all of those things aren’t the most important step in his journey.

“When I first got here, I was terrified,” said Moore, a San Diego, California native. “Before I came here, I was an atheist and everything, but the biggest part was actually coming here and getting my faith in God that gave me self-confidence to know that I'm able to do more than I can even imagine. I just feel like through my faith that I gained self-confidence and I was able to accomplish a few more things, but I still got a lot to learn, still got more stuff to do.”

Moore said his step – or perhaps more accurately his leap into his faith – began in his true freshman season when UAB was in Athens, Georgia preparing for a game against the top-ranked Bulldogs the next night.

“It’s a funny story,” Moore said. “There was a little bit of going to (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) meeting and stuff like that. We were in Athens, and I heard this one analogy and it was saying, ‘If you're looking in a greenhouse, you look at a tree in the greenhouse, the tree in the greenhouse is going to start sprouting, while the others are probably going to die. They're on asphalt.’ It really made me think, like, I'm not rooted by anything, I didn't believe in God at the time. He forgave me and everything, but yeah, it was just that analogy that really made me think there is something else. I gave myself to the Lord that night.”

The journey to get to that step was unpredictable at best. San Diego hasn’t exactly been where UAB searches for players. Moore was a 6-foot-7 tight end and two-way lineman at San Diego Lincoln, which is traditionally one of the better teams in the area. Moore was a key part of the school’s first state championship team after a 33-28 win over traditional Northern California power Concord De La Salle in the Division I-AA final.

His high school success, however, didn’t create recruiting interest.

“I was the kid that had no offers at the last snap of our last game,” said Moore, who is of Polynesian descent. “We made it all the way to State and we won State, actually. We were the second highest division you could be (in California). We were right under the Mater Dei’s and St. John Bosco's and everything. After that game, I thought it was over. I was pretty much like, I'm not playing football anymore. I'm just gonna go get my real estate license and try to hustle as much as I can.”

Not long after, though, he got a text from one of his coaches that he got his first Division I offer. He quickly called the coach.

“I’m like ‘Get out of here, who is it?’” Moore said. “He was like, it's UAB. I’m not gonna lie, I asked what is that? I'm not the kid to watch sports. I didn’t know a lot about teams (outside of the West Coast).”

It didn’t take long for him to get on the phone with then-defensive coordinator Sione Ta’ufo’ou, then-offensive analyst Danny Mitchell and head coach Trent Dilfer. Ta’ufo’ou is a fellow Polynesian, Mitchell is from San Diego and was a successful high school coach in that area and all three have California ties. Moore said he was comfortable in UAB by the time the phone call ended.

It was still a leap of faith when he traveled across the country in June to began his college career at UAB.

“I was just so happy and so grateful to just get another opportunity,” Moore said. “I mean, I had zero stars (in recruiting). I was coming here, I was about 230 pounds, a 6-7 tackle that could barely bench 225.”

Matt McCants, who at the time of Moore’s arrival was UAB’s Director of Player Development and now is the offensive line coach, didn’t need to search for a comparison. McCants was entering his third year in the UAB program when fellow offensive lineman Chris Hubbard arrived on campus. Hubbard, at the time of his arrival was 6-foot-4 and probably in the neighborhood of 240 pounds. The assumption, at least from outside the program, was that he wouldn’t get on the field on Saturdays until he added some pounds. That assumption was wrong.

Hubbard started at tackle in the season opener against Rice and played in seven more games as a true freshman. He was selected to the Conference USA All-Freshman team at the end of his first season. He went on to have a stellar career at UAB, earning All-C-USA honors as a senior in 2012, before beginning his NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Hubbard, who has been with five NFL teams and is now with the New York Giants, is scheduled to begin his 13th NFL training camp this fall.

Now, Moore had a long way to do the things that Hubbard accomplished but it was a target.

“The deal is, with Logan, I can just put my mind back to Chris Hubbard,” McCants said of his close friend. “You look at the tenacity, you look at the intangible things. Obviously, the frame is there, but you have a guy who is that size and he's able to compete with guys who are (heavier),  guys who are maybe stronger. Now, when he comes in, we have to develop him and we have to put the right amount of weight on him.”

Moore played in a pair of games as a true freshman, largely because of offensive line injuries, but his progression was slowed after he broke his leg and suffered ligament damage to his leg and ankle during a winter conditioning drill. Just before the injury, Moore said he weighed in at 265 pounds and felt like he was in the best shape of his life. He was in surgery for his leg on the same day of his injury.

“I feel like, you know, if you're not going through a tough time or hard things, you're kind of at a disadvantage,” Moore said. “You know, there's a thing that says ‘If it doesn't kill you, it makes you stronger.’ I truly believe that saying. You can’t be scared of all this stuff. Truly, if you're not dying, then you're just getting stronger.”

Moore played in just one game last season but has emerged as a true contender to leave spring practice as a starter. He is currently running with first team at right tackle for an offensive line that has played well thus far this spring. Moore weighed in at 289 pounds last weeks and is stronger than ever. Obviously, the redshirt sophomor’s improvement wasn’t an overnight process and he still has a long way to go.

“He's worked extremely hard,” Dilfer said. “He's everything you're looking for in terms of work ethic. Now, it's the development of his game, learning the nuances of the position and finding that consistently. Logan's a guy that I appreciate hasn't flinched in the developmental model. He knew when he came in that he was a developmental player. I think he was frustrated at times when he felt like he was getting ready to play. But he never flinched, even with disappointments and setbacks. Everybody's journey's different in life and I'm really proud of how Logan's handled his journey in the sport.”