INDIANAPOLIS — Riley Moss has no interest in becoming a cause. He just wants to play football.
But there are times when topics bubble up no matter who is involved, and that was the situation Thursday at the NFL Scouting Combine. Moss, who turns 23 on Friday, played cornerback at Iowa the last five seasons. He was named a first-team All-American and the Big Ten’s Defensive Back of the Year in 2021. Last year, he became a two-time first-team All-Big Ten cornerback.
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Those accolades are typical for Iowa defensive backs. Since 2009, the Hawkeyes have more first-team DBs (15), unanimous first-teamers (10) and Big Ten Defensive Backs of the Year (five) than any other team in the league. But what makes Moss unusual in the Big Ten — and rare in the NFL — is his skin color. No White player has started at cornerback for an NFL team since Jason Sehorn on Dec. 22, 2002. That fact alone has brought up many uncomfortable questions, but something Moss immediately shook off.
“Obviously I look different,” Moss said. “I don’t play different. I’m obviously one of one. But at the same time, it doesn’t really affect me. Sometimes, teams will see me out there and they’ll throw the ball towards my way. Absolutely. Let’s go. Throw me the ball. So, I think it works out in my advantage.”
At Iowa, the 6-foot-1, 191-pound Moss intercepted 11 passes and brought back three for touchdowns. He ranks second in school history in career interception return yards (239) and finished with 37 passes defensed. Yet when Moss started the pre-draft process, many people penciled him in at safety. Then he showcased his speed at the Senior Bowl with the fastest time among the defensive backs at 19.73 mph and the lazy narrative stopped.
“Every team I’ve talked to said, ‘We think you can play corner,’” Moss said. “(Teams) asked about safety, asked about nickel. Obviously, you want to be able to play all positions. But for the most part, every team has said, ‘We think you can play corner.’”
Doubt has followed Moss throughout his athletic endeavors despite his proving himself at every turn. As a senior in high school, he set the Iowa state record in the 110-meter high hurdles in 13.85 seconds, one of the 10 fastest times nationally in 2018. Yet he was rated as a two-star prospect and was committed to North Dakota State until Iowa offered him a grayshirt opportunity. Moss had to pay his own tuition during his first summer on campus before a scholarship opened that fall.
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He was one of six Iowa scholarship defensive backs entering the 2018 season, but he impressed coaches early in training camp and played right away on special teams. He gained his first start at cornerback alongside fellow true freshman Julius Brents — who later left for Kansas State but joined Moss at the combine Thursday — at Minnesota. Moss was forced to defend future NFL receivers Rashod Bateman and Tyler Johnson and was tested early, but he grabbed two interceptions and was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week.
“They tried me on a deep ball five or six times,” Moss said. “I got two picks that game, so I like when they’re doubting me.”
Brents, a first-team All-Big 12 defensive back, said: “A lot of teams don’t really give him his credit, but he’s a blazer. He’s a good football player, for sure. He’s going to make plays. It’ll speak for itself.”
Moss faced his own share of adversity on the field, especially early in his career. As a true freshman, he gave up touchdown passes of 82 and 41 yards in a 38-36 loss at Purdue that shook his confidence and sent him back to the bench. It also made him mentally tough.
“I was still young and I struggled,” Moss said. “My dad sat me down after the Purdue game (in) 2018. I had given up a couple touchdowns and he said, ‘You can make this why you became a great DB at Iowa or on the flip side, this is why you didn’t pan out at Iowa.’ That was extra fuel for the fire.
“I woke up every day not wanting that to happen ever again. Obviously, I didn’t want that to happen, but I’m grateful that it happened because it kind of made me grow up fast.”
He was injured in the 2019 season opener and missed half the season. As a backup, Moss returned that year against Purdue and picked off a pass that changed the trajectory of his career. In 2021, he returned two interceptions for touchdowns against Indiana in the first half. He had four interceptions by midseason but tore his PCL halfway through the team’s sixth game and missed the next month. His absence was obvious when the Hawkeyes dropped their next two games after a 12-game winning streak. Moss later returned to action but wasn’t anywhere near 100 percent.
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As a four-year player, Moss had a decision to make at season’s end in 2021. He could return for a fifth season or leave for the NFL Draft. He already had a Senior Bowl invitation, but Moss chose another year at Iowa. It allowed his knee to heal and he could work on different aspects of his game, primarily man coverage. He believed he accomplished that goal.
With only one interception in 2022, Moss’ numbers took a hit but not his effectiveness. At Illinois, he blasted a running back on a swing pass to force a fumble at the Illini 5-yard line. Later in that game, Moss returned a fumble 82 yards for a touchdown but it was called back upon review. In perhaps the biggest play of the season, Moss tipped a slant pass to linebacker Jack Campbell, who rambled down the field to set up a game-winning field goal against Minnesota.
“He’s crazy athletic,” said Iowa safety Kaevon Merriweather, who joined Moss and Brents in Iowa’s 2018 recruiting class and on the podium at the combine. “You don’t really see too many White corners doing what he can do. So he definitely surprised them from day one with just how athletic he is being from Iowa.”
Moss heard plenty of trash talk from his opponents early in his career, then it tapered off. His responses were more sarcastic than mean-spirited. His production and prowess became too much for opponents to knock, and he was faster than nearly every receiver he faced. Moss’ goal in the 40-yard dash is 4.38 seconds, which would rank among the 10 best cornerback times over the past three years. Many of the other stereotypical knocks, such as hip movement, are rendered moot because of his track career.
“As a hurdler, you have to be explosive and you have to have great hips. Same thing with DB,” he said. “So that really helped me, especially going to Iowa just already having that flexibility, hip movement and explosive qualities.”
Still, there will be whispers and doubts. Iowa may have provided him with a foundation for NFL success, but Moss has yet to face elite NFL receivers down-in and down-out. He will in training camp and he will during the season. He’ll lose some of those battles, too. But Moss wants to showcase his ability at cornerback. He gets that opportunity on the biggest stage.
“It’s always been me against the world,” Moss said. “I wake up every morning and I remind myself people don’t want you here. I’m going to go out and prove them wrong.”
(Photo: Matthew Holst / Getty Images)
Scott Dochterman is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the Iowa Hawkeyes. He previously covered Iowa athletics for the Cedar Rapids Gazette and Land of 10. Scott also worked as an adjunct professor teaching sports journalism at the University of Iowa.
