54 Days to Kickoff! - T.D. Moultry

Poised for a big year, mayhaps?

As we continue our march to kickoff, we take a look at the top 100 recruits to sign with Auburn of all-time*. The rankings are based on 247’s composite recruit rankings, which unfortunately only date back to 2000.

THE RECRUIT

You may know him by his full name (Tadarian), but T.D. Moultry came out of high school as an Army All-American ready to blast through some folks. At 6’2, 225, he had the size and rude disposition to dislodge a ballcarrier from his senses. A five-star recruit by some services, Auburn was able to earn his signature over the calls of Alabama, Georgia, and Clemson, which is no easy task. However, Rodney Garner and Travis Williams were more than ready for the task at hand.

The buzz about Moultry out of high school was all good —

Moultry is a linebacker always looking to hit someone. He is a real striker with force. He can still improve on his tackling technique, but he gets to the ball, the offensive player knows he’s hit, and he typically goes backwards and down quickly. Depending on the scheme, Moultry could play inside or outside, but he is ideally an inside linebacker who can stuff the run and chase the ball from sideline to sideline. He was born aggressive and he gets to the ball in a hurry. He has the size, strength, and ability to play early on the next level.

So we were understandably excited to see him put on the orange and blue and head to the Plains.

THE PLAYER

Now, Moultry’s story is still being written here at Auburn. He’s got two seasons under his belt with limited playing time, but after being recruited as a linebacker, Rodney Garner decided that his talents would be better utilized at the Buck position. In 2017, he spent time behind Jeff Holland and got valuable experience, racking up 15 tackles, 2.5 TFLs, and 1.5 sacks.

Unfortunately, he didn’t become the replacement for Holland that the coaches may have wanted in 2018, and Auburn was forced to look at using other players in his stead. He only played in 8 games last season with 11 tackles (somehow his best game in both 2017 and 2018 came against Texas A&M), but things are looking up for his junior season!

Working with Big Kat Bryant at the Buck position, and with the rest of the defensive line absolutely loaded with future NFL players, Moultry may not have a ton of attention paid to him by opposing offenses. With Derrick Brown, Marlon Davidson, and Nick Coe patrolling full-time, Moultry could come in and make splash plays from the Buck spot. This could be a year where the light bulb finally goes on for him and he turns into a huge defensive threat for the Tigers.

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