Iowa State football: Devron Moore returns to the team

Despite not retaining a scholarship, Iowa State free safety Devron Moore has rejoined the football team after taking a hiatus due to homesickness.

Oct 13, 2012; Ames, Iowa, USA; Iowa State Cyclones head coach Paul Rhoads (right center) leads his team out onto the field before a game against the Kansas State Wildcats at Jack Trice Stadium. Kansas State defeated Iowa State 27-21. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

Tommy Birch of the Des Moines Register reports on Twitter that head coach Paul Rhoads announced Moore’s return and confirmed that he would not be on scholarship.

Back in early April, Moore left the university “due to homesickness.” It was a shocking development considering he had the talent to be a starter.

Rhoads stated during spring practice that Moore wouldn’t have a scholarship if he decided to return. This led to two likely solutions. Either he would transfer elsewhere after finding out that Iowa State wasn’t a good fit, or he would just not play football altogether.

Instead, he actually does return to the team, which is an even more stunning development than him leaving the team in the first place.

Moore signed with the Cyclones back on December 18th, shortly after committing to the program. He was hailed as one of the best defensive JUCO transfers and was generally a 3-star recruit among most recruiting services. 247Sporrts had him has the 142nd best JUCO player.

The defensive back chose the Cyclones over schools like Wisconsin, Wes Virginia, Texas Tech, TCU, and more.

Back when he was signed, Rhoads commented on how hard Moore worked to get here [via Cyclones.com].

"“Devron Moore took the long road to arrive at this scholarship. He has earned numerous honors and awards and he caught our attention very early. He’s got great ball skills and he’s a physical football player. He will come downfield and hit you. He’s a student of the game and I think he will provide great leadership you need at the safety position. He really loved the organization and attention to detail of our program, and I think that won him over.”"

It’s unfortunate that Moore won’t have a scholarship, but it was more important that he got everything figured out in his personal life before committing to the football team. Now that it looks to be the case, the Cyclones can enjoy some additional talent and depth at defensive back.