Before Riley Moss joined the Broncos, he was a high school track star

On a recent Saturday afternoon in Dove Valley where the forecast instantly went from warm and sunny to windy and needing a jacket, Riley Moss was in his element.

Wearing thigh-high shorts and a white No. 37 practice jersey, the cornerback spider crawled across the practice field along with his fellow draft picks, undrafted free agents, and pros, trying to make a good impression in front of Broncos head coach Sean Payton at rookie minicamp.

The 6-foot-1,193-pound corner was nowhere near the most intimidating player at practice. That title belonged to rookie linebacker Drew Sanders, who is 6-foot-4, 235 pounds of muscle. However, as Moss glided smoothly on the field, applying tight coverage against receivers, it became clear why Denver traded into the third round of last month’s draft to acquire the former Iowa star.

“He can run fast,” Payton said. “He’s also someone that learns pretty quickly. You see some of his athleticism, even in the special teams drills when we watch it on tape.”

For Moss to reach this point, surrounded by reporters at his locker after his first set of practices as a pro, he first had to become a high school track star to show he had the speed to play what Payton called “one of the more athletic positions in our game.”

As a sprinter and hurdler for Ankeny (Iowa) Centennial High School, Moss broke out during his last two years. He took down the the Iowa state record in the 110-meter dash at the 2018 Drake Relays with a 13.85-second time in a preliminary run and won numerous meets as began to hone his craft.

“(Moss) was aggressive in the hurdles, and his flat sprint speed was coming along,” Centennial track coach Nate Smith said. “It was unbelievable.”

“As high school went on, he emerged as a hurdler,” said former Penn State kicker Jake Pinegar, who ran with Moss since middle school.

Unfortunately, Moss’ success as a hurdler wasn’t enough to attract interest from recruiters.

“I didn’t hear from a single track team anywhere,” he said, adding that he would have ran track and played football in college if he could. “I didn’t get the opportunity. And that’s fine.”

Track, however, provided Moss the chance to play football at Iowa, the school he grew up watching. As a two-star defensive back with zero Power Five offers, Moss first committed to North Dakota State, an FCS school. Once the Hawkeyes noticed Moss’ track numbers, they convinced him to join the program as a gray shirt — meaning he had to pay for his first semester.

Eventually, he was given a scholarship before the fall.

“The coaches at Iowa were like, ‘Who is this kid?’” Moss said. “(Track) helped me out a lot.”

During Moss’ five-year career at Iowa, his speed and physical style of play turned him into a two-time first-team All-Big Ten selection and the conference’s defensive back of the year in 2021.

Iowa’s defense required Moss to be aggressive, so he was never afraid to make plays on running backs or set the edge. “You gotta hit them on the mouth,” he said.

Hawkeyes defensive coordinator Phil Parker said Moss was energetic and tough while having a natural feel for the game. “Just a prime example is him coming off the edge to block a field goal attempt (during practice),” Parker said. “(There was) no coaching. Just lining him up and boom. This guy had something special.”

Parker praised Moss’ ability to make “unbelievable plays,” especially in 2021. In Iowa’s 34-6 victory over Indiana, Moss returned a pair of interceptions for touchdowns, including one where he perfectly read former Hoosier quarterback Michael Penix’s pass before high-stepping into the end zone for a score.

“He had the speed and ability (to make plays),” Parker said. “As his fundamentals and technique improved, (he became) a better player.”

When Moss reflects on his journey from unheralded recruit to joining All-Pro cornerback Patrick Surtain II and safety Justin Simmons in Denver’s secondary, he is proud of how far he has come.

“It’s nice to set an example,” he said.

Centennial co-football coach Ryan Pezzetti, who works alongside his father, Jerry, said Moss’ rise has provided a euphoric feeling at Centennial. Pezzetti remembered Moss not being the best athlete when he was his eighth-grade track coach. Moss wasn’t even the best hurdler at the time. “But he was a kid you knew was going to be a special athlete as he grew,” Pezzetti said.

While Moss grew into a track star, he got better on the football field. Each season, he was quicker and his coordination improved. His competitive nature and self-confidence didn’t change. Ryan and Jerry vividly remembered Moss’ junior season when he caught the game-sealing interception to beat Valley High School.

“(Moss) had a (knack) for (getting) the football,” said Pinegar, a former kicker at Centennial. “He made a lot of plays on defense.”

Now in the NFL, Moss has faced some awkward questions befitting his unique status.

“Are you surprised there hasn’t been a (white cornerback)?” a reporter asked Moss after rookie minicamp.

“I didn’t know I was the only white cornerback… Nah, I’m just playing with you,” he jokingly responded.

Indeed, Moss is an anomaly. The last white cornerback to regularly start in the NFL was Jason Sehorn, who started 73 games over eight seasons with the New York Giants from 1994-2002. Troy Apke and Kevin Kaesviharn are among the few to start at corner in the league since then.

Moss understands the narrative will continue to follow him as his career progresses. He only hopes to be remembered for more.

“I mean, it’s pretty crazy,” Moss said. “But if (I) can do the job, that’s what I’m here to do.”

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