As a receiver and returner with the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders, Kyran Moore relies on his hands and legs to make plays.
What’s on his wrists also drives the 21-year-old product of Bessemer, Ala.
Before each game Moore plays, he writes “Sharon” on one of his tape wristbands and “Kirwin” on the other. It’s Moore’s way of paying tribute to his grandmother, Sharon King, and his uncle, Kirwin King.
“As long as I’ve got them, my guardian angels, watching over me, I’m all right,” said Moore, who adds the hashtags#thisforyoukirwin and #thisforyounana to many of his social-media posts.
On Sunday, Moore had his breakout game as a CFL player, recording 106 combined yards in Saskatchewan’s 31-23 CFL victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Mosaic Stadium.
Playing in just his second game since being activated off the practice roster, Moore had two punt returns for 66 yards, three catches for 42 yards and one carry for minus-two yards.
Two of his receptions were on second downs and produced first downs, and his 65-yard punt return for a touchdown — his first major in the CFL — gave Saskatchewan a 14-10 lead in the second quarter.
“There’s a lot of things that you can do in this league with a guy like that,” quarterback Zach Collaros said. “I had the pleasure of playing with one of the best there is with things like that in Brandon Banks (with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats).
“You can put him at different places, pitch him the ball, hand him jet sweeps (or) run him by guys (on deep routes). I think Swerve (Moore’s nickname) can do all those things and he’s a great receiver as well — which Speedy (Banks’ nickname) has shown he is, too.
“(Moore) is going to keep getting better and better with the more repetitions he gets.”
Moore learned about football from his Uncle Kirwin, who taught his nephew the game when Moore was in ninth grade. King died during Moore’s freshman year of high school, a turn of events that nearly prompted Moore to quit football.
Instead, he stuck with it. He was a starting cornerback by his junior year at McAdory High School, but he moved to quarterback after the starter got hurt. That season, Moore helped his team reach the state championship game.
Following his senior year, Moore received only one scholarship offer — from Austin Peay University — and it arrived at the signing deadline. He accepted the Governors’ offer and, as a freshman, was returned to the secondary.
“I didn’t play that much my first two years,” Moore said. “I played some, but not enough. I was actually thinking about transferring and then we ended up getting a new coach. That’s when I switched to receiver (prior to) my junior year.”
The 5-foot-10, 165-pounder finished his college career with 347 yards rushing, 918 yards receiving, 131 yards on punt returns, 1,334 yards on kickoff returns and 56 yards on interception returns. His high point was a game against the University of Central Florida Knights, whom he gouged for 363 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns last Oct. 28.
Named an FCS All-American as a returner following the 2017 season, Moore didn’t get any interest from NFL teams — in large part because he’s relatively small. Instead, he was invited to a Roughriders tryout camp.
“I’m just fortunate enough to have Coach (Chris) Jones,” Moore said of the Roughriders’ head coach and general manager. “At the one tryout, he said, ‘Man, you can tear this league up and I just want to give you the opportunity.’ I thank Coach Jones for the opportunity he gave me.”
Moore stood out at the Roughriders’ training camp in Saskatoon to earn a job with the team — and a new nickname. The man known earlier in his career as ‘Tiny’ was dubbed ‘Swerve’ by former Roughriders receiver-cornerback Duron Carter, and the handle stuck.
“When (Moore) first got here, he was doing amazing things,” slotback Naaman Roosevelt said. “Nobody could cover him. With a guy like that who is so explosive and so athletic, we knew (a showing like Sunday’s) was bound to happen when he got on the field.”
Moore was on the Roughriders’ practice roster for their first eight regular-season games before being activated for their game Aug. 25 against the B.C. Lions. He had two receptions for 27 yards and one carry for 17 yards in limited duty in Vancouver.
When Devon Bailey suffered an injury in practice this week, Moore’s workload was increased for the Labour Day Classic. He got even more work after the Roughriders’ primary returner, Christion Jones, suffered an injury during Sunday’s game.
But Jones was still on the field Sunday when Moore scored his TD.
The rookie appeared to be stopped after catching the ball at the Roughriders’ 45-yard line. But Bombers special-teamer Ian Wild spun Moore around instead of tackling him, allowing the returner to get outside.
Moore then outran Jovan Santos-Knox to the sideline, cut inside punter Justin Medlock and scored.
“When the ball was in the air, my first thing was just, ‘Catch the ball,’ ” Moore said. “On punt returns, that’s my only 
worry — just catch the ball — because I know after I catch the ball, I can make the rest happen.”
Moore gets a lot of ribbing from his teammates because he’s the Roughriders’ youngest player (he turns 22 on Sept. 19), but he also gets a lot of instruction from them. Since it’s only his third year as a receiver, the veterans and position coach Travis Moore are constantly giving Kyran Moore pointers.
More plays like the ones Moore turned in Sunday could make it difficult for the Roughriders to take him off the roster.
“That’s the plan,” he said with a grin.
