Louis Moore still can't believe how far the Indiana program has come in just two years. One of the few Hoosiers to experience the lows of the pre-Curt Cignetti era and the highs of a National Championship turnaround, Moore stood at the NFL Draft Scouting Combine on Thursday morning filled with gratitude.
"A couple years ago, since I've been at Indiana, I don't think we had anybody come (to the Combine)," Moore said. "Just the fact that we've got nine (players) here, it's something special. Indiana's trajectory is changing for the future, and the dynasty is starting."
Moore, one of the oldest players in college football last season, took an unconventional path to get to the 2026 NFL Draft. The 24-year-old safety began his career as a wide receiver at Navarro Community College, a junior college in his home state Texas. After multiple years of toiling on offense, he switched positions to safety and found his true home. Three years later, Indiana discovered Moore and gave him a big-time opportunity.
Moore's first stint at Indiana spanned two seasons from 2022-23, a stretch in which the Hoosiers won just seven total games and ended with former head coach Tom Allen's firing. Cignetti was hired soon after the 2023 season and brought with him a completely overhauled coaching staff and roster, one that didn't include Moore.
"I honestly never really wanted to leave Indiana," Moore said. "Coach Allen got fired, and stuff just played out the way it played. But just coming back and the way I was embraced by my teammates that was here before, but even day one, the new guys that came in, they knew of me. I had built a relationship with them before I even left, so it was like we weren't brand new."
Moore's one season at Ole Miss playing for then-head coach Lane Kiffin was marred by injuries. Though he appeared in 11 games and made two starts with the Rebels, Moore was limited by injuries and passed on depth chart as he struggled to get back to full strength. What was supposed to be Moore's final college season in Oxford turned into a feeling of unfinished business.
After the 2024 season, Moore hopped back into the transfer portal and found his way back to Indiana. There were no hard feelings between Moore and the Hoosiers. Cignetti called it "a business decision" for both sides; beginning with Moore's decision to leave Indiana, then Indiana's decision to bring him back a year later.
Moore's return to Indiana was as close to a perfect marriage as possible. Indiana helped develop Moore the 5-foot-11, 200-pounder into an All-Big Ten First Team selection, All-American and projected Day 3 NFL Draft pick, and Moore helped deliver the program an undefeated national championship season.
This version of the Hoosiers was unlike anything Moore once remembered them to be just a few years prior.
"I feel like Coach Cig was more strict on the program," Moore said. "I feel like people knew what was at stake for their careers. I know he cut a lot of people if they weren't up to the standard. If you weren't up to the standard, you weren't going to play. There was no bare minimum with Coach Cig. If the standard was high, it was never good enough."
Moore share an anecdote Thursday of an interaction he had with Cignetti which best encapsulated his matter-of-fact personality.
The conversation between Moore and Cignetti happened in the days after Indiana's 56-6 blowout win over UCLA. Moore recorded six tackles as IU's defense held the Bruins to just a pair of field goals. However, Cignetti still wasn't happy with Moore.
Moore was flagged for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty midway through the second quarter. Cignetti was less than pleased, and after watching back the tape, Cignetti called Moore into his office.
"He was just getting onto me, but he was watching film at the same time" Moore said. "He didn't make eye contact with me. He was just clicking on his TV, I was over there, and he was just clicking on it and just getting on me.
"He's like, 'You got me?' I was like, 'Yes, sir, I got you.' And then I got up, and he was like, 'Louis, I love you.' I'm like, 'I love you, too, coach.'"
Moore's 2025 season wasn't all smooth sailing. Despite tallying six interceptions, tied for second-most nationally, and 88 total tackles, Moore was clouded by an ongoing lawsuit against the NCAA regarding his eligibility.
The NCAA rejected Moore's petition and appeal for an additional year of eligibility in 2025, and Moore's only recourse was to escalate the matter in the form of a lawsuit. As the court battle played out during the season, Moore went into every week with uncertainty if it might be his last.
"The first couple games, I'm like, 'Okay, this might be my last game,'" Moore said. "So that was stressful, but I just tried to make the most of it."
Moore was eventually awarded an injunction against the NCAA which effectively allowed him to play the remainder of the 2025 season without worry.
Now, Moore is on the precipice of realizing a once-impossible dream of playing in the NFL. He has Indiana to thank.
"After the year I had at Ole Miss, I just wanted to come back and go out the right way," Moore said. "I got injured at Ole Miss and that wasn't what I planned on doing in my last year. But even with getting this year back, I just wanted to come back and be at peace with where I was at."