Kamari Cotton-Moya (born December 11, 1994) is a former American football defensive back. His accolades during his college career include 2017 First-team All-Big 12,[1] 2016 Second-team All-Big 12,[2] and Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year in 2014.[3]
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head Coach |
| Team | Denison-Schleswig Monarchs |
| Conference | Hawkeye 10 |
| Record | 7-11 |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | December 11, 1994 Bakersfield, California |
| Playing career | |
| 2014-2017 | Iowa State |
| 2018 | Arizona Hotshots |
| Position(s) | Defensive back |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 2021-Present | Denison-Schleswig HS (IA) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 7-11 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Awards | |
| |
High school career edit
At Ridgeview High School Cotton-Moya was a two-way star on the football field, he started both as quarterback and defensive back for the Wolfpack.[4] His junior season Cotton-Moya rushed for 1,580 yards and 13 touchdowns as well as throwing for 464 yards and six touchdowns. The following year en route to a Central Section Division III Championship he rushed for 2,258 yards and 27 touchdowns in addition to passing for 1,580 yards and 13 touchdowns.[5]
Recruiting edit
Despite excelling at multiple positions, Cotton-Moya was only lightly recruited as an athlete out of high school. He ultimately committed to Iowa State over Fresno State, Nevada, and Utah State.[6][7]
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kamari Cotton-Moya ATH |
Bakersfield, California | Ridgeview | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Jan 20, 2013 | |
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 78
| ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: 247Sports: 1,637, 186 (CA), 186 (ATH) ESPN: 69 (CA), 79 (ATH) | ||||||
Sources:
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College career edit
2014 season edit
After redshirting his initial college season Cotton-Moya made his debut in 2014, he started 11 of the 12 games he played in. He led the Cyclones in tackles with 77 and was third on the team with seven passes defended. His 77 tackles rank sixth best for an ISU freshman.[8] His season highlights were 12 tackles and a tackle for loss against Toledo,[9] another 12 tackles against Kansas,[10] and seven tackles plus a recovered fumble against West Virginia.[11]
At the conclusion of the season Cotton-Moya was named the Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year[3] as well as a First-team Freshman All-American by the FWAA.[12]
2015 season edit
In 2015 Kamari was on pace for an even better season than his last but it was cut short by a season ending hamstring injury after six games.[13] He finished the season with 40 recorded tackles as three tackles for a loss. Against UNI[14] Cotton-Moya made eight tackles and he had a season high of nine tackles against both Iowa[15] and TCU.[16]
2016 season edit
In 2016 while serving as co-captain, Cotton-Moya built upon the success of his freshman campaign. He was third on the team with 73 tackles and led the team in solo tackles with 58, ranking sixth in the Big 12 and 27th in FBS.[17] Additionally he led the team in takeaways with two interceptions, two fumble recoveries, and a forced fumble. He had 11 tackle games against both UNI[18] and San Jose State.[19] He earned Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week[20] against Texas Tech for making six tackles, forcing a fumble, recovering a fumble, and a 48-yard pick 6.[21]
Cotton-Moya was named to the second-team All-Big 12 (2016) at the end of the season.[2]
2017 season edit
Serving again in 2017 as a team captain, Cotton-Moya once again anchored the Cyclone defense. He finished the season with 60 tackles, three for a loss, three interceptions, and one touchdown.[22] His three interceptions were good for fifth best in the Big 12. He opened the season against UNI[23] with three tackles and his second career pick 6. He followed that up with interceptions against Iowa[24] and Texas[25] and eight solo tackles against Oklahoma State.[26]
At the conclusion of the season he was named a consensus first-team All-Big 12 player.[27]
College statistics edit
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | GS | Comb | Solo | Ast | TFL | PD | Int | Yds | Avg | TD | FF | FR | |||
| 2014 | Iowa State | 12 | 11 | 63 | 45 | 18 | 1.5 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 2015 | Iowa State | 6 | 6 | 40 | 26 | 14 | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0. | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2016 | Iowa State | 11 | 10 | 73 | 58 | 15 | 2.0 | 5 | 2 | 48 | 24.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2017 | Iowa State | 11 | 11 | 60 | 39 | 21 | 3.0 | 2 | 3 | 54 | 18.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| College Totals | 40 | 38 | 236 | 168 | 68 | 9.5 | 15 | 5 | 102 | 20.4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Reference:[8] | |||||||||||||||
Professional career edit
In 2018, Cotton-Moya signed with the Arizona Hotshots of the Alliance of American Football for the 2019 season.[28] He was placed on injured reserve after suffering a season-ending injury to his right knee. The league ceased operations in April 2019.[29]
Personal life edit
Kamari's cousin, Sheldon Croney Jr, also played at Iowa State.[30] Kamari contemplated quitting 3 times from Iowa State football program but was able to stick it out. He has a daughter.[31]
References edit
- ^ @BrianMozey, Brian Mozey, brian.mozey@iowastatedaily.com. "Matt Campbell and Iowa State players named to AP All-Big 12 Team".
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b "2016 All-Big 12 Football Awards Announced".
- ^ a b "All-Big 12 Football Awards Announced".
- ^ "Kamari Cotton-moya's High School Football Stats". MaxPreps.com.
- ^ "Football: How a bullet, his baby and his mom changed Cotton-Moya's life".
- ^ Californian, The Bakersfield. "Ridgeview's Cotton-Moya commits to Iowa St".
- ^ "Kamari Cotton-Moya, Ridgeview , Athlete". 247Sports.
- ^ a b "Kamari Cotton-Moya College Stats - College Football at Sports-Reference.com". College Football at Sports-Reference.com.
- ^ "Toledo vs. Iowa State - Game Summary - October 11, 2014 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
- ^ "Iowa State vs. Kansas - Game Summary - November 8, 2014 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
- ^ "West Virginia vs. Iowa State - Game Summary - November 29, 2014 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
- ^ "FWAA > News > Freshman All-America Team". www.sportswriters.net.
- ^ "Football: The test Cotton-Moya must pass in order to face Kansas State".
- ^ "Northern Iowa vs. Iowa State - Game Summary - September 5, 2015 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
- ^ "Iowa vs. Iowa State - Game Summary - September 12, 2015 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
- ^ "TCU vs. Iowa State - Game Summary - October 17, 2015 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
- ^ "2016 Leaders - College Football at Sports-Reference.com". College Football at Sports-Reference.com.
- ^ "Northern Iowa vs. Iowa State - Game Summary - September 3, 2016 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
- ^ "San Jose State vs. Iowa State - Game Summary - September 24, 2016 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
- ^ "Cotton-Moya Named Big 12 Co-Defensive Player of the Week".
- ^ "Texas Tech vs. Iowa State - Game Summary - November 19, 2016 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
- ^ "Kamari Cotton-Moya 2017 Game Log - College Football at Sports-Reference.com". College Football at Sports-Reference.com.
- ^ "Northern Iowa vs. Iowa State - Game Recap - September 2, 2017 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
- ^ "Iowa vs. Iowa State - Game Recap - September 9, 2017 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
- ^ "Texas vs. Iowa State - Game Recap - September 28, 2017 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
- ^ "Oklahoma State vs. Iowa State - Game Recap - November 11, 2017 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
- ^ @BrianMozey, Brian Mozey, brian.mozey@iowastatedaily.com. "NOTEBOOK: Matt Campbell and players on Big 12 honors, David Montgomery, Bryce Meeker".
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Arizona Hotshots football 2019 schedule, roster, coaching staff". azcentral. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
- ^ Rothstein, Michael; Wickersham, Seth (June 13, 2019). "Inside the short, unhappy life of the Alliance of American Football". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
- ^ Mozey, Brian. "A friendship and legacy of Ridgeview High players in Ames". Iowa State Daily. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
- ^ Birch, Tommy. "Kamari Cotton-Moya is pumped for a senior day that nearly never was". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved 15 March 2021.