RUSTON - Louisiana Tech junior running back Ryan Moats announced Tuesday that he will skip his senior year to enter the upcoming National Football League draft.

The 5-foot-9-inch, 205-pounder rewrote the Louisiana Tech record book this past season on his way to earning the 2004 Western Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year Award. Moats set Tech single season records for rushing attempts (288), rushing yards (1,774) and rushing touchdowns (18) while also registering a Bulldog record five 200-plus yard rushing performances.

"Ryan Moats was a great running back for us and obviously a huge part of our success the past three years," said Tech head coach Jack Bicknell. "We're sorry to see him go, but we wish him the best of luck with his professional career."

After opening the season with back to back 257-yard rushing efforts in wins over Nevada and UL-Lafayette, Moats gained more national recognition after rushing for 236 yards and a career-high four touchdowns in the Bulldogs 28-21 win over then No. 17 Fresno State.

The 2004 Doak Walker Award semifinalist also registered 200-yard performances against Hawaii (228, 2 TDs) and Tulsa (205, 2 TDs).

Moats burst onto the national scene as a sophomore, rushing for 1,200 yards and 10 touchdowns despite sharing time in the Tech backfield during the first half of the season.

Despite lettering only three years at Tech and starting only two, the two-time first team All-WAC selection finishes his Bulldog career ranking No. 1 in 200-yard rushing performances (7), No. 2 in rushing yards (3,112), No. 3 in rushing touchdowns (28) and No. 7 in career rushing attempts (499).

Moats will become the third straight Louisiana Tech running back to move on to the NFL following in the footsteps of John Simon (Tennessee Titans, Washington Redskins) and Joe Smith (Jacksonville Jaguars, Tampa Bay Bucaneers).

The 2004 NFL Draft is schedule for April 23 and 24.


Ryan Moats #20
RB * 5-9 * 205 * Junior * 3L
Dallas, Texas * Bishop Lynch

2004: Started all 12 games for Louisiana Tech at running back ... Named the Western Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year ... Named first team all-WAC ... Named the Louisiana Sports Writers Association State Offensive Player of the Year ... Named fourth-team All-American by Collegesportsreport.com ... Named honorable mention All-American by the SI.com and Collegefootballnews.com ... Set Louisiana Tech rushing records with 288 carries for 1774 yards and 18 touchdowns during the season ... Led the WAC and finished No. 7 in the nation in rushing yards per game ? Also caught 15 passes for 116 yards and one score ... Registered six games of over 100 yards rushing, including five games of 200-plus yards ... Opened the season with back to back 257-yard rushing games vs. UL-Lafayette (1 TD) and Nevada (3 TDs) ... Rushed for 236 yards and a career-high four touchdowns in Tech?s 28-21 win over No. 28 Fresno State ... His 83-yard TD run vs. Fresno State was the second longest in school history ... Finished his three-year college career ranked No. 2 in school history in rushing yards (3,112), No. 3 in rushing touchdowns (28) and No. 7 in rushing attempts (499) ... 2003: Saw action in all 12 games, making 10 starts at running back for the Bulldogs ... Named first team All-WAC ... Named CollegeSportsReport.com second team All-American ... Named Louisiana Sports Writers Association second team all-state ... WAC Offensive Player of the Week (Oct. 27) ... LSWA Offensive Player of the Week (Oct. 20) ... Three-time Louisiana Tech Offensive Player of the Week (Boise State, Hawaii, Tulsa) ... Rushed 199 times for 1,300 yards and 10 touchdowns ... Caught 27 passes for 251 yards and one score ... Recorded six 100-plus yard rushing games (consecutive), including two performances of over 200 yards rushing ... The six straight 100-plus rushing performances set a school record ... His 1,300 rushing yards ranks No. 2 in Tech history for a single season ... Had three runs of over 60 yards during the year ... Rushed eight times for 99 yards and one score against nationally-ranked Boise State ... Rushed 22 times for 118 yards and two scores against UTEP ... Rushed a career-high 34 times for 267 yards and two touchdowns against Hawaii ... Rushed 31 times for 199 yards and a career-high three touchdowns at Nevada ... Rushed 16 times for 124 yards against eventual national champion LSU (was one of only two running backs all season to rush for more than 100 yards against the Tigers) ... Rushed 17 times for 100 yards and a score against SMU ... Rushed 34 times for 220 yards and a touchdown against Tulsa ... Caught seven passes for 88 yards and a touchdown against Rice ... Caught five passes for 81 yards against Hawaii (totaled 348 all-purpose yards against the Rainbow Warriors) ... Ranked No. 1 in the WAC and No. 19 in the country in rushing yards per game at 108.3 ... Ranked No. 3 in the WAC and No. 26 in the nation in all-purpose yards per game at 129.2 ... Ranked No. 8 in the WAC in scoring at 5.7 per game ... Ranked No. 9 in the WAC in total offense per game at 108.3 ... 2002: Saw action for Tech in all 12 games at running back and on special teams ... Rushed the ball 12 times for 38 yards and recorded six receptions for 74 yards ... Also returned four kickoffs for 75 yards ... Rushed a career-high seven times for 28 yards against Tulsa ... Caught a career-high two passes for 23 yards against San Jose State ... Registered a career-long 18-yard reception against No. 15 Penn State ... High School: Three-year letter winner at running back for Coach Gary Oliver at Bishop Lynch High School ... Helped lead Bishop Lynch to the 2001 district title ... Named the Dave Campbell Texas Private School 2001 Player of the Year ... Named first team all-state (private school) ... Received the Dominic Award for demonstrating leadership abilities ... Ran for 2,646 yards, 33 touchdowns and 9.2 yards per carry as a senior ... Bishop Lynch?s all-time leading rusher with 4,782 yards and 56 touchdowns ... Also ran track ... Getting Acquainted: Liberal arts major ... Son of Rolinda Moats and Richard Jones ... Has four brothers, Jason, Myron, Edward and Brandon, and one sister, Rhonda ... Jason plays for Harding University, Edward plays for Texas Tech and Brandon plays for Texas A&M Commerce ... Born Dec. 17, 1982, in Dallas, Texas ... Age 21.

Rushing
Year G Carries Yds YPC TDs Lg
2002 12 12 38 3.2 0 10
2003 12 199 1300 6.5 10 69
2004 12 288 1774 6.2 18 83
Totals 36 499 3112 6.3 28 83

Receiving
Year G Rec. Yards TDs Long
2002 12 6 74 0 18
2003 12 27 251 1 42
2004 12 15 116 1 26
Totals 36 48 441 2 42