During Kapron Lewis-Moore‘s Notre Dame career, the six-foot-four, 300-pound defensive end had his share of bad timing.
An injury during the 2011 season cut short his junior year just as the Irish needed him most. After an impressive final season, an ACL injury during the biggest game of his career threw his draft potential into question. So it’s only fitting that when he finally was selected with the 200th pick of the NFL Draft, Lewis-Moore wouldn’t even be at his own draft party to celebrate.
With a group of friends assembled in Chicago to celebrate Lewis-Moore’s selection, the veteran defensive end was across the street at a sandwich shop when he received a call from the Baltimore Ravens’ general manager Ozzie Newsome.
“I was getting ready to order at the sandwich shop, trying to make up my mind what I wanted, when my phone rang,” Lewis-Moore told the South Bend Tribune on Saturday. “It was a Baltimore area code. I’m like, ‘I better take this.’ ”
The call from the Ravens was a reward well deserved for Lewis-Moore, who has battled his way through five years in South Bend. From starting on a group that was one of the worst defenses in Irish history, to anchoring a defensive front that was historically stout, KLM, or “Old Man Kap” as some teammates call him, was beginning to lose faith before he was selected.
“In the middle of the sixth I was losing a little hope,” Lewis-Moore said. “I was like, ‘Hey, let me go get a sandwich and whatever happens happens.’ I saw the Baltimore area code and I was like, ‘Woah.’”
Only twelve weeks removed from ACL surgery, it’s the type of positive reaffirmation needed for Lewis-Moore, who won’t be rushed back.
“I know the knee set me back a little bit, but hey, you can only control what you can control,” Lewis-Moore said. “I’m rehabbing, working my butt off to get right again. I’m just really happy for the opportunity.”