Knowshon Rockwell Moreno (born July 16, 1987) is a former American football running back. He played college football at the University of Georgia and was selected with the 12th overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos. He also played for the Miami Dolphins.
Early years
Moreno grew up in Belford, a neighborhood in Middletown Township, New Jersey. His parents are Freddie Moreno, who is of Puerto Rican descent and a former member of the Five-Percent Nation, and Varashon Mcqueen-Moreno who is of African-American descent. At Middletown High School South, he led his team to three Central Jersey Group III championships. He rushed for 1,629 yards on 153 carries and scored 28 touchdowns in 11 games as a senior. He finished his high school career with 6,268 career rushing yards, 128 touchdowns, and 768 points. His rushing yards are second all-time in New Jersey high school ranks, while he is New Jersey's all-time leading scorer. He also rushed for 420 yards and seven touchdowns in one game against the Neptune Scarlet Fliers. He also rushed for six touchdowns against the Monmouth Regional Falcons.
While at Middletown South, Moreno was also a top tier sprinter and jumper during the indoor and outdoor track seasons. In fact, he holds multiple school records, including the fastest time for the 100-meter dash at 11.01 seconds. He recorded a PR of 6.73 seconds in the 55 meters at the 2005 Shore Conference Championships, where he placed 4th. At the 2005 Monmouth County Championships, he captured three state titles, winning the 100 meters (11.1 s), the long jump (6.68 m) and the triple jump (13.38 m).
He was the #10 running back and #73 prospect according to Rivals.com, #9 running back according to Scout.com, and was a PrepStar 200 selection. He was also an EA Sports All-American while being recruited by Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Florida. Moreno eventually signed his letter of intent to Georgia.
Collegiate career
2007 season
Moreno redshirted in 2006, and entered the 2007 season as a redshirt freshman under head coach Mark Richt. After a great spring, Moreno shared time with Thomas Brown as the starting running back in the season opener against Oklahoma State. Moreno totaled 70 yards rushing on 12 carries with two receptions for 51 yards in the 35–14 win. In the following game against South Carolina, Moreno saw most of the rushing duties with 14 carries for 104 yards in the 12–16 loss. In the third game of the season against Western Carolina, Moreno scored his first career college touchdown in a 45–16 win over Western Carolina. His totals on the day were 94 yards on 13 rushes with one touchdown.
Entering the Bulldogs' game against Vanderbilt, it was announced that Georgia's starting tailback Thomas Brown would be sidelined with a broken collarbone. Moreno was elevated to starting tailback in Brown's place and responded with 157 rushing yards in the narrow 20–17 victory.
Following a bye week, he continued his impressive season with 188 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 33 carries as Georgia defeated its rival, Florida. Against Troy the next game, Moreno rushed for 196 yards, joining Herschel Walker as the only player in Georgia history to rush for 1,000 yards in his freshman season.
Moreno rushed for over 100 yards for the fifth straight game in leading the Georgia Bulldogs to a 24–13 victory over Kentucky while totaling 124 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. Moreno is the first Georgia tailback since Herschel Walker in 1982 to rush for over 100 yards in five straight games.
Through the first ten weeks of the 2007 season, Moreno was named the SEC Freshman of the Week three times and SEC Offensive Player of the Week once. He was named onto the all-SEC first-team and was the unanimous SEC Freshman of the Year. He was the featured tailback on the Freshman All-American first-team and was named to the All-Freshman SEC team. Sporting News named him Freshman Offensive Player of the Year.
Moreno finished the season with 1,334 yards on 248 carries for 14 touchdowns. He also added 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions.