When it comes to Kenny Moore, Wake Forest’s roster is misleading. The 6-foot, 204-pound redshirt senior is listed as a receiver, but when he steps on the field, he does a lot more than just catch the football.

He’ll play running back and return punts and kickoffs, as the Deamon Deacons do everything they can to get the ball into the hands of their best offensive player.

“I just do whatever I have to do. They try to put me in position to make plays and it's my job to make plays,” Moore said. “It's not really a receiving or a running thing, it's whenever they put the ball in my hands, (I need) to do something with it.”

Last year, Moore ran all over Maryland, rushing for 165 yards and a touchdown in a convincing, 38-24 victory that sent his team to the Atlantic Coast Conference title game, where it defeated Georgia Tech to earn a berth in the Orange Bowl.

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This season, Moore has resumed where he left off, as he has averaged 148 all-purpose yards through the first three games. He leads the ACC with 24 receptions, and leads his team with 124 rushing yards and 187 receiving yards.

“Kenny is playing like we hoped he would,” Coach Jim Grobe said. “Moving him back to wide receiver, one of the concerns we had was being able to get him the football, but as its turned out we're able to do a little bit of everything with him.”

The Demon Deacons (1-2 overall, 0-1 league) lost their first conference game of the year to Boston College to open the season, and they know they can't afford to have any major setbacks if they want to repeat as ACC champions. Maryland (2-1, 0-0 league) will likely need to win this game if it is going to contend for the Atlantic Division title and advance to the ACC title game.

“My goals are to do whatever I need to do for the team,” Moore said. “I want to repeat and get back to another ACC championship. I didn't set individual goals, I just want to do what I have to do to help my team win.”

After Wake Forest followed its loss to Boston College with a demoralizing, 20-17 loss at home to Nebraska when it squandered its last scoring opportunity by throwing an interception in the end zone, Moore sparked his team to a 21-10 victory over Army by returning a punt 55 yards for a touchdown.

Last week, looking for their first win of the year, Moore sparked the Demon Deacons with a 55-yard punt return for a touchdown en route to a 21-10 victory. Today against Maryland, Moore will look to repeat last year's performance, both for himself and the team.

“It's definitely a very important game, you don't want to get behind in the ACC,” Moore said. “We gotta come out and put our best foot forward, and do what we gotta do to get a win.”

dduberstein@baltimoreexaminer.com