Mizzou receiver J’Mon Moore keeps close tabs on family in Hurricane Harvey’s path

Missouri senior wide receiver J’Mon Moore spent the weekend on the phone checking on his mom, Betty Jones-Moore, other family and friends back home.

Moore, who led the Tigers with 62 catches for 1,012 yards and eight touchdowns last season, signed with Mizzou from Elkins High in Missouri City, Texas, a suburb in southwest Houston.

Hurricane Harvey has dumped more than 4 feet of rain on the Houston area since making landfall last weekend.

The deluge has prompted a deluge of calls of home, too.

“I just had to keep calling and making sure my people were answering the phone,” Moore said.

It’s a tense time, because he’s helpless to lend support from more than 800 miles away after his family stayed put.

“My family is full of soldiers, so we’re going to make it work,” Moore said.

Evacuations were recommended as flooding encroached on Moore’s hometown, but his mom chose to ride out the storm.

“My mom and them were told to evacuate, but my mom’s not leaving the house,” Moore said. “So, she’s just going to hold it down.”

His family’s home has taken on some water, but she’s safe so far.

“We’re just dealing with it and fighting through it,” Moore said. “We’ve got a good system out there. I’ve got some friends going over there to check on my mom. It’s a good deal.”

Moore said he’s talked with Terry Petry, who’s from Ridge Point High in Missouri City, Texas, and Kobie Whiteside, a freshman from Alief Taylor High in Houston, about the situation.

Tigers coach Barry Odom also has checked in regularly with his contingent of players from the Houston area, including Texas transfer Jordan Elliott and freshman safety Joshuah Bledsoe.

Walk-on linebacker Jairan Parker also is from the Houston area, and Hurricane Harvey is also threatening parts of Louisiana, where several other Mizzou players grew up.

“We’ve got seven or eight guys that either have direct family or relatives who are in a bad spot,” Odom said. “That’s something you’ve got to be very sensitive to and try to help them any way that you can. It’s such a catastrophic deal that you don’t have a lot of answers and just want to provide support for them in any way that you can.”

The Tigers open the season Saturday against Missouri State at Memorial Stadium in Columbia.

This story was originally published August 29, 2017 at 9:01 PM with the headline "Mizzou receiver J’Mon Moore keeps close tabs on family in Hurricane Harvey’s path."