Le'Veon Moss ’26
All-SEC running back finds provision and purpose through Aggie Football
By Olin Buchanan
Lined up six yards deep in Texas A&M's backfield, running back Le'Veon Moss '26 faced a significant problem.
He was being hounded by a Missouri defense that had allowed just 367 rushing yards in its first four games of the 2024 season.
But on the first play of the second half, Moss burst through a hole on the left side of A&M's line, juked a safety and blew past the rest of the Tigers' secondary for a 75-yard touchdown.
One of the longest runs of his life was the antithesis of his life — it was the only time he ran away from a problem.
A native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Moss has faced adversity left and right — rejection, burden, frustration and injury. Each could have threatened an emerging career, but he attacked those challenges head-on, fueled by the same ferocity that makes it so difficult to bring him down.
"I was always tough," Moss said. "But I had a purpose to make it with football. Growing up, I used to watch Reggie Bush. I wanted to be like him when he played for the Saints."
Moss' toughness comes from his mother, Tena — a single parent who worked two jobs to ensure her son could chase his dream.
"I didn't have a father in the household," Moss said. "Really, my mom instilled everything into me that she could."
She certainly fostered a tenacity that has served him well, whether it's pursuing his agricultural leadership and development degree or bouncing off tacklers to pick up big chunks of yardage.
"I told him quitting is not an option, no matter what," Tena said. "Don't ever stop. Quitters never win. There's something at the end of the tunnel for you. No matter what that obstacle is, never stop."
“NIL benefits me pretty well. I'm able to help take the load off my mom. It's helped me buy the things my kids need and even want. It really changed my life for the better.”
Moss seemingly could not be stopped when he was at Istrouma High School in Baton Rouge — the same high school that produced 1959 Heisman Trophy winner Billy Cannon of LSU.
Moss rushed for 1,754 yards and scored 23 touchdowns in high school. He was a consensus four-star prospect and originally committed to Alabama in June 2021. He de-committed two months later and eventually signed as part of Texas A&M's top-ranked 2022 recruiting class.
Yet his A&M career was in jeopardy of ending before it started. Moss had one carry for two yards in the first six games of his freshman season. That was hard to take for a player who had starred in high school.
The slow start had nothing to do with Moss' ability. He was playing behind All-SEC running back Devon Achane, a 1,000-yard rusher who would become a third-round NFL draft pick of the Miami Dolphins.
That offered little consolation, as Moss had professional aspirations of his own. He wanted to start a path to the NFL.
Moss became a father as a teenager and felt the pressure of providing for Le'Veon Jr. in ways his father had not provided for him.
"My whole purpose is to be the father that I never had," he said.
Moss and girlfriend Kayla Colligan, his sweetheart since the fifth grade, now have two sons. Love' was born last year.
He's an active father. NIL opportunities have enabled Moss to bring Kayla and their boys to College Station and provide for them. Tena made the move too.
"NIL benefits me pretty well," Moss said. "I'm able to help take the load off my mom. It's helped me buy the things my kids need and even want. It really changed my life for the better."
Three years ago, Moss didn't have that help. Responsibilities of fatherhood weighed heavily on his mind, and frustration grew with each game spent standing idle on the sideline. Fortunately for Texas A&M, Tena's words of "quitting is not an option" echoed in his mind.
Moss heeded his mother's advice.
Early in the 2024 season, he rushed for 110 yards against Florida and 117 against Arkansas. Then came the Missouri defense, which had allowed an average of just 91.7 rushing yards in the first four games.
Moss, of course, exceeded that on the 75-yard touchdown run. He went on to rush for a career-high 138 yards and scored three touchdowns. He was on his way to a 1,000-yard season until he sustained a knee injury at the end of a 20-yard gain against South Carolina on Nov. 2.
His 2024 season came to a close early, though his determination did not. It was just another problem from which he would not run away. When he looked at his knee, he saw his sons.
"They motivated me to get up and go about every day," Moss said. "Seeing them made me want to push my rehab to get healthy as fast as I could."
More determined than ever, Moss worked to recover in time for the 2025 season opener, showing the same explosiveness and punishing running style that makes him an elite back. While his final chapter at Texas A&M has yet to be written, he has already proven his resilience, grit and commitment.
For Moss, football is more than a game — it's a way to honor his mother's lessons, provide for his family and pursue a dream years in the making. Whatever obstacle comes next, he'll meet it head-on.