Aug. 19, 2002

Moore rushed for 890 yards as a freshman, the most by a Tulane back since 1970 and the top mark ever by a freshman. As a true freshman, Moore rushed for a season-high 131 yards against East Carolina, one of five 100-yard games for the rookie on the year. Mewelde Moore gained his yards any way possible, even by going airborne himself. His impressive rookie year numbers came despite an injury which caused him to miss nearly two full games.

A threat as a receiver as well, the freshman Moore had 350 receiving yards on 33 catches. He had 101 receiving yards against Army. Mewelde Moore ranked second in Conference USA with 89 rushing yards per game, while also placing fourth in the league with 124 all-purpose yards per game.