Moorhead did not simply inherit a better situation. He inherited one of the best situations in school history including 3 first round draft picks on defense - two of whom went on to the pro bowl. Those guys held Iowa to negative rush yards and 199 pass yards, and we still lost that game...
Why was he defenseless? He caught the ball and took about 3 steps before contact. A defenseless WR is one who "has not clearly become a ball carrier" after the catch.