At Ridgeview High School Cotton-Moya was a two-way star on the football field, he started both as quarterback and defensive back for the Wolfpack. His junior season Cotton-Moya rushed for 1,580 yards and 13 touchdowns as well as throwing for 464 yards and six touchdowns. The following year en route to a Central Section Division III Championship he rushed for 2,258 yards and 27 touchdowns in addition to passing for 1,580 yards and 13 touchdowns.
After redshirting his initial college season Cotton-Moya made his debut in 2014, he started 11 of the 12 games he played in. He led the Cyclones in tackles with 77 and was third on the team with seven passes defended. His 77 tackles rank sixth best for an ISU freshman. His season highlights were 12 tackles and a tackle for loss against Toledo, another 12 tackles against Kansas, and seven tackles plus a recovered fumble against West Virginia. At the conclusion of the season Cotton-Moya was named the Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year as well as a First-team Freshman All-American by the FWAA.
In 2015 Kamari was on pace for an even better season than his last but it was cut short by a season ending hamstring injury after six games. He finished the season with 40 recorded tackles as three tackles for a loss. Against UNI Cotton-Moya made eight tackles and he had a season high of nine tackles against both Iowa and TCU.
2016 season
In 2016 while serving as co-captain, Cotton-Moya built upon the success of his freshman campaign. He was third on the team with 73 tackles and led the team in solo tackles with 58, ranking sixth in the Big 12 and 27th in FBS. Additionally he led the team in takeaways with two interceptions, two fumble recoveries, and a forced fumble. He had 11 tackle games against both UNI and San Jose State. He earned Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week against Texas Tech for making six tackles, forcing a fumble, recovering a fumble, and a 48-yard pick 6. Cotton-Moya was named to the second-team All-Big 12 at the end of the season.
2017 season
Serving again in 2017 as a team captain, Cotton-Moya once again anchored the Cyclone defense. He finished the season with 60 tackles, three for a loss, three interceptions, and one touchdown. His three interceptions were good for fifth best in the Big 12. He opened the season against UNI with three tackles and his second career pick 6. He followed that up with interceptions against Iowa and Texas and eight solo tackles against Oklahoma State. At the conclusion of the season he was named a consensus first-team All-Big 12 player.
