When a player announces they'll make a decision while on a scheduled visit to the presumed favorite school, it tends to portend good news for that school.

Delran (New Jersey) athlete RJ Moten didn't pull the most audacious recruiting troll move in recent memory; he committed to Michigan to help kick off today's BBQ at the Big House.

finally committed❤️❤️ #goblue pic.twitter.com/MX4eXG7t5l

— rj moten (@rjmoten_) July 27, 2019

Moten isn't just a big pickup for Jim Harbaugh. A potential major league outfielder, he told 247's Notorious B1G podcast that he'll play both football and baseball at the college level, and Eric Bakich's recent success played a factor in his eventual commitment.

On the gridiron, Moten projects as a safety, VIPER, or running back. While most of his film is on offense, his upside is considered highest on defense. Moten's father, Ron, is a former Florida standout linebacker whose NFL career was derailed by knee injuries, though he gives the athletic advantage in the family to his son:

Some of those traits came from his father, Ron Moten, who played football at Florida and was a sixth-round draft pick of the Philadelphia Eagles in 1987.

“RJ, he’s a far better athlete than I was in high school and I was a blue chipper,” Ron said. “I was recruited by almost all the Division-I schools on the east coast and as far as west as UCLA, USC and Washington, but RJ is five times a better athlete than I was in high school.”

Moten is the 22nd commit in the 2020 class, which now ranks seventh nationally.

GURU RATINGS

Rivals	ESPN	247	247 Comp
3*, 5.5, NR ATH, #27 NJ	4*, 81, #16 ATH, #7 NJ, #247 Ovr	4*, 94, #6 S, #2 NJ, #93 Ovr	4*, #26 S, #8 NJ, #287 Ovr

Rivals slapped a pretty inexplicable middling three-star ranking on Moten last month that'll almost certainly change once they take a closer look.

247 falls on the other end of the scale, slipping Moten inside their updated top 100 to continue his rise up their rankings. Ranked in the 800s as recently as this spring, Moten shot into 247's top 200 in April after standing out on the camp circuit, and he rose another 84 spots to his current placement this week.

ESPN falls in the middle and provides nothing beyond a ranking.

Moten measured in at 5'11.5", 200 pounds at an Opening regional. He already has the frame of a college defender and it looks like he can still add some more weight.

[Hit THE JUMP for scouting, video, and the rest.]

SCOUTING

Moten didn't have any scouting out there beyond coach quotes until his appearance at the Opening New Jersey regional, where he had the event's best combine performance and stood out as a receiver on his way to earning honorable mention top performer from 247 in a loaded field:

RJ Moten of Delran (N.J. ) High put on a quite a show as the 6-1, 195-pound receiver ran 4.62 in the 40 and had a vertical of 40.9 inches. He was smooth into his breaks and explosive out of them. He separated well and was sure-handed.

That led to his bump into four-star territory. 247's Barton Simmons expanded upon the initial scouting report with the new ranking and gave us a quote that I expect will stick around:

One of the stars from The Opening New Jersey regional, Moten checked just about every box over the weekend. He was the best combine performer at the event, he was one of the top performers at the event, he’s a multi-sport standout, he had fantastic production as a runner, pass-catcher and defender as a junior and he has position versatility. The combine was highlighted by a 40 inch vertical and a 4.62 40 at just under 6-foot-0. Moten had over 1,300 rushing yards at nearly nine yards per carry last season and he is good enough in baseball to be a high-level prospect there as well. The kid also sports a 4.0 GPA. He’s just a high achieving person and worth a significant rankings bump.

Before the second rankings bump, Brian Dohn named Moten the #6 spring camp/combine performer in the East region and mentioned that colleges were "liking him more at safety."

Even though he's relatively fleet of foot, he plays with a lot of aggression, and given his already strapping build he could be ticketed for VIPER. Given these quotes his coach gave Allen Trieu, that sounds like a tight fit:

A stocky 6-foot, 200-pounder, Moten has also excelled on offense as a running back and pass-catcher. On defense, those same ball skills and offensive abilities apply along with his hitting. His high school coach Garrett Lucas compared him to former Wolverine Jabrill Peppers.

“When he wants to come downhill, he doesn’t just want to tackle someone. He wants to come down with force and really smack people, like (how) Sean Taylor played,” Lucas said. “He has watched how Jabrill plays that viper position, or how he used to at Michigan, and I think that’s what I see him as.”

Lucas was even more effusive when talking to Irish Sports Daily. This is a hell of a quote:

“I can promise you I will never coach another individual like RJ in my life,” Lucas says of the 2020 athlete.

As is this character testimony:

“He’s a guy who will give up his Sundays to work with youth athletes, holding chains or coaching them up at youth football events,” says Lucas. “Whatever we need from a coaching perspective, whether it’s community service or a way to give back to his school or his community, he steps up. He’s not a kid who plays video games. He’s always hanging out trying to make his teammates better and make himself better.

“I am firm believer in ‘Somebody is always watching you.’ There are times when I’ve caught him working with freshman kids who can’t even lift the bar. You just don’t see that in today’s world. He does that willingly.”

The final word goes to—surprise!—247, which has an extensive scouting report from national analyst Charles Power on Moten's profile page:

Possesses a thick, muscular build with a developed lower body. Already looks like a college defender and shouldn't have to gain much mass or strength to contribute early in his career. Tests as an explosive athlete with good times in the 40-yard dash and short shuttle along with a sterling 40+ inch vertical jump. Also an outstanding baseball player and on the MLB Draft radar. Primarily plays running back, safety and returner for his high school program and worked out at camps as a receiver- but likely projects at safety long term. Is a highly versatile player who could play four to five positions in college if needed. Has impressive range and physicality at safety. Is able to uses his speed and instincts in anticipating throws while sitting in deep zone coverage. At running back, he's an athletic and physical runner with the ability to pull away from defenses with ease in addition to consistently running through arm tackles. Has a long, easy stride once he's in the open field. Will need to hone his coverage technique given his relative inexperience in man coverage as he plays so much offense. Checks many of the boxes as a top prospect in terms of athleticism both with times and in multiple sports, diversity of football skills and bloodlines (father played in NFL). Projects as a multi-year starter at the Power 5 level with the upside of developing into an early round NFL Draft pick.

Moten's film is almost entirely of him on offense, so projecting how he'll be as a defender requires more, uh, projection than usual. His physical upside is apparent, however, and the football instincts he shows on film should translate to defense. He's an exciting pickup.

OFFERS

Moten holds offers from Notre Dame, Penn State (which was recruiting him as a running back), Duke, Kentucky, Minnesota, Pitt, Purdue, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia, among others.

HIGH SCHOOL

Delran (NJ) hasn't produced an FBS signee dating back to 2002, per the Rivals database. Let's just say Moten stands out on tape against his competition.

STATS

Junior stats via the Cherry Hill Courier-Post:

Last football season he rushed for 1,305 yards and 16 touchdowns, caught 16 passes for almost 300 yards and four scores and recorded five interceptions and 13 pass breakups playing safety.

FAKE 40 TIME

Moten has Opening-verified combine numbers: 4.62 40 (zero FAKEs, he looks fast on tape), 4.31 shuttle, and a 40.9" vertical. While he doesn't have cornerback hips, he's an excellent athlete.

VIDEO

Junior highlights:

Sophomore highlights and single-game reels can be found on his Hudl page.

PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE

While the film of Moten on defense is scant, VIPER looks to be his best position in college unless he reveals the man coverage chops required to play safety in Don Brown's system. Multi-talented athletes have tended to wind up at VIPER (Peppers, Hudson) and Moten fits that description. There's also not much clarity at that spot after Khaleke Hudson exhausts his eligibility this year, so Moten could get an early crack at the two-deep.

UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS

Michigan doesn't appear to be done with safety-types. Four-star West Bloomfield safety Makari Paige, who's predicted to be a Wolverine, will announce his decision on Tuesday afternoon.

While the class appears close to reaching its max, Michigan is still going after several top targets—Brian's overview from the beginning of the month still holds up, just mentally add Moten and Roman Wilson to the commit pile.