An Interview with Byron Moore

Submitted by TomVH on

Byron Moore (6'1", 205 lbs) is a junior college safety in an interesting situation. Moore was a USC commit for the 2009 class, redshirted his freshman year and decided to transfer to Los Angeles Harbor Community College for this season. As many other players did, Byron left the program after the NCAA sanctions came down. His situation is unique because he is not at the junior college because of grades or any other reason than the fact that he didn't want to sit out another year of football. He's now going through the recruiting process again, and here's what he had to say about Michigan:

TOM: I know it's still early for you, but how will Michigan play into your recruitment this time around?

BYRON: Michigan has called my coach and my dad a few times. They're really handling everything for me right now. Back in high school I had a real good relationship with Coach Dews, so I'm looking forward to talking with him again. 

TOM: This is a different situation for you. You had an offer from Michigan initially, but do you have one now? Do they need to re-offer you?

BYRON: Yeah, they technically need to re-offer me I guess. The coaches there told me that if I want to come play for them then I just need to let them know. I basically have an offer from them.

TOM: Are you going to take all your visits again?

BYRON: I'm not sure where I'm going to go yet, but I do get to take my visits again. I'm looking forward to maybe setting up a visit out to Michigan though.

TOM: What other schools are you hearing from now?

BYRON: I'm hearing from Washington State, they came by last Friday, UCLA is calling, and I know Penn State has sent me a few emails. I'm mainly focusing on school right now to make sure my grades are in order. I'm just trying to make it through this year until June and get on my way.

TOM: What are you looking for this time around? Does it help to have experience going through the process once before?

BYRON: I'm pretty much looking for somewhere that I can play right now, and get a good education. Going through the process before helped me a lot. It helped me know what to look for and what questions to ask. It will just make everything easier for me.

**I also spoke with Byron's current head coach, Brett Peabody, who had nothing but good things to say about him. 

Byron is a first class human being. He has great parents, and a great home life. I've known him for a while now. He plays both corner and free safety for us right now, and there's no doubt he could play that at a D1 school. There's a reason he was a US Army All American out of high school; he's an exceptional athlete.

He's focusing on his season right now, but Michigan could definitely use this type of player, and someone that could come in to compete right away. Since he's at JUCO for different reasons than most it will be interesting to see if Michigan is a realistic opportunity for him. From everything that I've been told it doesn't sound like it would be much of a problem, but you never know.

Comments

tenerson

October 6th, 2010 at 6:04 PM ^

saying we could get a former USC commit with 3 years left that could probably play right away at two differnt positions in our defensive back field. Yes, please.

StephenRKass

October 6th, 2010 at 6:08 PM ^

It'll be nice to have Dee, but to have a safety/corner like Byron Moore is just so much more important right now. Thank you, Tom VH. I'd plus you, but I guess that doesn't really matter to you mods, since you can do whatever you want with points anyway. Just thanks.

gmbblue

October 6th, 2010 at 6:29 PM ^

Similar to Shaw and Painter who got in because they were already qualifiers out of high school, which means the JUCO credits should be a non issue, he is a qualifier already.

M-Wolverine

October 6th, 2010 at 7:54 PM ^

I'm going to start believing in a Michigan Secondary Loving God. Because this sounds too perfect to be true. And I dont get that excited over any one recruit.

MEZman

October 6th, 2010 at 10:49 PM ^

Tom,

Did he happen to mention his proficiency level in geometry and trigonometry? Does he know about the angles?!

/s

Thanks for this interview sounds like he could be a good pick-up who could see the field quickly.

JaySoul

October 7th, 2010 at 12:02 AM ^

I remember Moore and his pops were two of my biggest worries last year in recruiting Parker. I can remember reading how he kept going to SC to hang out with his friend & ex-teammate who of course was trying to get him to SC. Crazy how the world of recruiting turns...

Noahdb

October 7th, 2010 at 10:18 AM ^

Junior colleges are not interchangeable. You can't compare what happens at one JUCO to what happens at another.

There are some JUCOs that are excellent academic institutions and have working relationships with the state schools in their vicinity. Kids will go there a lot of times just to save money. Getting you associates degree can cost a fraction of the costs of two years room and board and tuition at a four-year college. Those schools work with the admissions departments at the state schools to make sure that the courses they offer will transfer with no problems.

Then there are the JUCOs that tend to be more like semi-pro athletic teams. Those are the ones that most of us have heard of because it's where non-qualifiers always seem to end up. Kansas and Mississippi, for some reason, have a bunch of these schools. An associate's degree from one of these schools doesn't exactly count for a whole lot.

Because this kid was a full qualifier, he shouldn't have a lot of trouble. It would be a really good move on his part to pick a school quickly and talk with the admissions folks to make sure that he's enrolled in the right classes.

Ave Victoribus

October 7th, 2010 at 11:00 AM ^

Rivals rated his coverage awareness, hands, and instincts highly, but he needed to improve his closing speed.  He runs a 4.5 40 according to Yahoo! Sports.  Makes me wonder where he is on both these after a year at USC and now a JUCO year.

FWIW, he was originally a UCLA commit that changed his mind. 

I'm mildly enthused by his interest at this point.

canzior

October 7th, 2010 at 11:19 AM ^

This guy is a very good wide receiver. He looks just as good in person as he does on tape and he is very versatile. Moore has excellent size; he's thickly built and extremely tough. Is ultra-competitive in jump ball and contested match-ups and he has very good speed and explosiveness for his size. He can play inside or outside and is just as effective versus man coverage as he is zone. He is very smooth and fluid. Displays outstanding hands. Can consistently catch over his head. Strong hands to pluck in traffic. Can snatch the ball on the run with very little wasted motion. Extends well outside his frame and has very long arms. Is a threat after the catch. Does not possess elite initial burst, but he does display a second-gear to run away from defenders once he gets going. Sees the entire field and shows the change-of-direction ability to make sharp cuts without losing speed. Is strong and will drag some defenders for extra yards after the catch. Shows excellent open field run skills and definitely has a future as a kick return man. Top end, straight-line speed is very good and he will win footraces. Moore may not be shifty and sudden in the open field, but he is elusive and smooth and very strong-- is difficult to bring down one-on-one. Overall, Moore could be a guy that really escalates into a top flight WR at the next level and he also has upside as a redzone guy too. Excellent prospect.