No, this is not the 2022 WLB prospect who is transferring from Nebraska, but a bona fide 2023 WLB prospect who visited Michigan during the Night of All the Commits and promptly decommitted from Nebraska.

At that point this point seemed a foregone conclusion:

We are sorry, Nebraska. If it makes him Rhule feel any better, Moore was talking to Wisconsin a lot after Frost was fired, and Michigan got the Denver linebacker/starting pitcher to cancel a visit in College Station, Texas, in favor of snowy Ann Arbor.

You wouldn't know he's a linebacker with Wisconsin/Iowa/Texas A&M offers from the way Moore slipped under the raters' radars. There seem to be two reasons for that, other than his whole class's sophomore season being wiped out. For one, Moore is a dual-sport prospect who wants to play baseball at the next level, and stayed in pitching shape during the season, which explains why he sometimes showed up to camps closer to 200 than a more linebacker-ideal 220.

The other reason is he grew into a linebacker (and tight end) later in his high school career; Moore's COVID season workout videos all show him running routes, not covering them, and he was still being listed as a receiver on recruiting lists as late as September 2021. His junior season was good (11 TFLs, 5 sacks), but he came a long way as a senior. That A&M offer hit in early October.

A third may be his position at St. Regis was kind of a hybrid OLB in their 3-3-5. Moore often had his hand in the dirt as a DE, and collected quite a few of his prolific sack numbers coming off the edge, not doom squirreling through an A-gap. But he did that too. In fact, other than tackling everything in sight, the versatility seems to be the main theme.

GURU RATINGS

RATINGS BY SITE
247: 6'3/210	On3: 6'3/210	Rivals: 6'3/210	ESPN: 6'3/210
3*, 86, NR Ovr #103 LB, #6 CO	3*, 86, NR Ovr #99 LB, #10 CO	3*, 5.5,  not ranked	3*, 77, #221 Midlands #68 OLB, #8 CO
3.56	3.44	3.50	3.49
COMPOSITE RANKINGS
247 Composite	On3 Consensus	MGoBlog
3*, 0.8583, #1107 Ovr #89 LB, #8 CO	3*, 84.33, #1248 Ovr #113 LB, #8 CO	3*, #669/768 Ovr #66/77 ILBs since 1990
3.58	3.43	3.50

Last row is my conversion to a five-star scale. Links are to profiles.

[After THE JUMP: Sorry, I was thinking about how Michigan uses Junior Colson]

SCOUTING

On3's Tim Verghese clearly sees Moore as a "true linebacker" which is how he described what Texas A&M was looking for when they offered. HuskerOnline's staff often specified that Moore was the "off-the-ball" linebacker (WLB) in the class. Bryan Munson saw a versatile ILB/OLB for modern football:

The scouting report on Moore is that he projects to play either MIKE or SAM as more of an off-the-ball linebacker. Moore shows good athleticism, instincts, and has that length that Nebraska is moving towards with their middle linebackers.

…and was a convert after one week of Moore's senior film yielded 16 tackles (10 solo) and 4 TFLs.

I am certainly not saying that Moore is a guy that will see the field early, but he can put himself in that position if he keeps this level of play up.

Incredibly Moore kept up that tackling pace all season. InsideNebraska's Nate Clouse liked the speed.

Moore can run extremely well. The days of needing a 245-pound inside linebacker are over. You've got to be able to run sideline-to-sideline, cover the pass and get downhill to stop the run and Moore shows the ability to do all of those things on film very well.

…and the versatility to play in the box or off the edge:

Moore has been told he will be manning one of the inside linebacker positions for Nebraska, but he has the speed and athleticism to be moved around in order to attack from several spots on the field. He also has the capability to be an EDGE rusher for NU should the coaches choose to utilize him in that capacity. …

There is a lot to like about Moore’s film. He is a very active linebacker and is capable of beating offensive lineman on their angles to pick him up. He has the capability to make plays behind the line of scrimmage as well as pursue inside out and make plays. One of the things to like about Moore is his versatility. There is good film of him from his junior year playing with his hand in the dirt and playing more of an EDGE/DE spot. He definitely has some pass-rush ability coming around the corner and getting after the quarterback.

[opens eyes] … sorry, I was thinking about Junior Colson thing.

The Denver Post named the stats and the intangibles:

The Nebraska commit was the Raiders’ heart and soul. He led the state with 197 total tackles (95 solo), averaging 16.4 tackles per game. Moore also had seven sacks, an interception and a forced fumble. Also a star pitcher for Regis, Moore was like a coach on the field.

Finally, Moore gave a couple of self-scouts, telling 247's West scout Blair Angulo how Nebraska planned to use him:

"They see me as an inside linebacker playing off ball and that's really exciting. They see me doing all sorts of things in that defense and I liked what my role will be since I can kind of do a bit of everything, play in space or in the box, and just be a playmaker.

And Munson what he's working on:

This off season I especially worked on my get off at linebacker, being able to read the play quicker and more accurately. I also worked a lot on some pass rush moves and engaging the blocker. I have noticed that I am smoother and more precise in my route to the ball.

He and teammate Andrew Metzger were 1st team all state.

OFFERS

Moore committed to Nebraska on June 21 just as his recruitment was taking off. Wisconsin had him up in Madison last March but held off on an offer until after his original commitment, stayed on him the rest of the way. Michigan offered in late May, quickly followed by Iowa and Kansas State, and Texas A&M came in last October. Other offers when he committed to Nebraska were UCLA, Washington State, Texas Tech, Iowa State, and most of the Mountain West. He also had an Ivy League offer (Penn), and Notre Dame was poking around.

Iowa State (June 10) and Colorado (June 24) got Moore's other official visits before he showed up at Michigan on December 16.

HIGH SCHOOL

Regis Jesuit is a Catholic school in the eastern Denver suburb of Aurora, with an interesting history: it was founded as a multi-state campus in 1877 and had to be split off from what is now Regis University. The high school and the university actually shared space until the mid-'80s. Famous alumni (of the high school) include Bill Garnett, gold medalist swimmer Missy Franklin, and Apollo 13 astronaut Jack Swigert, who was portrayed in the movie* by Kevin Bacon.**

It's also been an athletics powerhouse, with one of the best swimming programs in the country and six state championships in hockey, but the football program has not kept pace with the rest of the department. They've produced one 4-star (USC DT Butch Lewis) in the Rivals database and just a couple of ranked 3-stars. The one you might remember is former Nebraska TE Jack Stoll. They also produced the Kubiak brothers, former Vikings OC Klint and former CSU quarterback/Urban Meyer assistant Klay.

Classmate Andrew Metzger is a low-3* DE/TE prospect who decommitted from Colorado after the staff change, was close to joining Moore in Nebraska, and might now end up at KSU; MSU and Boise State were the other interested parties.

* [Apollo 13 the movie came out in 1995, 25 years after Apollo 13 the mission. This means Apollo 13 the movie is older now than Apollo 13 the mission was when the movie came out.]

** [Bacon was in He Said, She Said (1991) with Elizabeth Perkins, who was in Indian Summer (1993) with MGoBlog's Seth Fisher.]

STATS

Moore reports 197 tackles, 95 solo, 17 TFLs, 7 sacks, and an interception in 12 games in 2022. He had 111 tackles, 11 TFLs, and 5 sacks as a junior.

FAKE 40 TIME

I couldn't find a 40 time. That gets five FAKES out of five because I assume Moore has run 40 yards at some point in his life and someone could have pulled out a stopwatch at any time. Or just make one up like everybody else does.

VIDEO

Senior highlights from his Hudl page:

ETC

Plans to play baseball as well, at least at first:

“I wanna try it out freshman year. If it works, it works. If it doesn’t, then it’s not the end of the world. I’ll obviously fall back into playing just football. Right now, I’m a starting pitcher, [not a relief pitcher]. But I can see myself falling into either category.”

It's not hard to see why Helow zoomed in on Moore as one of the guys he wanted in this class if you watch how Michigan wants to use its linebackers. They haven't had the opportunity much, but one of the main weapons in the Ameoba arsenal is the ability to use the middle linebackers as blitzers in any gap. Michigan lined up Colson and Barrett outside more often than you think this year, and looped them often. Moore is a natural fit for those kinds of games. When not adding to the blitz, Michigan's linebackers need to be fast, extremely quick to process events, and able to cover all kinds of zones. A guy who can do all of that at 6'4"/235 is a 5-star.

Being 6'4"/235 is important because all linebackers have to be able to halt the momentum of an offensive lineman, get off that block and tackle. Moore is probably closer to 6'2"/200 than the 6'3"/210 he's advertised as and thus not a 5-star. I think they can get him up to a Michael Barrett-like 230; I don't know if he's got the length to keep himself clean but the fact that he's a pitcher suggests he's got longer arms than most guys his size. Also Michigan tends to use their own measurements a lot in deciding which guys they pursue.

The total is a guy who will need at least a good year of development before he can add to the depth chart. Michigan seems set to bring back their entire roster at LB. With Rolder coming on, Nikhai Hill-Green healthy, the Wolverines can afford to (move Kalel Mullings to RB and) start developing the next generation behind them. 2022 freshman Micah Pollard got blooded this year whenever Michigan found him the opportunity, but he and classmate Deuce Spurlock aren't going to be that far ahead of the additions. True sophomore Nebraska transfer Ernest Hausman is probably a step or two ahead of that group given his (way too early) experience starting last year, but I think he's more in their plans for 2024 and beyond than 2023.

Of the three-man 2023 class, Moore seems like the best fit for what Michigan is looking to do with the position. Semaj Bridgeman is the highest rated but a lot of that rating is made out of his high floor. ATHs Breeon Ishmail and Jason Hewlett have a sky-high ceilings, but both have a long way to get there, and might not be linebackers when they do. Moore has some qualities that may get him a look at Edge, but that's part of being an middle linebacker. I also think Moore could rise some in the rankings before they're locked in this February, though without any All-Star invitations he won't get past 3 stars. In a class that wasn't all sleepers he seems like a good Sleeper of the Year candidate.

UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS

Michigan now seems done at linebacker, both in recruiting and the portal. They needed a second true ILB to go with Bridgeman and the wild cards, and I bet you the program thinks they just stole a steal. After the portal bonanza last weekend Michigan will look to close with CB Jyaire Hill. They'd also like to avoid going to February with Wisconsin decommit NT Jamel Howard, add a WR (either longshot Karmello English or fallback plan Chance Fitzgerald), and a running back, whether that be a prospect or a guy out of the portal. Closing strong on Signing Day would allow them to focus on the 2024 class and 5-star ATH Nyckoles Harbor, not to mention, oh right, a Playoff run.

THE CLASS AS IT STANDS

Note: I moved the transfers to their own section and brought back the delta arrows.

OFFENSE
Pos	Player	State	Stars	In a nutshell
QB	Kendrick Bell	MO	3.5	Ronnie's little brother
RB	Cole Cabana	MI	4.3⬆	Speedy receiver back
RB	Benjamin Hall	GA	3.5⬇⬇	Battering ram with vision
SL	Semaj Morgan	MI	3.8	Homegrown Gattis-ian slot
WR	Fredrick Moore	MO	3.7⬆	Crafty, Roundtree 2.0
TE	Deakon Tonielli	IL	3.9⬆⬆⬆	Catchy bouncy bballer
TE	Zack Marshall	CA	3.7⬆	1,000-yard receiver in Cali league
OG	Amir Herring	MI	4.0⬇	West Bloomfield's interior mauler
OG	Nathan Efobi	GA	3.8⬇	Ineffable teddy bear
OT	Evan Link	DC	4.1	Agile OT with a Wisconsin offer
DEFENSE
Pos	Player	State	Stars	In a nutshell
DT	Trey Pierce	IL	3.8⬆⬆⬆	Polished, rising 3-tech
DT	Brooks Bahr	IL	3.7	Lengthy grow-a-3-tech
SDE	Enow Etta	TX	4.4⬆	Poor man's Rashan Gary
WDE	Aymeric Koumba	FRA	3.6	Long/French athletic freak
MLB	Semaj Bridgeman	PA	4.1	Formerly elite, WLBish
MLB	Hayden Moore	CO	3.5	Versatile tackling machine
OLB	Jason Hewlett	OH	3.9	Hybrid S/OLB/DE
OLB	Breeon Ishmail	OH	3.5	LB/Edge tweener
S	D'Juan Waller Jr.	OH	3.6⬆	Lanky Youngstown boy
CB	Cameron Calhoun	OH	3.9⬆	Gritty not-fast playmaker
PK	Adam Samaha	MI	3.1⬇⬇	Local #6 kicker
TRANSFERS
Pos	Player	Last Sch	Elig '23	In a nutshell
C	Drake Nugent	Stanford	Sr/5th	The good part of Stanford's OL.
OT	LaDarius Henderson	Arizona St	Jr/5th	ASU G who could play LT
OT	Myles Hinton	Stanford	Jr/Sr	5* brother of Chris, injured '22
WDE	Josaiah Stewart	C.Carolina	Jr/Jr	Danna-sized Tasmanian Devil
WLB	Ernest Hausmann	Nebraska	So/So	Quickster started as a True Fr