Atlanta DB Joshua Moore's heading west for Stanford
THE SITUATION: A week ago today, Atlanta (Ga.) safety Joshua Moore named a top six of Boston College, Duke, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Stanford and Syracuse. That came just two days after Stanford offered, so the Cardinal making that list 48 hours after the offer was presented showed Moore's level of interest.
Before the Stanford offer, Moore was leaning towards Northwestern and Notre Dame. When Stanford offered, it became a three team race for a short stint before Moore decided he wanted to head west and play for David Shaw.
The combination of academics and athletics Stanford offered was too much to pass up.
IN HIS OWN WORDS: "It was a final three for me, and of course I thought about Notre Dame and Northwestern hard for some time, but Stanford was just the right school for me," said Moore. "I just got the offer a week or two ago, but I had been talking to them for about a month before that, so I already knew a lot about them, I had connected with them and with what they offer, it is right for me.
"They have one of the top Business programs in the country, and I want to major in Business, so that stood out a lot. You cannot replicate Stanford. It is one of the nicest campuses in the country, what they offer right there around the school after football is something I thought hard about too, and Stanford is where I want to be.
"The communication has been good. Even before the offer came, I had a Zoom meeting with coach Akina for about an hour and a half about how I would fit into their defense and things like that. I have talked to him, coach Anderson, coach Shaw and it has been pretty constant the last month or so.
"I had been thinking about that Stanford offer for some time, and when it came, it was big for me. Going into this process, I wanted to look hard at all the academic schools that could want me there, so Duke, Stanford, Northwestern and some others were on my list before I was even being recruited. I was like wow when I got the Stanford offer.
"I would say the process was fun, but stressful too. I have been talking to a lot of coaches. So many coaches would want to talk every day and it wasn't easy. I would get right out of class or right off work, and coaches would want to talk right away. It is great with the attention and all, but it is also overbearing because it is a lot to handle, so I happy to be committed.
"I am so glad to have a choice like Stanford, and to be finished with recruiting, it feels really good. I feel Stanford can change my life. They offer so many opportunities. A Stanford degree carries so much weight, and anyone would accept that, so I am excited about what is ahead and what Stanford can do for me.
"I cannot think of one reason not to go to Stanford. Yes, it is far away, but that is not a reason not to go. There is just no other school like it for me."
RIVALS REACTION: Moore is a student-athlete that really puts academics first. He had plenty of Ivy League offers, and he could have played in any of the five Power 5 conferences. He has plenty of options, but Stanford offer was too much for him to pass up. He is will take a great work ethic to Palo Alto, and he is driven to succeed on and off the field. At safety, he has very good ball skills, he has great awareness in the secondary and he has shown very good range. He does not shy away from contact, and with his frame and athleticism, Moore is a player that is likely to compete for playing time very early in his career.