Joshua Moore chooses Texas in surprise weekend commitment

The Texas Longhorns were in the market for one more wide receiver in 2018, and did they ever land a good one.

Rivals250 prospect Joshua Moore made his announcement on Sunday afternoon in a bit of an abrupt move, but not an entirely unexpected one. He chose to forego planned official visits down the stretch to Florida State and Oregon - where he would have been this weekend had he not been so sure that Texas was the right choice for him.

“I chose UT because I wanted to finish the legacy that my family started to build there,” he said. “When choosing which school to attend it was hard and stressful at first but when I started to slow things down and look at the important factors it became a lot easier.

“My mother graduated from UT, my oldest brother that passed away was a die-hard UT fan and he always had dreams of playing for The University of Texas.”

Moore de-committed from Nebraska following the Huskers’ disappointing finish last season and dismissal of head coach Mike Riley - and more importantly, receivers coach Keith Williams. He said that Scott Frost and the new staff made an effort to reel him back in, but if there was any question about where he felt he truly belonged, that was answered on his official visit to Texas two weeks ago.

“When I took my [official visit] to Texas, I just knew that was the place to be simply because I felt more comfortable there,” he said. “Not just because of the coaches but because of the university itself and the players that I will be with for the next three-to-four years. They made me feel at home, as if I was already on the team and I didn’t get that anywhere else.”

That’s not to say that Moore’s relationship with the staff at Texas wasn’t instrumental in his decision. He said that the personal relationships that he built with Tom Herman, Drew Mehringer and Jason Washington were all key in his consideration of the Longhorns. The way that the staff stayed connected to Moore and never let up in its effort to bring him aboard paid major dividends in the end.

“Texas has always stayed on my radar - even when I was committed to Nebraska they stayed in contact with me and my parents,” he said. “The day that I de-committed, that very next day Coach Mehringer was at my football practice, and that meant a lot.”

Of course, another person that’s at every football practice of his - his brother Jordan Moore - had long been committed to Texas A&M and signed with the Aggies in December. Despite the obvious speculation that the Aggies would always be in play for Joshua because of that, the two now have a unique sibling rivalry to connect them.

“It’ll be interesting to see,” he said. “My brother is going to A&M and I’m going to Texas. Hopefully we can bring back the greatest rivalry in college football and play against each other. I love that guy; that’s my brother for life.”

One of the things that has been a legitimate factor in Moore’s recruitment has been his desire to run track in college as well. Moore said that after meeting with the Longhorns track coaches and speaking with wide receiver John Burt, who has run a variety of events for the Texas track team during his career, he felt encouraged that was a situation he could succeed in as well while at Texas.

The 2018 class that the Longhorns have assembled has been one of the biggest stories in recruiting, with so much of the top talent in the state choosing to come together for what’s been branded as a revolution. After growing up and competing with many of those prospects over the years, joining up with the ones headed to Texas is a welcome bonus.

“It feels great, man,” he said. “I’ve known a lot of these guys for almost half my life. I’m excited to join them and bring this 'Natty' back to Texas.”