Rivals Most Wanted: Pouncey, Moore, McCoy
Each week, Rivals.com is featuring three players who are blowing up on the recruiting trail with a flurry of new offers. This week, two rising seniors and a standout 2019 prospect have popped up on the radar of some major programs.
This week’s offers: Notre Dame, Auburn
Status report: Even though Pouncey is approaching 50 offers, he still picked up two last week that may play a big role in his recruiting process. This may be especially true with Notre Dame, which Pouncey already has a visit set up to later this month. Two other schools to keep an eye on who have yet to offer are Miami and Florida. Pouncey, who grew up as a fan of the Canes, will actually camp in front of both coaching staffs in June so it will be interesting to see if he adds to more offers to his impressive total. Despite all of the offers and visits, Pouncey has yet to set a timeline to trim his list of schools or to make a final decision.
In his words: “To have this many offers is a blessing. And when I add a power five school it’s also a blessing. I wouldn’t want to have it any other way. I never thought that this would happen. It was always a dream, but I never thought it would happen.”
Visit plans: Pouncy has a hectic June schedule, which already saw him visit UCF, Alabama and Tennessee, and still have trips to Florida, LSU, South Carolina, North Carolina, Duke, NC State, Wake Forest, Clemson, Georgia and Notre Dame left to go. He will also attend the Miami camp.
This week’s offers: Oklahoma State, Missouri, Mississippi State, New Mexico, Lamar, Southeastern Louisiana
Status report: As Moore almost doubled his offer total during the last week, he picked up his first two from the SEC and a big one from the Big 12. With their recent offers, Moore has already moved Oklahoma State and Missouri to the top of his list, which is important considering he plans to visit both this summer and hopes to make a decision before the start of his senior season. Also, growing up a fan of Texas, LSU and Stanford, the Longhorns have begun to show increased interest during the spring, so an offer from the in-state school could change everything.
In his words: “It feels amazing. It’s just a blessing from God honestly. I know I have enough size to play in the SEC. It was just a matter of time before bigger schools noticed my talent. I definitely was excited when it started happening, but I can’t say I was surprised. Now that bigger schools are offering, I’m not going to rush my recruiting process. Just weigh my options and I plan on committing later in the summer.”
Visit plans: Moore has not taken any recent visits, but has planned two for the summer with Missouri coming in July and Oklahoma State still unscheduled.
This week’s offers: Alabama, Nebraska
Status report: Already with offers from Notre Dame, Arizona State, Washington and Oregon as a freshman, McCoy was firmly on the recruiting landscape. However, when a 2019 recruit adds Alabama and Nebraska to his total during the same week, he suddenly leaps onto the national scene. McCoy already has an offer from one of his childhood favorites, the Ducks, while he waits patiently from his other one, USC. With plenty of time remaining in his process, look for McCoy to sit back and wait for the offers roll in during the upcoming months and years.
In his words: “It’s humbling and motivating at the same time. It’s motivating knowing that colleges are interested in me the way they are and humbling to know that my hard work is paying off like I had hoped for. Never in my dreams did I expect to receive the offers I have this early, but also worked and worked hard for a long time to be able to get these types of opportunities.”
Visit plans: McCoy took recent visits to Michigan, Notre Dame and Arizona State. He will make a return trip to Notre Dame this summer for a camp.