Two Schools Sticking out for Louisville WR Commit DeAndre Moore
It's hard to believe the high school football season is already more than halfway over. With the end of the season approaching, so too is the early signing period. That means schools across the country are turning up the heat on their top targets, even if those recruits are pledged to other schools.
One of the biggest names on the West Coast is Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco wide receiver DeAndre Moore. He's been committed to Louisville since late May but is still hearing from two of the top schools in the country. Now he plans to take trips to see them before making a final decision.
"I for sure love Louisville," Moore said of his Cardinals pledge. "All my guys there. I love the coaching staff there, but we're gonna get out and look at some new places.
"I'm really liking Georgia and Texas was my frontrunner before Louisville, so I just gotta get back out and see those schools."
The Georgia Bulldogs are the No. 1 team in the country and the prospect of playing in the most storied conference is part of why he has his eyes on Kirby Smart and what's brewing in Athens.
"SEC. Big-time football. They're on a stage," he said of his Georgia interest.
The opportunity to play at Georgia is one that overlaps with his high school journey after transferring from Los Alamitos prior to his senior season.
"Every day in practice you're going to be seeing the best (at Georgia). The saying iron sharpens iron is really true. Even coming here to Bosco you can really say I'm going against Mikey (Louisville CB commit Aaron Williams) every day, Celles ('24 CB Marcelles Williams) every day, Jshawn (Stanford CB commit Jshawn Frausto-Ramos) every day. Not to mention the safeties and the linebackers so I'm only getting better. Georgia is somewhere where I know I can develop and get even better."
Texas, another school that's been turning up the heat, is also bound for the SEC. However with the Longhorns, there are numerous long-standing relationships that could give them the leg up in trying to flip the Southern California wideout.
"I've had a great relationship with Sark (Steve Sarkisian) and Coach (Jeff) Banks since eighth grade when he offered me to Alabama, so I've been knowing him for a while," Moore said. "When I visited Texas I got to see the city. I love Austin. Austin is like L.A. away from L.A. really."
But the similarity to his hometown is just one factor in what's increasingly sounding like the perfect fit in Austin.
"Not to mention Coach (Brennan) Marion. Coach Marion is probably one of the best receiver coaches there is. He's a player's coach really. I know I can go there and he can develop into the best player I can be, so that's really why Texas is so appealing to me."
The 6-foot, 185-pound playmaker got to visit Texas during the summer and reflected on the trip.
"I went out there with my family and I got to really tour the city," he said. "Really spend some time with Coach Marion. Got to pick his brain a little bit. Ask him a few questions about how I can get better and I just loved it really."
With two schools clearly pushing the hardest, official visits are the next step in this highly-contested recruitment.
"I've only had one official. That was to Louisville in the summer," Moore noted. "I'll be taking my official to Georgia November 5 with Mikey and a few other players from Bosco and I believe Texas should be the weekend after that. But I'm not sure with that one. That date's still up in the air so we'll see."
As he prepares for a crucial pair of official visits down the home stretch in his recruitment, there's one factor that trumps all others in finding his future home.
"Just somewhere that I'm comfortable with. All three schools I'm really comfortable with. Just somewhere that really allows me to be me and allows my personality to show.
"I'm just really happy, life of the party. I don't really want to go somewhere where they don't allow me to be myself."
Wherever Moore ends up he doesn't plan on wasting any time getting college ball started.
"I'll be graduating December 15 and then I'll be off to college January 9," he said. "That's my plan to enroll early wherever I go."