Notre Dame Recruiting Profile: DE Cyrus Moss

Analysis of Notre Dame defensive end recruit Cyrus Moss

Notre Dame already has a commitment from one of the nation's best defensive ends in Tyson Ford. Now the Irish are looking to add at least one more standout end to the class, and Las Vegas (Nev.) Bishop Gorman standout Cyrus Moss is at the top of the board.

CYRUS MOSS PROFILE

Hometown: Las Vegas, Nev.
High School: Bishop Gorman

Height: 6-4
Weight: 220

IB Grade: 4.5 (Top 50 caliber player)
Upside Grade: 5.0

Offers: Notre Dame, Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Florida, Oklahoma, USC, Texas, Texas A&M, Florida State, Washington, Tennessee, Utah, Arkansas, Nebraska, UCLA, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Colorado, Arizona State, California, Oregon State

Recruited By: Mike Elston

RECRUITING RANKINGS

FILM ANALYSIS

Moss didn't get to play his junior season due to Nevada canceling the fall football season. That means right now his evaluation is based off sophomore film, and his grade is still based more on his raw tools and projection than anything else.

The 6-4, 220-pound edge player has all the physical tools you want in a modern-day weakside defensive end. He is incredibly long, he's athletic, he competes in the run game and he has experience dropping into coverage. When you consider that Moss is still young and the film we see is just sophomore tape it's almost impossible to not get excited about what kind of player he will be by the time his high school career is over.

Not only does Moss show excellent length for a young player, his hands are extremely fast and he has an impressive punch for such a young athlete. He shows a unique understanding of leverage and angles, and the need to anchor his base when being run at. When he gets more weight room strength his ability to dominate the edge as a run defender will be greatly enhanced, and its a big reason why I view him as a future five-star prospect.

Moss shows an excellent burst at the snap as a pass rusher, and when he gets turned loose he explodes off the edge. His ability to redirect when running full speed is outstanding, and Moss shows impressive agility, balance and flexibility. As his game matures and he continues to enhance his hand play, develops his pass rushing repertoire and gets more weight room strength he will have a chance to turn into an elite edge rusher.

On top of being long and athletic, Moss shows an impressive football IQ for such a young player. He makes clean run/pass reads, shows good route recognition when dropping into coverage and he doesn't get fooled very often. 

From a Notre Dame standpoint, Moss would be the ideal complement to Ford. Notre Dame's lone defensive end commit is 6-5, 250 pounds and quite powerful. Ford is an ideal fit for the strongside end position in the Notre Dame defense. Moss projects as a weakside player, which would be the old drop end position. His athleticism would also allow him to play in space, something we might see more of from that position in the Marcus Freeman defense.

Should Notre Dame be able to add Moss to a class with Ford it would give the Irish their best one-two punch at end since 2011, when Notre Dame landed Stephon Tuitt, Aaron Lynch and Ishaq Williams in the same class.

Sophomore Highlights

Related Content

Notre Dame Makes Top Group For Elite 2022 Defensive End

Elite 2022 Defensive End Is Already On Notre Dame's Radar

What's Next: Notre Dame 2022 Defensive End Recruiting

To comment below be sure to sign up for a FREE Disqus account, which you can get HERE.

———————

Become a premium Irish Breakdown member, which grants you access to all of our premium content, our premium message board and gets you a FREE subscription to Sports Illustrated! Click on the link below for more

BECOME A MEMBER

Be sure to stay locked into Irish Breakdown all the time!

Join the Irish Breakdown community!
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown podcast on iTunes.
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown YouTube channel.
Follow me on Twitter: @CoachD178
Like and follow Irish Breakdown on Facebook

Sign up for the FREE Irish Breakdown daily newsletter