Recruiting: Notre Dame Was A 'Wow' Offer For Josh Moore

2021 safety Josh Moore was blown away by his offer from Notre Dame, and the response to it.

Notre Dame needs to sign a good rover prospect for the class of 2021, and in Atlanta (Ga.) Marist safety Josh Moore the Irish have a potential fit, both on and off the field.

If Marist sounds familiar there is a reason for that, it’s the high school that produced rising sophomore safety Kyle Hamilton. Moore works out with Hamilton because the Irish standout is currently home in Atlanta while school is being accomplished online.

“I would say I know him decently well,” Moore said of his relationship with Hamilton. “Me, him, his friend Nick Jackson that plays at Virginia, and my boy Justin, we go out there and train. Pushing each other, trying to get better. So I know like they’re better conditioned than us. So, we’re just trying to keep up with them, and learn the techniques that they learned in their freshmen years of college.”

Moore has seen his recruitment become more intense over the last few months, especially after the Irish extended an offer. Moore helped to explain how intense it was once he received the offer from Notre Dame.

“The most interesting thing that I immediately saw after I got the offer was just like the fanbase! They went wild! My phone blew up for a solid...48 hours.

Moore continued, “I was like ‘Wow!’ I’ve had this type of reaction to an offer. It’s insane. So many people on my team were like, ‘Dude, that’s crazy.’ Like everyone just knows and respects Notre Dame. It’s like a historic place. There’s no place really like it.”

With all of his enthusiasm about the Irish offer, the next answer should not be surprising.

“I honestly am interested in Notre Dame,” stated Moore about the Irish offer and if he would consider Notre Dame. “That’s like one of those schools that people dream about going to. I definitely can’t just pass it up. I definitely need to learn more about the school.”

As for other programs chasing after Moore, he provided a few to remember.

“I’m focusing on schools like Boston College, Duke, Georgia Tech, Virginia, Vanderbilt, Nebraska, Syracuse, Ole Miss, Northwestern, and of course Notre Dame.”

The only visit that Moore lined up thus far would be to Boston College (June 12), but that’s up in the air due to COVID-19.

From a fit standpoint on the field, finding the right players to be able to take on flex tight ends and also be able to hold their own versus slot wide receivers can be a trying task. That’s what college programs must do with the hybrid linebacker position. You know the one; the position where a player is part safety and part linebacker, which is the rover position in the Notre Dame defense.

Most importantly, this position presents the challenge of finding an athlete that’s physical to play near the line of scrimmage, yet adept in coverage when going against shifty slot wide receivers.

Offensive personnel packages, in today’s college football, can be misleading. Just because a team comes out in 22 personnel, i.e. two running backs and two tight ends, does not automatically mean power football. Just as likely, that 22 personnel grouping could align in a five-wide formation with two flex tight ends set unattached from the line of scrimmage, plus both running backs lined up as wide receivers.

That’s when a team needs that hybrid linebacker to really hold his own while lined up man-to-man in the slot. Easier said than done, but that’s why teams like Notre Dame will oftentimes take a safety and move him into the rover position, as Notre Dame likes to call it. It’s the hybrid linebacker, and every prospect Notre Dame signed of late has been very athletic, and they possess the frame to fill out over time.

Even Irish starting linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah came to Notre Dame as a big safety, but he was destined to move into the front seven. Just under 200-pounds during his last season of high school football, the Hampton (Va.) Bethel star displayed the athleticism that current Notre Dame linebackers coach and defensive coordinator Clark Lea prefers. Now he’s a 6-1, 215-pound seek and destroy rover, and possible 2020 All-American.

Owusu-Koramoah became a stalwart for the Irish, and two of the prospects Notre Dame signed after him fit the same body type, as well as being very athletic. Long, quick, and capable of playing multiple positions.

Moving to the Class of 2021, Notre Dame proved to be picky about which safety and linebacker prospects it targets. One of the recent offers, however, really fits the mold of what Coach Lea prefers, and that is Moore.

Moore played cornerback in 10th grade, and he played free safety as a junior. Those traits represent what Notre Dame seeks when looking for versatile athletes to play rover.

That’s a topic Notre Dame already broached with Moore, and as the two sides gain more knowledge of one another, do not be surprised if the Irish end up receiving an official visit from the Marist High School standout.

Here’s a look at Moore’s Hudl film.

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

Join the Irish Breakdown community!
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown podcast on iTunes.
Follow me on twitter: @fbscout_florida
Like and follow Irish Breakdown on Facebook

Sign up for the FREE Irish Breakdown daily newsletter