Why Oklahoma DL Commit Ka'Mori Moore is Locked in With OU
Lee’s Summit North (MO) defensive lineman Ka’Mori Moore is one of a handful of talented prospects on the Broncos’ roster.
Sharing a spot on the defensive line with 5-star recruit and Missouri signee Williams Nwaneri as well as playing with former Oklahoma and current Missouri offensive lineman Cayden Green, Moore has spent time around multiple coveted prospects.
Now, heading into his senior year at LSN, Moore is a 3-star recruit, committed to OU over a handful of other Power 5 programs.
Moore said that what initially set the Sooners apart in his eyes was their coaching staff; specifically Todd Bates, Miguel Chavis and Brent Venables.
"Really Coach Bates, Coach Venables and Coach Chavis, I'm going to keep saying that," Moore told AllSooners.
"Them three, they know what they've got going on. They know what they want, they know what they're doing. So, I want to be great, so I want to be around the greatest. I want to be coached by some of the greatest."
Moore said that the OU coaching staff has remained in close contact with him since he committed and that they communicate frequently.
Bates, who is listed as Oklahoma’s associate head coach, co-defensive coordinator, run defense coach and defensive tackles coach, has a history of developing high school prospects into NFL caliber players.
Prior to his time in Norman, the former Clemson assistant coach mentored three first-round draft picks and nine All-Americans. Bates played defensive tackle at Alabama and briefly in the NFL before beginning his coaching career.
As the Sooners’ interior defensive line coach, Bates will be Moore’s primary position coach once the junior arrives on campus.
While Chavis doesn’t have the same history as Bates, he is a young, energetic coach that seems to have a knack for building strong relationships with some of the best d-line prospects in the nation. In the 2024 recruiting class, OU signee Nigel Smith also said that he had a very strong relationship with the former Clemson defensive lineman and staffer.
Listed at 6-foot-1 and 310 pounds, Moore has the size that Oklahoma will need on the interior defensive line as they transition into the SEC. Moore also mentioned that playing in the SEC was one of his goals, and played a big part in his decision.
"(Playing in the SEC was) one of my main goals when I first started," Moore said. "That's the best of the best. That's the best competition. I'm really happy about that."
Moore is one of nine OU commits in the 2025 class, three of which are on defense. While the Lee’s Summit North standout said that he hasn’t had the opportunity to build a relationship with Alexander Shieldnight or Marcus James yet, Moore mentioned that he is very close with Owen Hollenbeck, a 3-star offensive line pledge from Melissa, TX, and Elijah Thomas, a 4-star wide receiver commit from Checotah, OK.
Hollenbeck and Moore originally met at a performance camp when the two squared off in one-on-one drills. Moore said that Hollenbeck is a fierce competitor and that is excited to face him again when the two line up against each other in practice a few years from now.
"Elijah Thomas and Owen Hollenbeck, I've got a really tight relationship with them," Moore told AllSooners. "Me and (Hollenbeck), we met at a camp. We were going back and forth in one-on-ones. We were going crazy against each other."
In early January, Moore competed at the All-American Bowl Combine in San Antonio, TX, performing very well in agility drills and one-on-one reps.
Moore said that he was unsure of what to expect heading into the event, having to compete against a large pool of players from the state of Texas.
"I was very nervous, honestly," Moore said. "I feel like being coachable with the coaches that I had, you know, we built a little relationship."
After landing an impressive defensive line class in 2024 that included 5-star David Stone and 4-stars Danny Okoye, Jayden Jackson, Wyatt Gilmore and Nigel Smith, adding Moore to the mix in the 2025 recruiting class continues OU’s solid defensive line recruiting as they head to the SEC.
With Moore and Shieldnight already on board in the upcoming cycle, the Sooners have the potential to sign another impactful d-line class.
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