Our Honor Defend

Well, it’s that time again.  The ink is dry on the letters of intent faxed into the Woody Hayes Athletic Complex earlier this month and there’s nary a hint of organized football going on at the moment.  Therefore, I should start better knowing some incoming Buckeyes.  So, in this first installment of the third edition of this now 19-part¹ series titled Better Know A Buckeye, I go all the way back to the very first verbal of the class.  Remember JT Moore, a defensive end prospect from Boardman High School?  You may not.  While anxiety mounted for the Buckeyes’ trip to the Los Angeles Coliseum in a game that we’re not talking about, JT Moore quietly decided to end his recruitment and verbal to Ohio State early into his junior season.  As such, JT kept a low profile and enjoyed the silence before signing with Ohio State on February 3rd.  In this feature, I bring JT Moore back to the consciousness of Buckeye fans.  I begin with his brief recruitment, which culminated in his September 11th, 2008 commitment.  I proceed to discuss strengths and areas for improvement before listing an assortment of things you should know about JT.  Afterwards, I conclude he is better known, dig up the image and put him first on the board for 2010.

Height: 6’3
Weight: 230lbs
40: 4.9
Academics: 2.8 GPA, 20 ACT
High School: Boardman HS; Youngstown, Ohio

His Recruitment: Ohio State interest in JT Moore coincides with their interest in adding Corey Linsley to their 2009 recruiting class.  Both attended the same high school.  Linsley committed at the end of April 2008, but it seems that, in the process of recruiting Linsley, the Buckeyes’ staff noticed he had a pretty good teammate in the next recruiting class.  JT made previous visits to Ohio State at the end of 2007 and for the 2008 Spring Game.  The recruiting process had not entirely started for JT, but he already had a preference.  While admitting he had not given other schools a thorough look, he was mainly interested in Ohio State.  He has family in Columbus and grew up a lifelong Buckeye fan.  If the Buckeyes wanted him in their class, all they would need to do was extend a scholarship offer.

That happened in early September 2008.  Mind you: the earliest you can send a scholarship offer to a prospective athlete for football is September 1st of the prospect’s junior year.  JT’s scholarship offer arrived at his home on September 5th, 2008, evoking a great sense of excitement in the Moore household.  JT always wanted to make a quick decision so he can proceed with other things of interest to him².  Further, with family in Columbus, previous discussions of playing in the same college with teammate Corey Linsley, and his sister being recruited by Jim Foster to play shooty ladyhoops at Ohio State, that moment set in where everyone involved asked themselves if this is it and if this is exactly what they wanted.  For the meantime, JT said he would talk with his family about it, but it seemed that his recruitment was not going to carry through his junior season of football.

His Commitment: His recruitment ended six days later with his decision on September 11th, 2008. The 2009 recruiting class was not full before JT Moore was first to commit to Ohio State for the 2010 recruiting class.  Not a lot was written about JT’s recruitment or his commitment.  It was a rather academic decision.  He always wanted to be a Buckeye, did not want a protracted recruitment, got an early offer and made the logical next step from there.  Moore expressed in his own words how he felt.

“I just spoke to coach Tressel a little bit ago. He was happy to hear that I was committing and said he’s getting ready for the (USC) game.”

“I just like the people at Ohio State.  I like the people, and the coaches are great. I like how everything is there. I always wanted to be a Buckeye. Everything is great there.”

The Buckeyes, on their end, got their first commitment and one of a few that addressed the need at defensive end in 2010.

Where He Excels: I was not overly enthused about JT Moore when he committed, beyond the fun nature of his recruitment. Of course, by committing early into his junior year, my only exposure to JT was his sophomore film. He has become much better since.

For a defensive end prospect, I thought JT was a little slow out the gates. Of course, almost all sophomores are slow and a bit awkward in their foot movements as they continue to mature in the game of football and grow into their bodies.  In the two years since committing to Ohio State, he’s become much quicker off the snap and has been able to make plays for Boardman out of the 6-technique.  I think the biggest area of improvement has been the use of his hands.  He has a long way to go here but he’s become much better at shedding blocks. Combine the improved get-off with the ability to shed blocks rapidly and it becomes clear to me the Buckeyes get a good pick-up regardless of the “stars” he has.  The coaching staff indicates they think Moore can play Gibson/William’s position and occasionally drop into coverage at that LEO spot.  I wonder if he will stay there.  I always thought of Moore as a defensive end in the mold of Lawrence Wilson while kids like Newsome and Durham would compete at LEO.  Nevertheless, if Bollman is going to say publicly that’s where they think he fits, then I will follow suit.

The other intriguing element to JT is his frame.  He’s a very thick 6’3, 230lb and will no doubt add weight in a college football lifting program.  Remember, JT is a standout basketball player as well.  There are benefits to playing the shooty hoops, such as improving your footwork, but one of the drawbacks to spending time on the hardwood is that prospective football players with JT’s frame have to make a steeper adjustment.  After football was over, JT had to work to lose weight to become more mobile on the court.  As the football season approached while he still had basketball commitments, he had to find a good balance and found himself exhausted more.  However, there is more upside to a kid who can now dedicate himself exclusively to football.  I think JT fills out nicely here and it should help him as he factors into the defensive line rotation at Ohio State.

Must Work On: What follows should not be read too critically.  Briefly put, the sooner JT can internalize that the low man wins in college football, the better.  I think this happens for a lot of high school football players who can rely on brute strength to impose their will at the high school level.  In JT’s case, he has the ability to almost stand up  after the ball is snapped.  Thus, while he has made great strides with the use of his hands and the ability to shed blocks and his get-off speed, he can sometimes still be held in check after he’s engaged by an offensive lineman.  He has a great motor and will effort his way out of blocks, but the damage will already have been done at the college level.  This happens because he can lose leverage by playing tall.  I expect this will get ironed out.

Redshirt? Redshirting defensive linemen seems to be the inclination for Jim Heacock.  That’s not to say it’s universal, just that it seems to be a preference.  As such, with a still deep defensive line in 2010 and Keith Wells, Adam Bellamy and Melvin Fellows’ Safari Planet coming off redshirts, my best guess is that JT Moore redshirts in 2010.

Highlights: Yup, ScoutingOhio has got ‘em.

Miscellany:

• It appears that JT goes by, well, JT.  For reference, JT stands for James Tyrone.
• He was a teammate of Corey Linsley, but you already knew that.
• His sister is Darryce Moore.  They are separated by nine and a half months (JT is the oldest), but they are in the same 2010 class.  She’ll be playing for Jim Foster next year, joining her brother as a scholarship athlete.  You can watch her talk about shooty hoops here.  JT mentioned his sister playing an interesting role in his brief recruitment.

“My sister (Darryce Moore) told me that (Jim) Tressel, when they went down there to states (girls basketball – winter ’08), that he wanted her to go there so I would come there. So I had a general thought about it but I wasn’t sure if they were going to offer me or anything.”

• JT Moore is one of several future Buckeyes playing in the Ohio North-South game.  This game will be played on the eve of Ohio State’s Spring Game and at Ohio Stadium.  He will be playing with Darryl Baldwin, Christian Bryant and Tyrone Williams.  Verlon Reed will be the lone future Buckeye playing for the South.
• He will also play in the Big 33 game, a move made possible by the Ohio North-South game being moved to a different time.  He will join join the same cast from the North-South Game (Baldwin, Bryant, Reed and Williams) in taking on what usually amounts to a grab bag of middle-to-good talent from Pennsylvania.
• JT plays the shooty hoops and is still finishing his senior season for the Boardman Spartans team.  He averages about 10ppg and 12rpg.  You can follow his exploits here.
• JT did not camp between in the summer between his sophomore and junior year because of his AAU commitments.  He did attend the Advanced Camp at Ohio State³, which ran concurrent with a shooty hoops camp for his sister Darryce.  JT was named one of the top performers at the camp.  His prize: a copy of Jim Tressel’s book.  Now I think that’s funny.
• Nevertheless, the fact that JT had a hectic schedule in between basketball and football and missed camp prior to his junior year should qualify any preliminary objections about JT based on stars.  Recruits get extra exposure the more camps they attend on top of the tools gained from the instruction.  As such, there’s probably untapped potential in JT and it should show as he dedicates himself more and more to football.
• Fluff: here. Working out (at Scout.com combine): here.
• JT in his own words, below.

• Pre-compiled stats, courtesy of Bucknuts:

* Vital Statistics: Moore tallied 110 tackles, including nine tackles and 16 tackles-for-loss as a senior. He earned first-team All-Ohio honors in Division I. As a junior in 2008, Moore had 79 tackles, eight for loss and five sacks. He started all 12 games as a sophomore in 2007, helping his team finish with an 8-4 record.He has been selected for the Ohio All-Star Classic April 23 at Ohio Stadium as well as for the Big 33 Football Classic June 19 in Hershey, Pa. He projects as a Leo defensive end with the Buckeyes.

* Rankings: He is rated as the No. 21 overall senior prospect in Ohio, according to Ohio High magazine/JJHuddle.com. Also rated as the No. 13 overall prospect in the state, according to The Ohio Football Recruiting News. SuperPrep ranks him as the 39th-best prospect in the Midwest. ESPN Scouts Inc. has Moore rated as the nation’s No. 56 defensive end prospect.

With all that said, I think JT is now better known, or something.

So, I guess we can put him on the board.

Class of 2010
Name	Position	Hometown	Better Known?	Name	Position	Hometown	Better Known?
Darryl Baldwin	DE	Solon, OH		James Louis	WR	Delray Beach, FL
Drew Basil	K	Chillicothe, OH		Scott McVey	LB	Cleveland, OH
Corey Brown 2010	ATH	Springfield, PA		JT Moore	DE	Youngstown, OH	02.15
Christian Bryant	DB	Cleveland, OH		Andrew Norwell	OL	Cincinnati, OH
David Durham	LB/DE	Charlotte, NC		Verlon Reed	ATH	Columbus, OH
Taylor Graham	QB	Wheaton, IL		Bradley Roby	DB	Suwanee, GA
Adam Griffin	ATH	Columbus, OH		Roderick Smith	RB	Fort Wayne, IN
Chad Hagan	LB/S	Canonsburg, PA		Jamel Turner	DE	Fork Union, VA
Johnathon Hankins	DT	Detroit, TSUN		Tyrone Williams	WR	Cleveland, OH
Carlos Hyde	RB	Naples, FL	06.29.09

1. I’m aware of the other questions marks around this class, but I do not anticipate this class expanding. [↩]
2. “It’s amazing and unbelievable … it was a great experience.” [↩]
3. He also attended a Scout.com combine in Pittsburgh before his senior year. [↩]