the recruit: Michael Moore

Name: Michael Moore
Position: DE
Hometown: Centreville, MD
School: DeMatha
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 255

24/7: 94; four stars; #7 SDE; MD #4; US #125
ESPN: 79; four stars; #32 DE
Rivals: 5.8; four stars; #12 SDE; MD #5; US #176
Scout: four stars; #33 DE; US #282

Other offers: USC, Florida, Michigan, Ohio State, Auburn, Nebraska, Florida State, Tennessee, Notre Dame, Oregon, Penn State, South Carolina, Miami, Clemson, Boston College, Iowa, Illinois, North Carolina, shall I go on?

It's almost like I don't even have to write this one; even those who only very casually follow UVA recruiting know Michael Moore.  And he's not even a fat obnoxious slob who makes low-budget, low-effort quasi-documentaries.  And even if you don't know Michael Moore you might've heard of his dad Shawn.  Y'know, the wide receivers coach and a guy who's done some other stuff at UVA too.

With a pedigree like that, and half the schools in the country after him (he'd gotten past 40 offers by the time he committed to UVA) Moore's name was out there for fan consumption much earlier than most high school juniors, similar to Curtis Grant last season.  Fortunately for everyone's blood pressure, Moore made the decision early, choosing UVA over Florida shortly after a trip to Gainesville.  This will make five years in a row that a DeMatha prospect has chosen UVA.

It's a good thing UVA had that "in" with Moore, because despite offering him even before his junior year, the competition was fierce.  Those 40+ offers came in from all corners of the country, making him the most highly recruited player on UVA's commitment list.  Kwontie Moore probably has slightly higher accolades from the recruiting gurus, but Michael has the best offer list.  (In no small part because of the size of the schools they go to, no doubt.)  Still, the sites are plenty big-talking about Michael.  Very consistent, too, as you'd expect about a player from DeMatha who's been as visible to colleges as Moore has.

Moore is a big strong kid, and even though all the sites rank him as a defensive end, I think defensive tackle is in his future.  Both Rivals ("Must add muscle tone to frame and work on creating separation") and ESPN ("he possesses a frame to be able to add more good bulk as he continues to physically develop") see room for adding muscle and size, and it wouldn't surprise me to see him get to 275 or 280 in short order.  He reminds me of Chris Brathwaite, who was recruited at 250 pounds and is up to 275 in less than two years in the program and now playing defensive tackle.  Moore could do the same thing.

Chances are that more defensive ends will end up at tackle by the time Moore is ready to step on the field, so the depth chart crystal ball is hazy at both positions.  This year's starting DTs are both seniors, with junior Will Hill rotating in; if Michael Moore is to make the jump to DT, the lineup won't likely feature any of those three when he's ready.  But if the Brathwaite comparison holds, Moore would be threatening to break into the lineup as a redshirt freshman, only with a better recruiting background than Brathwaite had and with not so many highly-established seniors in the way.  (And for the record, I remain awfully, awfully excited about what Brathwaite may eventually do for us.)  Moore is too big and strong not to eventually be a building block for the defense; the only question is when.

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Was going to do a recruiting board thing but it's getting late.  Maybe tomorrow or Monday.