10:02 pm | January 13, 2019 | Go to Source | Author: Graham Hall
Florida made a significant impression on four-star defensive lineman Charles Moore over the weekend.
The 6-foot-4, 240-pounder out of Louisville, Mississippi, took an official visit to Florida over the weekend after backing off a 16-month pledge to Mississippi State.
But Moore was adamant the coaching staff isn’t the reason he’s seriously considering the Gators after just one visit.
“It was great. I enjoyed being around the guys. Defensive linemen (Kyree) and TJ (Slaton hosted me),” Moore said. “From a grades-standpoint and what they can do for me outside of football is what I liked the most.
“It’s not really, like, the coaches, because coaches can leave at any moment. It’s been more of what they can offer me.”
Yet a few familiar faces certainly helped, considering Saturday marked Moore’s first trip to Gainesville.
“They did play kind of a big factor into it, that I’m familiar with the people here,” Moore said. “As people, I mean, I haven’t been around them, but from me talking to them, they’re good coaches. They’re focused on, it’s football, yeah they want me to be great at football, but they’re focused on me as a person, too, do I fit as a person? This is somewhere I could see myself, say if I had a career-ending injury, Lord forbid, but this is a place I could see myself getting a job.”
Aside from setting him up for the future, the Gators coaching staff also stressed the lack of depth along the defensive line. With four defensive linemen departing from the 2018 team, UF hasn’t shied away from emphasizing the opportunities available for prospects. However, it isn’t the most significant factor for Moore — for good reason.
“That’s kind of a big deal, but I ain’t really too big on that,” Moore said. “‘Cause I don’t care what they want me to do. If they want me to redshirt, that’s cool, too. I like the place.”
Moore apparently liked his inaugural visit to Gainesville enough to knock Florida State out of his top-3 choices.
“We’ve got to take Florida State out now. Auburn, Tennessee, Florida. Can I go Florida, Auburn, Tennessee?,” Moore said, reiterating the Gators are his new leader.
With a life-changing decision ahead of him on Signing Day on Feb. 6, Moore apparently has even more to think about after a monumental visit to Florida shuffled his primary landing spots.
“Just not even from a football-standpoint, but how they’re going to help me off the field,” Moore said. “In the classroom, with job opportunities. It’s deep here. Just getting a degree from here, it will take me a long way. That Florida brand is so big, it’s almost like having a degree from Yale or Harvard or something.”
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