MORGANTOWN — Morgantown High linebacker Jestohn Moore was geared up to announce his college commitment Friday during his senior night, but he decided to push it back — for all the right reasons.
More and more colleges have approached Moore about playing at the next level and he felt it wasn’t the right time to make that important a decision unless he was totally sure where he wanted to go.
“With the increase in my recruiting and other schools contacting me, I would like to explore all of my options and with this being a large decision in my life, I don’t want to rush it,” said Moore, who will now make a decision Dec. 3.
With seven Division I offers on the table, the list could continue to grow with the likes of Power Five schools list Rutgers, Mississippi State and Iowa State getting in the fold. FCS Villanova also showed interest.
Moore holds offers from The Citadel, Massachusetts, Eastern Kentucky, Morgan State, Fordham, Robert Morris and Saint Francis (Pa.), while Division II Wheeling Jesuit has also extended an offer.
Moore has only played linebacker for two years, so he’s trying to catch up in the recruiting process, but even getting looks from high-profile schools is a blessing.
“It’s really big to me — I mean I’m in only my second year playing linebacker and just seeing I have the potential to play at that level is special,” he said. “I still believe I’m not even halfway to as good as I can be. It’s a great feeling just having schools take a shot with you. It’s every athlete’s dream to play at the next level and it gives me that much more motivation to play hard.”
With the trust of the coaching staff, Moore ran rotate between any three linebacker spots — inside, outside or buck. Even mid-game, if Moore feels more comfortable at a certain spot or feels his teammates would be suited better in another spot, he can switch positions.
That allowed Moore to put more tape out there for college coaches.
It was admittedly a slow start for Moore this season in the Mohigans’ opening win against Parkersburg, his “worst” performance of the season.
But he’s more than made up for it, averaging nearly seven tackles per game and has 17 tackles for loss with two forced fumbles.
“My speed and physicality have been better every week,” Moore said. “Also just my confidence is a lot higher — what I always do to help myself is just tell myself is say I’m capable of anything if I work hard enough.”
Moore doesn’t want to name a top three or narrow his choices down because he wants to keep an open mind. As he said, it is a major decision.