Jun 30, 2009
Kendall Moore (8), Southeast Raleigh linebacker, Class of 2010 (Photo courtesy: Lamonte Garrett, VYPE High School Sports Magazine/VYPE.com)
RALEIGH — Southeast Raleigh linebacker Kendall Moore, one of the most sought after recruits from North Carolina in the Class of 2010, will announce his decision on July 11, and two in-state schools are in his final five – Duke and N.C. State.
“[The attention] is great. I’ve played football since I was six-years-old and it feels like it is finally paying off,” Moore said. But he admitted that the recruiting process has brought some extra stress.
“It does add stress, and I’m actually in the process of trying to fix that problem so I can focus on the season and not have it as a distraction,” he said.
Moore will announce his decision during a press conference at Southeast Raleigh High School at 5 p.m., on July 11. His five finalists have changed from earlier this month, and in no particular order, they include N.C. State, Duke, South Carolina, Florida State and Notre Dame.
Standing at 6-foot-3 and 230-pounds, Moore recorded nearly 120 tackles and six sacks last season, and he also caught seven touchdown passes as a tight end for the Bulldogs. The rising senior records a 4.58 forty yard dash time, and benches 320 pounds.
Rivals.com ranks Moore as a four star prospect and the 14th best player at his position. The recruiting Web site also named him their top 250, ranking him the No. 167 overall player in his class.
N.C. State was the first team to offer Moore, and he said that meant a lot to him.
“[N.C. State] has a great program, and I feel like they’re definitely up-and-coming,” Moore said. “I actually saw in the newspaper this weekend where they were picked to win their division, and there are some other really good teams there.”
When Moore revealed his top five teams earlier in the month, Duke was not one of them. Today, Moore said Duke is definitely in the mix.
“Academics are important to me, and with a Duke degree, no matter what I want to do after college – whether it’s the NFL or something else – a degree from Duke is really good,” Moore said.
Academics are important to Moore. In all three seasons at Southeast Raleigh, Moore has been named to the academic all-conference team for the Greater Neuse River.
This past weekend, Moore visited Notre Dame and came away impressed.
“It was nice, and I enjoyed it a lot,” he said. “I wanted to find a little bit more about them, and now I feel like I know enough about them to make a decision.”
Moore has already visited South Carolina three times, and has also gone to Florida State.
Although Moore hasn’t made his decision yet, he knows what factors will play into the decision.
“It’s just going to be the best fit for me as a player and academically,” Moore said. “I’m looking for a good program, a program on the rise.”
Moore also said he would look at where they want to play him. Some schools are looking at playing him at linebacker, others at defensive end, and some at both positions.
The rising senior had at least 14 Division-I offers. Other than the five left on Moore's list, Clemson, East Carolina, Kentucky, Louisville, Maryland, Mississippi State, North Carolina, Wake Forest and West Virginia all presented offers. There was also a lot of interest from Tennessee.
Southeast Raleigh will begin their season on Aug. 21, at Holly Springs. The Bulldogs are expected to be one of the top teams in the Triangle this year, and Moore feels that they can contend for the state championship.
“We practice every day with it in mind that we want to be the best,” said Moore. “Last year we made it to the third round and this year we want to exceed that and maybe get a state championship on the way.”
Moore said the team is practicing “two times harder” than they did last season, and couldn’t give a specific example of where the team might need to improve before the season.
“We are strong across the board, and right now we look good,” Moore said. “We just need to keep working hard and just getting better.”
Contact Nick Stevens at nstevens@highschoolot.com.
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