With former Alabama commit/Mississippi State signee and now Aggie TD Moton, Texas A&M is getting a defensive tackle that I think is a better option than any of the ones still available in the 2016 class. Had his academic problems not been well-documented, he would have been a solid 4-star in the 2015 recruiting cycle. In this case, persistence on his part paid off and he finally got the scores he needed for admission, and the Aggies' ability to add him to the 2015 class works to their advantage.
First off, this kid is naturally big and naturally strong. He's listed at 6'2", 302 in the Rivals database, but that's probably 18 months old. He's probably closer to 6'4", 310 now and it doesn't look like much of that is baby fat. He looks, physically, like Kingsley Keke does now.
If you go back and look at his highlights, there's not a whole lot of subtlety to what he does. He comes off the ball, gets in on opposing linemen (he's frequently double-teamed) and shoves his way past them. His upper body strength is obvious with how he pushes them around, but he's probably going to get better as time goes on because he's going to use his lower body strength as well. Once he figures out how to stay a little lower and drive with his legs, he's going to be really good.
Moton doesn't have the freakish quickness of Daylon Mack, but there's no quit in him either. He runs well for a big guy and will chase a play from one side of the field to the other. I'm sure that his hustle was one of the things that appealed to John Chavis.
Moton's not a finished product yet. He's going to have to learn to get lower and use his lower body when he comes out of his stance. He's kind of giving up some of his strength by popping up and engaging the linemen as opposed to staying low and driving into them. That worked fine in high school, because he's strong enough to move an entire pile of people. The SEC is going to be different.
All told, you don't say no to a kid this big, this strong and with a motor that has no quit in it. Getting him in at the midterm will be a big deal, and he could easily become part of the second defensive wave with Hardreck Walker or Keke or Deshawn Washington next year. He's another massive body that will be an asset against the Alabama and Arkansas of the world when it comes to controlling the point of attack.
What does this mean for 2016? It means curtains for Chris Daniels (which was probably already obvious, since A&M backed up fast once Moton re-entered the picture), and leaves them looking just at Ross Blacklock and Ed Oliver. Certainly, if you can get another DT you take him, but Moton is another fine step in rebuilding an interior line that almost ceased to exist in 2013.
First off, this kid is naturally big and naturally strong. He's listed at 6'2", 302 in the Rivals database, but that's probably 18 months old. He's probably closer to 6'4", 310 now and it doesn't look like much of that is baby fat. He looks, physically, like Kingsley Keke does now.
If you go back and look at his highlights, there's not a whole lot of subtlety to what he does. He comes off the ball, gets in on opposing linemen (he's frequently double-teamed) and shoves his way past them. His upper body strength is obvious with how he pushes them around, but he's probably going to get better as time goes on because he's going to use his lower body strength as well. Once he figures out how to stay a little lower and drive with his legs, he's going to be really good.
Moton doesn't have the freakish quickness of Daylon Mack, but there's no quit in him either. He runs well for a big guy and will chase a play from one side of the field to the other. I'm sure that his hustle was one of the things that appealed to John Chavis.
Moton's not a finished product yet. He's going to have to learn to get lower and use his lower body when he comes out of his stance. He's kind of giving up some of his strength by popping up and engaging the linemen as opposed to staying low and driving into them. That worked fine in high school, because he's strong enough to move an entire pile of people. The SEC is going to be different.
All told, you don't say no to a kid this big, this strong and with a motor that has no quit in it. Getting him in at the midterm will be a big deal, and he could easily become part of the second defensive wave with Hardreck Walker or Keke or Deshawn Washington next year. He's another massive body that will be an asset against the Alabama and Arkansas of the world when it comes to controlling the point of attack.
What does this mean for 2016? It means curtains for Chris Daniels (which was probably already obvious, since A&M backed up fast once Moton re-entered the picture), and leaves them looking just at Ross Blacklock and Ed Oliver. Certainly, if you can get another DT you take him, but Moton is another fine step in rebuilding an interior line that almost ceased to exist in 2013.
