Photography by Steve Buchanan
Jason Moore played football for the first time in the fourth grade for the Accokeek Ravens, but he lasted only one season. “I just didn’t like football,” Moore recalls. So Moore, now a senior at DeMatha Catholic High School, concentrated on basketball. He quickly developed into an elite player, competing five years for AAU teams, including the Maryland Finest and the highly respected Team Takeover, which produces Division I college players annually.
Moore went to DeMatha for both basketball and football. He overwhelmingly favored basketball. “My dreams were college basketball and the NBA,” Moore explains. “I got recruited for both sports, but my intentions were strictly basketball.”
As a freshman, Moore made both the varsity basketball (30-3, ranked No. 5 nationally) and football teams. “That’s a rarity,” DeMatha Football Coach Bill McGregor says. “You have to be a special athlete to do that.”
And yet, despite his success in basketball (he was recruited by Maryland and Virginia Tech), he gave it up after two seasons to devote more time to football.
This was the reason: some of the best country’s best college football programs recruited him as a freshman. By his junior year, Moore, a defensive end, had 31 scholarship offers. The 6-foot-6, 270-pound Moore chose Ohio State over Notre Dame, Michigan, Penn State, and Maryland.
“I think the only reason it was 31 offers is that some schools figured they didn’t have a chance to get him,” McGregor says. Moore verbally committed to Ohio State in July and signed a National Letter of Intent in December. He says that finally getting past the recruiting process was a relief.
Moore regularly got 10 to 15 texts and calls a day. Sometimes, he spent up to two hours returning calls and texts to coaches and recruiters. “I got them randomly throughout the day,” Moore says. “When I was doing homework or spending time with my family. When it first started, it was exciting, but over time it got a little annoying and I got tired of it.”
But in the end, it was well worth it to get scholarship offers from some of the most storied college football programs of all time. Moore plans to major in journalism and he picked Ohio State because, out of the five schools, he felt the most comfortable there.
He’ll head to Ohio State with a lot of confidence since his senior year was his best. Moore picked up his play on the field—big time. He totaled 72 tackles, 10 sacks, three forced fumbles, and two interceptions for the 10-1 Stags. Moore will also play defensive tackle at times.
“I made a lot of improvements from last season,” Moore says. “I am making bigger plays. I kept a high motor throughout the games. I am playing with a lot more fire. It led to a lot of success.”
DeMatha Defensive Coordinator Deno Campbell adds: “He is making the plays he didn’t make last year.”
Moore has had some memorable games in the past two seasons. He recorded three sacks in a 28-0 drubbing of Our Lady of Good Counsel in November of last year. In a 27-3 rout of Gonzaga, Moore intercepted a pass Campbell won’t soon forget. “He went toward the offensive, but knew it was a screen,” Campbell says. “He then was leaning toward the sidelines and was tall enough to tip the ball, it went up in the air and as he falls to the ground, he catches it.” McGregor adds: “That’s as good a play as you will see anyone make.”
Once DeMatha’s season ended, Moore turned his attention toward preparing for Ohio State. He works out one to two hours per day, lifting weights and doing football drills. “He really hasn’t been in the weight room and doing football drills like other players because of basketball,” McGregor says. “He is just scratching the surface of his ability.”
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