St. Thomas Aquinas is a factory for talent every year, and these next few years are no exception. 2014 DL Anthony Moten (6’4, 265) is next in the line of great defensive line prospects that have come from STA. Moten already holds offers from Miami, Vanderbilt, and Wake Forest.
“Miami’s my number one choice, but Florida’s my number two. I really love both of those schools. I’m trying to get the Florida offer. I tried to get up to Friday Night Lights, but I couldn’t really get up there. Every time I go down to Miami, the coaching staff treats you like a family; a lot of people don’t do that. Miami wants you to come in and they treat you like a little brother,” he said.
Moten has already been in contact with Coach D’Onofrio, Coach Golden, and Coach Franklin. He says his family would prefer for him to stay close to home.
“Yeah, they do (want him to stay close). But they want whatever is my first choice and whatever is good for me that will help me get to the next level. I mostly grew up a Florida fan because my cousin, Mike Moten was out there, but Miami came in after the ’04 season I was just with them a lot,” Moten added.
One advantage Miami has is Moten’s relationship with STA alum and current ‘Cane freshman, Jelani Hamilton.
“I call him my big brother, he’s like a mentor of mine. He texted me asking if I was gonna commit and I told him no because my family wants my to wait the process out to take all my visits and wait till all my offers come in and stuff. He was alright with that, but he knows that I wanna be a ‘Cane,” said Moten.
Moten is versatile on the field, as he can play either end or tackle.
“At my school right now, they have me at both tackle and end. I used to be like 250, but now that I’m at 265 I lost a little bit of my speed, but I can still get around the edge so I can play both really. My power is my strength on the field because speed can only get you so far. I love my bull rush. The next thing is working with my hands. Coach Franklin can help me with that.”
The Raiders are preparing for their first game of the season against Columbus on August 31st.
“They say they have a lot of good running backs and their O-Linemen are supposed to be good.”
“Miami’s my number one choice, but Florida’s my number two. I really love both of those schools. I’m trying to get the Florida offer. I tried to get up to Friday Night Lights, but I couldn’t really get up there. Every time I go down to Miami, the coaching staff treats you like a family; a lot of people don’t do that. Miami wants you to come in and they treat you like a little brother,” he said.
Moten has already been in contact with Coach D’Onofrio, Coach Golden, and Coach Franklin. He says his family would prefer for him to stay close to home.
“Yeah, they do (want him to stay close). But they want whatever is my first choice and whatever is good for me that will help me get to the next level. I mostly grew up a Florida fan because my cousin, Mike Moten was out there, but Miami came in after the ’04 season I was just with them a lot,” Moten added.
One advantage Miami has is Moten’s relationship with STA alum and current ‘Cane freshman, Jelani Hamilton.
“I call him my big brother, he’s like a mentor of mine. He texted me asking if I was gonna commit and I told him no because my family wants my to wait the process out to take all my visits and wait till all my offers come in and stuff. He was alright with that, but he knows that I wanna be a ‘Cane,” said Moten.
Moten is versatile on the field, as he can play either end or tackle.
“At my school right now, they have me at both tackle and end. I used to be like 250, but now that I’m at 265 I lost a little bit of my speed, but I can still get around the edge so I can play both really. My power is my strength on the field because speed can only get you so far. I love my bull rush. The next thing is working with my hands. Coach Franklin can help me with that.”
The Raiders are preparing for their first game of the season against Columbus on August 31st.
“They say they have a lot of good running backs and their O-Linemen are supposed to be good.”