Las Vegas (Nev.) Bishop Gorman High School DE
Cyrus Moss had a whirlwind weekend, visiting USC Thursday-Saturday and then arriving in Miami on Sunday for a one-day visit with the dead period hitting that evening.
It was a last chance for Moss to really hone in on what he wants to do tomorrow (he is targeting potentially graduating early so doesn’t want to wait till February to sign), and the Canes are very much in the mix.
A reason for that? Simple: Mario Cristobal.
CaneSport spoke with Bishop Gorman assistant head coach/defensive coordinator Chris Brown on Tuesday. And Brown said prior to Cristobal leaving Oregon that “Cyrus was probably leaning there.”
“Coach Cristobal is a great guy, and he knows that,” Brown said. “Oregon looked at him as the next Kayvon Thibodeaux, wanted to put him in as the next guy to compete to take Thibodeaux’s spot. He really liked that, built that relationship with the coaches and they embraced him, really thought he could excel at Oregon. He was starting to fall in love with Oregon.”
That changed, of course, with Cristobal’s departure.
So where do things stand now?
Well, Brown said there will be four hats on the table tomorrow for Moss: Miami, USC, Alabama and Arizona State.
Many think this is a tossup between Miami and USC, so it’ll be interesting to see what shakes out.
For his part, Brown says he would not be shocked if Moss picks the Canes, and says the 4-star had a "great" time at Miami.
“I’m telling you this: I know that he thinks the world of coach Cristobal,” Brown said. “If there’s anything that makes him go that way, it’s the school and what The U brings, but it’s also just the relationship that he’s built with coach Cristobal.”
Brown adds that Moss’ USC visit “also went great” and that “I know he likes Arizona State a lot. And Bama is always Bama. They have to be up there. But him taking this last trip to both schools shows a lot.”
Miami also, of course has the Bubba Bolden and Brevin Jordan connection to Bishop Gorman. So maybe it was a little odd that the previous staff didn’t recruit him.
But UM’s all in on Moss now.
“He wanted to visit Miami because he didn’t want to miss out on getting to know what is down in Miami,” Brown said. “I know he had already set a plan to go to USC. But then he asked me, what do you think, I said `Take the opportunity, you never know how you would feel, The U is legendary in just the atmosphere, the energy of the school.’ I said `You need to go down there and experience that energy and see if that’s what you truly want in your heart.’”
Moss will reveal what’s in his heart at 3:15 p.m. ET tomorrow.
“His mind is still going (as for what he’ll decide),” Brown said.
As for Moss’s skills on the field?
That’s off the charts, and Bishop Gorman uses him as an OLB/rush end.
“As a freshman he was a safety, and I’ve had him since he was a sophomore,” Brown said. “He was long, lanky and I looked at him and his body structure and I said `you have to play linebacker. I can see it in you already.’ I said `do that and you’ll be one of the best in the country.’ He’s really, really fast, quick and can run to the ball. He just had to learn that he’s 6-6, didn’t realize how long he was and the advantage he has at that. He’s really quick off the edge.”
The comparison here?
“We’ve watched a lot of stuff on Von Miller, on Khalil Mack,” Brown said. “The difference was Von is very quick off the edge, but Khalil also is strong. So we mixed the both of them in between. Using the long arms is huge, using the speed rush off the edge was huge like Von does. But the inside move and aggressiveness looks a lot like Khalil. So he’s got a little of both of them.”
