Oregon definitely started to jump out to me due to the relationships I was able to make down there. That was always something that was important to me, my relationship I had with the coaching staff, and I really had a lot of trust in the vision coach Cristobal had for the program. So, I really trusted in that,” said Moss.
"Then once that moved over to Miami, at first I was not interested. At first I really didn't know anything about Miami. I hadn't been offered by them. I really didn't think my recruitment was going to come down to there,” he continued. “So at first, I told my parents I really didn't want to visit there. I wasn't interested in that school at all. I really wasn't answering coach Cristobal's calls and texts. But over time, he kept at it and he kept trying to get me on the phone and kept talking to me and kept trying to show me a little bit at a time exactly how he moved his business over there and why there are reasons to be excited over there. So over time, he just kind of got on me and it came down to the last visit weekend. I was pretty set that I was just going to go to USC and visit there that weekend. That was definitely a tough school for me. I was really liking there and felt my recruitment was going that way. I wasn't going to visit Miami, but then it was a day or a few days before the visit, he got me to split-visit where I left USC at 4 o'clock on Saturday and I went over to Miami and spent the day there and left on Monday. I kind of got to see a little bit of both and I got to sit down with coach and really see a more in-depth look at what that vision was and really get to see what my future would look like and what he was trying to do there and what he was bringing there and what changes he was going to make in that program.
I was able to kind of voice a couple of my concerns and why at first I wasn't interested in Miami and he was able to kind of give me some feedback and over time I just really started to see what he was talking about. I went back on my own and just kind of looked at everything and looked at what he had shown me and when I looked at it was pretty much what I was looking for. Coach Cristobal is a lot like me, for sure, so I really trust him and who is he gonna hire and he's going to take the program in the right direction and give his all. He's going to have sleepless nights putting in that extra work and I really trust him and know that he's going to go after every player 100%. I know that any player that doesn't come to Miami, it's not going to be because he wasn't treated right or they weren't recruited right and I think that's huge. I'm excited about where the program can go and I trust in what coach Cristobal is doing and I know it's going to be an amazing group over there. I'm excited to be at the forefront of it and be a part of it."
Cristobal was extremely impactful in landing Moss. After leaving for the new gig, he attempted to reach out to Moss and communication went unanswered. However, that changed when Moss truly gave the Hurricanes a shot.
“He was very real and open with me the entire time while he was trying do decide what to do in the last days and hours before he took the job,” said Moss of Cristobal. “I just really wasn't interested in what I thought was over there, so I was just more upset about him leaving. He liked what he was doing and I thought a lot of things at Oregon was because of him, so I just felt like he just messed up my opportunity. I didn't realize this was a good or new opportunity. Then I really thought about it and then the things were better over here, they actually might be better there or they have it to. Once I really was diving into the program and got inside the wall, I could see what was in there and I thought, okay, this is cool. I guess maybe I just had a bad mindset going in and I guess you could say I didn't know much about it, but over time he was able to show me."
Just prior to that last visit to Miami, Moss made his way to Los Angeles to visit USC. In fact, following that trip with the Trojans, Moss was leaning heavily to playing for the PAC-12 program, but Miami pulled it off following some time in Coral Gables.
"When I went to that visit, I definitely loved it,” said Moss of his trip to USC. “Honestly, it was similar in a way because I was excited about it following the in-home visit where they came out and I got to hear what they are doing at USC. The reason they weren't really in consideration what because of their culture, which didn't really fit with me and I didn't feel it was a championship or winning type of culture. But then I got the in-home visit with the new staff, the first thing that they came and told me was, okay, we're trying to change the culture, we're only keeping the guys on the roster that are interested in this and we're going to make, and I was like, okay, you're really serious about changing that, and now I'm willing to look into it. Again, when I looked into it, I can see how many different things LA can offer and how many things USC can offer as a program, as a school, and I was able to a lot of great things down there. I was liking the coaching staff, the recruits coming in, everything like that. I left that visit pretty much convinced that was going to be the next best option for sure. Even up to the moment I was getting on the plane, I was thinking that was going to be the spot."
Up next, Moss will figure out exactly when he’s arriving at Miami. He hasn’t signed yet, but no worries Hurricanes fans, his recruitment is over.
"I'm looking toward being able to get down there at the end of January,” said Moss. “We're going to see thought. We're still figuring all that out. I'm going to sign as soon as we can figure out what I'm doing regarding enrolling or if I even need to sign."
LFG!!! Huge pickup to go with Kelly and Lichtenstein!!! Mario isn’t playing around, bringing in studs all along the DL!!! And he’s not done yet, next up….Mr. Stewart!!!