Union’s CJ Moore Shines in Backyard Bowl Win

Losing leading receiver James Washington after this season will be a huge blow to the depth and talent of OSU’s most skilled position group, but receivers coach Kasey Dunn is well aware of the task at hand and has recruited like a mad man to ensure there won’t be a significant year-over-year drop off.

Current freshmen Tylan Wallace and Braydon Johnson will be impact players sooner rather than later to replace some of that production lost, but perhaps Dunn’s biggest recruiting masterpiece is the big fish he’s already landed out of Tulsa Union in CJ Moore.

The four-star senior prospect shined as bright as the Chapman Stadium lights he played under Thursday evening in Union’s annual rivalry game with Jenks in the Backyard Bowl. He wasn’t a high-usage player for the Redskins – (he might be, though, when he has a college QB tossing him the rock) – but when he touched the ball he made good use of it.

Moore recorded just four catches on the night in Union’s 59-40 win over Jenks, but scored on three of those receptions – two of which went for 68+ plus yards.

Here’s his touch count for the evening.

· Reception – 6 yards
· Reception – 10 yards, TD
· Reception – 80 yards, TD
· Carry (reverse) – 23 yards
· Reception – 68 yards, TD
· Interception

50% score rate? That’s nuts, right? For 164 yards, absolutely it is.

I know what you’re thinking … interception?!

When Union had a comfortable lead in the stretch of the game, Jenks had no choice but to throw the ball to try and make up ground – so Union subbed in the all-hands team and Moore came down with what essentially was the game-sealing INT, although the game was in hand at that point.

At 6-foot-5, Moore towers over defensive backs at the high school level – and if it’s one thing that translates immediately, it’s height. You can’t teach it! On his first TD of the game, Union threw a fade to the back end of the pay dirt and he just snatched it over the DB.

Union WR CJ Moore makes 10-yd TD catch to put Redskins up 14-12 over Jenks with 4:08 left in 1st Qtr pic.twitter.com/eBlYbfeYUs

— YurView Oklahoma (@YurViewOK) September 8, 2017

What I was most impressed with was his speed. 6-foot-5 athletes aren’t typically the most mobile, but he’s got legitimate track speed to break away from defenders in the open field. And it’s why he housed it twice from the opposite side of the field – once from 80 yards, and then again later from 68 yards.

#okstate commit @daddydimes35 put on a show in the #BackYardBowl for @UnionFootball. 3 TDs. #okpreps pic.twitter.com/cvUTeHf6s8

— Harold R. Kuntz (@HaroldRKuntz3) September 8, 2017

Talent at wide receiver doesn’t appear to be a problem for OSU at the moment, but make no mistake about it, Kasey Dunn’s recruited well enough to put OSU in that situation. And while I’m not going to compare Moore to Ateman or even his cousin Tracy, a former OSU player, I think it’s safe to say Moore has a bright future in Stillwater and could be an early contributor no matter the complexion of the roster next season.