One advantage of a recruit committing early, both for team and for prospect, is the ability to gain as much knowledge and development as possible prior to the start of one’s collegiate career.
New Palestine, Ind. four-star interior offensive lineman Ian Moore (6-5, 295) is the earliest commitment still in Ohio State’s class of 2024. Pledging his services to the Buckeyes Oct. 20, 2022, Moore has been absorbing knowledge from Ohio State offensive line coach Justin Frye for months, the latest bit of teaching coming at two of the Buckeyes’ five one-day recruiting camps June 8 and 14, respectively.
“He’s right there in your face,” Moore said. “He’s intense. He’s everything I look for in a coach, because he really knows how to coach to your style, your abilities. Me, I learn with my eyes. I learn with my eyes and then I repeat. He knows that, so he’ll show me things and then I repeat.”
Now Moore is taking Frye’s teachings and applying them to his craft, growing for his senior year of high school in New Palestine. He feels he’s evolved greatly.
“We don’t have the strongest competition in Indiana, especially at (Class) 4A. Even then, playing lower competition, comparing what I did even my sophomore season, I came to camp here, then my junior season, it was here then it was all the way up here,” Moore said, holding one hand at his chest and one above his head to indicate the gap to where he is now. “So my game has evolved immensely.”
Alongside corrections to his technique, getting connected with Ohio State’s strength and conditioning staff has helped Moore evolve physically. His 40-yard dash time has dipped from 5.3 to 5.1 seconds in the past year, he stated, despite the fact that he’s gone from 280 pounds to 310.
“Speed, quickness, footwork, all of that has gone up,” Moore said. “Then technique — sophomore season a lot of (defensive linemen) caught me with my hands down. I was too far up. So technique, hands and footwork have also come a long way for me.”
That’s the struggle that Moore has in front of him now. He’s no longer trying to gain interest from coaches or parse out which university is the best fit for his services, now he’s focusing inward and improving the finer points of his craft.
“As a prospect you’re fighting for one thing, you’re fighting for that offer,” Moore said. “Now that I’m committed, I’m fighting for technique, I’m fighting to get better as Coach Frye wants me (to be).”
Moore also took his official visit to Columbus this past weekend, joining the likes of Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei five-star offensive tackle Brandon Baker, the No. 1 tackle in the class of 2024. That’s the next step for Moore as it relates to Ohio State, he feels, is to get the nation’s best talent to join him before enrolling in January. He gets the feeling the Buckeyes are “high” on Baker’s list.
“It’s my job, in my eyes,” Moore said. “I didn’t get that from Coach Frye, I didn’t get that from Coach (Ryan) Day. I was really just trying to work on Brandon a lot, trying to get to know him a little bit.”
