DeAndre Moore Jr. believed for the longest time he knew where he was headed: Oklahoma. He had been committed since September 2021 and had stayed even after coach Lincoln Riley left for USC.
"I genuinely loved Oklahoma," said Moore, the No. 48 recruit overall and No. 9 wide receiver in the 2023 class. "That was my dream school. And I had a great relationship with the running backs coach, DeMarco Murray, because he's from Las Vegas, as well."
But two months had gone by without him hearing from Riley's successor, Brent Venables, and then he came to the realization he had to reevaluate his situation.
"I came out and said, 'You know, I want to stay with Oklahoma,' but two months passed and the new coaching staff didn't even reach out to me," said Moore, who decommitted on Jan. 31. "So it was like, you know, I'm almost unwanted at this point."
A few months later, he found a new place that wants him.
Moore committed to Louisville on May 31 and is part of coach Scott Satterfield's impressive haul thus far. A year after ranking 60th in the class rankings with just one ESPN 300 recruit, Louisville is currently 17th in the class rankings with six ESPN 300 prospects -- and counting.
"You just got to wait and see," he said with a laugh. "You just got to wait and see. We're for sure adding some more pieces. So stay tuned."
Louisville isn't the only team that has made big moves this cycle. Below, we explore the rise of both Arkansas and Alabama, detail where the top-ranked tight end is visiting and break down where other ESPN 300 and ESPN Jr. 300 recruits are visiting.
