“These past three or four weeks, it’s kind of been a shocker. I had re-explore my options,” Moore said. “But it’s relieving to know that I’ll be playing where I want to play.”
Moore will sign a letter of intent Wednesday to continue his career at the University of Wisconsin as part of the college football early signing period that runs until Friday.
“He’s an incredible athlete,” sixth-year Badin coach Nick Yordy said of Moore, who shined as both a defensive back and a wide receiver throughout his prep career. “If you’re good enough, it doesn’t matter where you’re playing in high school — they’ll find you.”
Plenty of other schools found Moore — including Cincinnati, Illinois, Indiana, Miami, Pitt and Minnesota to name a few.
But it was Cincinnati that won Moore over initially.
Moore committed to UC in April to play safety before decommitting late last month following the departure of Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell, who left to take the head coaching job at Wisconsin.
“Braedyn is a big relationship kind of guy, and that also is in regards to his friends and coaches,” Yordy said. “I think he got that feeling at UC when those guys were there.
“It caught a lot of people off guard — and the entire state of Ohio off guard, too — when Fickell left,” Yordy added. “We were surprised. We let things settle down and he opened his recruitment back up. He had Indiana, West Virginia and Rutgers come back after him.”
Moore took a visit to Wisconsin on Dec. 9 and was offered Dec. 11. He committed a day later.
“They wanted me to commit on the spot,” Moore said of his recent visit up north. “But I knew it was going to be a good fit for me. I think I’m getting a good head start already in putting myself in the best position possible for me to succeed.”
“People were saying they knew who he was up there after his visit,” Yordy said. “Word gets around up there pretty quick. Everyone in Madison was saying, ‘We need you here. We need you here.’ And I think that also won him over. He’s going to battle up there, and he’s definitely the guy to do it.”
As a junior, Moore helped Badin reach the Division III state final before the Rams fell to Chardon 21-14. This past season, Moore had 79 catches for 1,039 yards and 15 touchdowns. He added an additional 183 rushing yards and three rushing TDs.
“It’s been great playing on Friday nights and winning games with my Badin Ramly,” Moore said. “It’s a tight-knit community that I enjoyed being a part of.”
Moore had his best season on the defensive side of the ball during his junior year, when he had 54 tackles and seven interceptions.
Badin went 35-3 the last three seasons.
“Braedyn at such a young age, we knew he had the potential to be something special,” Yordy said. “And he’s been putting in the work the last four years at Badin. He’s put in the time.”
OTHER AREA SIGNEES
Fairfield seniors and brothers Josiah and Jordan Jackson will sign to play at West Virginia, while Indians senior James Thomas is expected to sign to Bowling Green.
Lakota West will have seniors Malik Hartford (Ohio State), Ben Minich (Notre Dame) and Joshua Fussell (Northwestern) sign as well.
Lakota East’s Austin Siereveld plans to sign to Ohio State, and Edgewood’s Mason Green will head to Indiana State.
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