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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — On Wednesday, Michigan football got something of a steal as its early signing day started drawing to a close. With most of the class signed, one big target, who had come seemingly from out of nowhere the week beforehand, announced for the Wolverines and signed shortly after, cementing his future wearing a winged helmet.
Getting Baltimore (Md.) St. Frances Academy four-star defensive lineman Derrick Moore in the fold was huge, not just because Ethan Burke flipped to Texas while Kevonte Henry postponed signing, but because of the accolades he brings.
According to ESPN, Moore is the No. 23 player in the country, regardless of position, and is the third-best defensive end, nationally. He’s listed at 6-foot-4, 250-pounds, and the scouting reports indicate he could either be an edge rusher or bulk up and play on the defensive interior.
One person knows he’s going to come to Ann Arbor and crush it, and that’s his former high school teammate, Blake Corum.
On Thursday, Corum shared what Moore will bring to the team when he arrives and why he’s excited that he’s now a Wolverine.
“What can I say? It’s one of the best high schools in the nation,” Corum said. “I can’t wait for Derrick to get here. He’s a hard worker, he’s definitely a tremendous addition to this team. I can’t wait to bring him here and get to work. He’s gonna work – that’s what those St. Frances boys do! We work, there’s some ballers out there. I can’t wait to have him here.”
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Once Moore arrives, that will be three St. Frances Academy players suiting up in the maize and blue, between him, Corum, and linebacker Nikhai Hill-Green.
Once pen was put to paper on Wednesday, Jim Harbaugh was free to finally talk about what he’s seen from his new signees, and he spent a lot of time talking about what the former Oklahoma commitment brings to the table.
“I think he’s ranked up there — the experts rank him maybe the No. 1 or 2 edge guy in the country,” Harbaugh said to Jon Jansen on the ‘In the Trenches’ podcast. “He had committed to Oklahoma and like Alex Orji, coach was leaving. The same thing happened with Derrick Moore. Their coach went to USC and he felt that he wanted to look at his options. Come to find out he really liked us and reached out. You can imagine we were thrilled. Great position of need as well as Colston Loveland, physically looks — as well as other guys, Andrew Gentry — how far along they are. Or Alex Orji. This is Derrick Moore. He walks through the door and he more than belongs that he does, like he’s a junior, like he’s a senior in college already. Great physical gifts, also 3.0 student. Heckuva good kid. We were fortunate. That was a great get that we got right there at the end. Couldn’t be happier.”
Moore is set to participate in the Under Armour All-America Game in Orlando.
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