Tag: Ahmad Moten

The latest on fast-rising 2022 Sunshine State DT target

We wanted to pass along some intel we’ve compiled after speaking with a defensive tackle target that predates Brent Venables’ departure to Oklahoma. The Clemson Insider recently caught up with Cardinal Gibbons (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) three-star …

We wanted to pass along some intel we’ve compiled after speaking with a defensive tackle target that predates Brent Venables’ departure to Oklahoma.

The Clemson Insider recently caught up with Cardinal Gibbons (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) three-star defensive lineman Ahmad Moten. Clemson had expressed interest in Moten — a former teammate of Clemson freshman receiver Troy Stellato — dating back to last month.

He’s the definition of a late bloomer and has recently picked up offers from Oregon, Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida, Miami, Georgia Tech, LSU and UNC, all coming in the span of a month.

“It’s crazy, but I love it though,” Moten said of his recruitment heating up over the last couple of months. “It’s overwhelming, of course, but it’s a good problem. Even if you had a problem, it’s a problem you’d like to have.”

In the wake of Venables leaving for Norman, Moten has since picked up an offer from the Sooners and took in an in-home visit with newly minted Oklahoma defensive ends coach Miguel Chavis. Moten also took an official visit to Iowa State this past weekend.

Now, you may be asking, where does Clemson stand in the mix of Moten’s recruitment?

“The last time I talked with [Clemson] was when I talked to Coach [Todd] Bates when Coach Venables made the move,” he said. “That’s about it.”

Bates’ message to Moten?

“He said that he loves me as a player, that he loves my game and that I’m a good player that’s gonna make it big,” Moten added. “He was just showing a lot of love.”

To Moten, Clemson’s defensive tackles coach and recruiting coordinator reaching out means that the Tigers’ interest in him was really genuine.

“It shows that [Clemson] is really interested in me,” he added. “They really like how I play. They like me as a person. I can tell they genuinely want me at their program. That’s lit. That’s what’s up.”

Bates was in attendance for Moten’s playoff game on Friday, Dec. 3.

“I can see him watch me play,” he said of Bates. “I can see that he actually enjoys the game and all that. He obviously had some good words to say back to Clemson and say to Coach Venables.”

Venables had told Moten to remain patient and that an offer would be on the way. Well, Clemson’s former defensive coordinator made his move and ultimately offered Moten on the morning of Dec. 7, just a couple of days into his tenure as Oklahoma’s head coach.

We’ll have to see how the rest of Moten’s recruitment plays out, but at the moment, he hasn’t scheduled an official visit with Clemson.

He’ll be taking his recruitment well into the new year. Moten has no timetable for a decision, but he will obviously be signing come National Signing Day on Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022.

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Brent Venables makes first offer as Oklahoma head coach to 2022 defensive tackle

Getting the party started, new head coach Brent Venables sends a scholarship offer to 2022 defensive tackle prospect out of Florida.

The Brent Venables era is off and running on the recruiting trail. After yesterday’s introductory event in Norman, Venables hit the road and has been visiting with players to continue to bolster the 2022 recruiting class.

In the wake of Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy’s de-commitment and flip to Texas A&M, Venables, and the Oklahoma Sooners sent out their first official offer to Ahmad Moten, a three-star defensive tackle from Florida.

According to 247Sports, Moten is a 6-3, 290-pound defensive tackle who helped Cardinal Gibbons win a 4A state title in 2020.

Yesterday, in his first press conference as head coach, Venables hammered home the idea that he wants the offers that Oklahoma sends out to mean something, to have value. They aren’t planning to offer kids just to give offers and want the players they offer scholarships to be team-first players who aren’t simply looking for individual accolades.

Venables defenses are physical at the point of attack, and that starts with interior defensive linemen that can disrupt the running game and crash the pocket in the passing game. Moten has the size and length to be able to do both.

It’s still early in Brent Venables’ tenure as head coach, but it’s no coincidence that the first official scholarship offer he made was to an interior defensive lineman. That’s where Venables wants to set the tone defensively. With the early signing period right around the corner, Moten would provide a boost to a recruiting class that needs some players on the defensive line.

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Clemson keeping tabs on under-the-radar prospect with ties to program

Clemson now has its eyes on a fast-rising defensive tackle in the class of 2022, who’s a bit of a late bloomer. Cardinal Gibbons’s (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) three-star defensive tackle Ahmad Moten believes that Clemson’s interest in him is real and …

Clemson now has its eyes on a fast-rising defensive tackle in the class of 2022, who’s a bit of a late bloomer.

Cardinal Gibbons’s (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) three-star defensive tackle Ahmad Moten believes that Clemson’s interest in him is real and genuine and the Tigers just want to see him in person again before they offer him.

“I’ve been talking to Coach Bates and Coach Venables,” Moten told TCI. “They said they liked my film and all that. They were trying to get me up there this [past] weekend.”

Moten was hoping to make the trip up to The Valley for this past weekend’s game against Wake Forest, but he was unable to attend because Cardinal Gibbons, also the alma mater of freshman receiver Troy Stellato, had a game of its own.

“I was with him last year,” Moten said. “We’ve been talking about Clemson. He told me that they work hard over there no matter what.”

He did, however, take an unofficial visit up to Clemson earlier this past summer. He took a tour with eight of his high school teammates at the end of June before the dead period.

“It was Clemson, you know? It doesn’t get bigger than that,” he said. “Coach Venables is such a big name, giving us a tour. It’s crazy. He was showing us, love, showing us around. We went bowling with him. We played basketball. It just felt like that even though they didn’t know us, that they were still treating us like we’re somebody.”

Since then, how has Moten’s relationship developed with Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables and defensive tackles coach Todd Bates?

“We talk a lot now,” Moten said. “[Coach Venables] texts me on Twitter. I talk to Coach Bates a lot. I talk with both of them a lot. The relationship can only go up from there.”

You don’t need to tell him wice, Moten’s aware of Clemson’s history at his position. The recent development and pipeline of defensive tackles to the league goes a long way and is certainly an intriguing prospect to Moten when considering his recruitment

“I’ve been watching Christian [Wilkins], Austin [Bryant], Dexter [Lawrence]. I used to watch all of them,” he said. “I know Clemson and how they D-line role. They’re doing something right.”

Moten’s recruitment is 100% open. He’s taking his time, as his recruitment took some time getting started. In addition to Clemson’s interest heating up, he’s received offers from Syracuse, Illinois, Oregon, Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia Tech, all in the last couple of weeks.

He plans to take a couple of official visits in December, as well as January. Of course, he’s hoping that one of them will be to Clemson.

“They’ve just been saying how they want to see me and we’ll go from there,” Moten said.

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