Purdue adds blue-chipper Rondale Moore to its 2018 class
More: Purdue's 2018 class
In a move that's seemed to be in the works for months, heralded wide receiver/offensive athlete Rondale Moore committed to Purdue Saturday during the U.S. Army All-America Game in San Antonio, giving the Boilermakers a blue-chip addition to the 20-plus-player group it already signed in December.
Moore will sign in February.
The Louisvillle Trinity star is considered one of the finest overall athletes and most explosive players in his class nationally, and was recruited accordingly.
Previously committed to Texas, Moore also drew early offers from numerous prominent programs, several blue-bloods among them, but was always drawn to Purdue in part due to long-standing ties to Jeff Brohm and an interest in his offensive system. Brohm and his brother, Brian, both starred at Trinity.
"With (the Brohms) being from Trinity, obviously, I've definitely heard their names a long time," Moore said prior to the season.." When they were at (Western Kentucky), I went to a few of their games, watched them and met with them after games. I have a real good connection with them."
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Moore decommitted from Texas on the eve of the NCAA's Dec. 21 early signing date, doing so a few days after an official visit to Purdue, which followed an in-season unofficial visit to West Lafayette for the Minnesota game.
The 5-foot-9, 175-pounder saw his recruitment blow up in the spring, after he ran a 4.33 40-yard time at a camp in Chicago, with a 42-inch vertical leap, among other notable metrics.
Moore was recruited primarily for wide receiver, but would seem likely to play a variety of roles for Purdue, based on its pitch to him. The return game would likely be part of that plan.
"Wide receiver, mainly, but they're a really sneaky team and they like to put up a lot of points," Moore said in the spring, after his first unofficial visit to Purdue back then. "They could definitely line me up anywhere, get the ball and go. I can line up in the backfield, as a return guy, as a receiver, inside or out."
As a senior at Trinity — to which he transferred as a junior from New Albany (Ind.) — Moore caught 109 passes for just under 1,500 yards, with 16 touchdowns. He also ran for seven touchdowns and scored on a pair of kick returns.
Trinity won all 15 of its games and claimed Kentucky's Class 6A title.
Moore represents the biggest get in a 2018 class in which Brohm drew blood in his home state. In addition to Moore, he signed offensive lineman Charles Allen, defensive back Kadin Smith, safety Cory Trice and offensive lineman Will Bramel from Kentucky, the first two of which from his native Louisville.
And in Moore, Purdue adds what it hopes is a key piece to a crucial wide receiver class that also includes mid-year enrollee Amad Anderson, as well as presumed outside receivers Kory Taylor and Jordan Bonner.
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