Shady Side Academy QB/DB Moore gaining recruiters’ attention during offseason

By: Alec Italiano
Wednesday, June 6, 2018 | 8:51 PM

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Skyy Moore diligently reached out to college football coaches during his junior season at Shady Side Academy, following them on social media and sending out video highlights.

Then the New Kensington native waited, and waited some more. And after a slow start, the offers began to rain in like a spring downpour.

Duquesne on Tuesday became the 12th school to offer Moore a scholarship, joining a list that includes Albany, Brown, Columbia, Fordham, Holy Cross, Howard, Lehigh, Maine, Richmond, Robert Morris and Yale.

Of the dozen offers, 11 came since April. Howard was the first school to offer Moore, in late September.

“I anticipated this moment, but I didn't know when that moment was going to happen,” Moore said. “It is kind of a little surprise that it happened right now.”

The Shady Side Academy quarterback/cornerback certainly put plenty on film for coaches to digest. He won the Class 3A Allegheny Conference's Offensive Player of the Year award last season after he eclipsed 1,000 rushing and 1,000 passing yards, leading the Indians to a 6-3 record, and shared the league's Defensive Player of the Year award with Freeport's Austin Kemp.

In short, few teams could limit Skyy.

“He really did some awesome things during the season last year and really put some awesome film out there,” Shady Side Academy coach Chuck DiNardo said. “It's interesting because a lot of the guys who have come in, in terms of college recruiters, I think they were a little hesitant on him until they got to see him, actually. I didn't think they thought Skyy was as big as he was, as physical as he was. He's a kid that he plays really low, so he doesn't look as tall as he is. Then they got to come in, get eyes on him and they said, oh yeah, we like this kid a lot.”

The 5-foot-10, 187-pound Moore increased his profile at camps, as the Maine and Duquesne offers came after he performed well at Pitt's camp early this month. He also plays for the Evolve seven-on-seven team.

“I just sit back and think about how grateful I am to be even put in this situation, to be able to go to all these schools or for them to offer me and me have a chance to play at all these great schools around the country,” Moore said. “When I get offers from schools like these, I've got to soak that in for a minute.”

DiNardo said the offers from strong academic schools — including Ivy Leaguers Brown, Columbia and Yale — speak to Moore's commitment in that area, as well. The rising senior carries a 3.3 grade-point average.

“Skyy's an awesome kid,” DiNardo said. “I'm really lucky to be able to coach Skyy, to have a kid like Skyy on our team with what an awesome leader he is, what a great leader he is. As great of a football player as he is, he's a great student, too. As many hours as you put into the process of football, he's a kid that you enjoy being around every day.”

Most teams are looking at Moore as a cornerback, he said.

“I'm not really the fastest person all the time or the strongest, but I'm very technical,” Moore said. “When you have a technician, it's really hard to beat him. I'm very balanced. I've got speed, I'm strong and my ball skills are good.”

Moore works frequently with wide receiver Dino Tomlin, another Shady Side Academy recruit racking up offers in recent weeks.

All 12 of Moore's offers so far came from schools at the Football Championship Subdivision, but more could be in store for Moore depending on his performance over the summer and in the fall. His potential plans include camps at Northwestern this weekend, Duke next week and Columbia later this summer. He also will compete with Evolve in the national seven-on-seven championships later this month in Florida.

“I'm just working every day to see what I can do,” Moore said. “I think it will end well for me.”

Doug Gulasy is a Tribune-Review staff writer.

Tags: Shady Side Academy