Name: R.J. Moten
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 200 lbs.
High school: Delran (NJ) Delran
Position: Safety
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Last year: Moten was a senior in high school (LINK). He made 61 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, and 2 interceptions, plus 432 total yards and 8 touchdowns on offense.
TTB Rating: 68
Moten is a very interesting prospect and perhaps one of those boom-or-bust guys like Jeffrey Persi. He was a great all-around athlete at Delran, and he was named Athlete of the Decade by the school. He’s a high-level baseball prospect (like Joey Velazquez) and plans to play baseball at Michigan in addition to football (like Joey Velazquez). Whereas Velazquez is almost certain to be a linebacker, though, Moten has the potential to play safety.
Moten seems to me to be a virtual lock to redshirt. He played a lot of offense in high school and didn’t concentrate on defense, but Michigan recruited him strictly for defense. I also happen to think he’s more of a raw prospect on defense. For a defensive coordinator that says “Solve your problems with aggression,” I don’t see Moten display much aggression on defense. He is fairly physical on offense when running the ball, so if he can flip that switch when he’s concentrating on the other side of the ball, then he could be good. If he can’t, other guys are going to move ahead of him. For this year, though, he’s just not ready.
Prediction: Redshirt
Hit the jump for some senior highlights.
You need to login in order to vote
Nice to see a 3-4* safety down here at 88. It certainly looks like the days of patching together a secondary from warm bodies are gone.
You need to login in order to vote
Moten is going to be a good one. I could see him in the 40s next year.
You need to login in order to vote
Yeah, I hope I’m wrong. He’s a good athlete. I just don’t know if he has the mentality to be a physical defender.
You need to login in order to vote