Monday, February 11, 2008

Last Minute Addition | by Pat

Before we move on from the recruiting Class of 2008, here's a look at the 23rd and final recruit to pick the Irish; Texas defensive end Kapron Lewis-Moore.

His recruitment as Signing Day approached, KLM's went back and forth a few times between Texas A&M and Notre Dame before he ultimately chose the Irish.

“Basically, what changed my mind was I talked to my mom about the possibilities after college, and I’m not saying A&M is a bad college, but I feel like at Notre Dame, I can succeed a little more, that’s no disrespect to A&M at all,” Lewis-Moore said.
BlueandGold.com has the whole story of the last minute flip-flop, but the basics are that he went from being an A&M commit to taking a late January trip to ND to recommitting to A&M to switching once more for the Irish.

At 6'4" 230 pounds, Lewis-Moore was recruited as a defensive end/outside linebacker. His initial roster listing at ND is at defensive end so he's probably getting plenty of advice on how many protein shakes to put down each day. Other than the Irish and Aggies, KLM also picked up offers from Texas, Michigan, Oklahoma, Colorado, Texas Tech, and others. The 2nd team All-District honoree was listed as a 4-star recruit on Rivals.com and the 13th strongside defensive end while scout.com had him listed as a 3-star recruit and the 32nd best defensive end. ESPN listed him as the 19th best defensive end. Kapron also plays basketball where he averages a double-double and puts the shot for the Weatherford track team.

As the fifth defensive end in the current recruiting class, KLM fits a different mold than the other four. In a standard 4-3 defense, Brandon Newman, Hafis Williams, Sean Cwynar and Ethan Johnson would all likely be slotted as defensive tackles. KLM however, would still play the defensive end role. Coming in with a tall, skinny frame like Justin Tuck and Kallen Wade once did, KLM will probably need a bit of time to add weight and strength. However, as his highlights on und.com show, he has the potential to grow into a quality edge rusher for the Irish.