Nephew of Olympian Gail Devers commits to play football at Virginia

Buford DB CJ Moore is the nephew of three-time Olympic gold medalist Gail Devers

Speed is a family tradition with CJ Moore, who committed to play football at Virginia.

Moore, a lightning-fast cornerback from Buford High School, committed to Virginia over offers from Rice, Memphis, Air Force and Navy. Moore’s mother, Monica Phillips, ran track at UCLA, and his aunt, Gail Devers, won three Olympic gold medals in sprinting events.

“We’ve definitely got some speed in the family.” Moore told the AJC with a laugh. “We really don’t talk about it because it’s just natural. It just seems like everybody in my family either ran track, coached track or had something to do with track.”

The 5-foot-9, 155-pound Moore will be following the same sports path as his father, who did both football and track at Cal State Northridge.

The younger Moore has already established himself as one of Georgia’s fastest college prospects for 2012, winning the Class AA state championship in the 100 meters in 10.89 seconds last May as a junior. He earned a football scholarship at Virginia’s football camp last week after showcasing his blistering speed.

Virginia had shown some interest in Moore during the spring, and invited him to audition for a scholarship at last Friday’s camp. It was a long drive (seven hours each way) with no promise of a scholarship offer, but Moore figured it was worth the gamble. He won over the coaches after his time in the 40-yard dash — “they said it was 4.3,” according to Moore.

“The coaches evaluated me at defensive back and decided to offer me,” Moore said. “I came home and talked about it over the weekend with my parents. I decided it was the right school for me. I have a good relationship with the coaches. It’s a nice campus and a good football program. I like everything about Virginia.”

Moore is expected to play both ways this year for Buford, the four-time defending state champions in football. He will play cornerback for the third year in a row on defense, and alternate between both wide receiver and tailback on offense. Moore said he has a 3.4 GPA and plans to study Engineering or Architecture in college.

OTHER NEWS OF THE DAY

• Buford DB CJ Moore, the nephew of 3-time Olympic Gold Medalist Gail Devers, commits to play football at Virginia (click on story link)
• Stephenson OL Nicholas Gibbons committed to Memphis. He is the 11th senior from the Stone Mountain high school to commit to a D1 college football program.
• Camden County DE Develyn Cousin (6-3, 275) committed to Southern Miss, according to Camden County coach Jeff Herron

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– By Michael Carvell, AJC Recruiting Blog Got a recruiting item? mcarvell@ajc.com

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