Countryside High football prospect tackles a big decision
By Keith Niebuhr, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Tuesday, September 8, 2009
At 16, Tyler Moore, left, is a 6-foot-6, 290-pound offensive tackle for Countryside High School. His father, Brian Moore, 46, is a former tight end for the Nebraska Cornhuskers. The University of Nebraska is one of several Division I football programs vying for Tyler?s attention.
Brian Moore takes the field with the Nebraska Cornhuskers in 1985. His son, Tyler, is considered one of the country’s best offensive linemen prospects.
[Special to the Times]
CLEARWATER ? Tyler Moore was 7 when his father attempted to sign him up with the Junior Cougars, a youth football program based in Clearwater.
But the family encountered a problem.
"He already weighed 130 pounds," Brian Moore said. "They told us he'd have to play with the 13- and 14-year-olds. I said, 'No, we're not going to do it.' "
In hindsight, the issue might have been predictable.
When Tyler was born at Clearwater's Morton Plant Hospital in 1993, he weighed 9 pounds, 11 ounces.
"He," Brian Moore said, "was always big."
These days, being large isn't a bad thing for him.
Now 16 and an impressive-looking 6-foot-6, 290-pound junior offensive tackle for Countryside High School, Tyler is considered an elite college prospect.
Scout.com, a Web site devoted to football recruiting, recently named him one of the nation's 100 best juniors.
The praise doesn't end there.
According to longtime Countryside head coach John Davis, Florida Gators assistant Steve Addazio told him Tyler could end up being the top offensive line prospect in the state ? and possibly the nation ? for the Class of 2011.
"Coach Addazio said that Tyler is probably the best 16-year-old offensive lineman he's ever seen," Davis said.
On Sept. 1, the first day high school juniors could receive official scholarship offers from colleges according to NCAA rules, Tyler received written offers from Florida, Florida International, Michigan, Nebraska, Tennessee and West Virginia.
A day later, Florida State, Miami and Ohio State followed suit.