Ohio State among schools trying to flip nation's top WR, Dakorien Moore, from LSU

Ohio State wasn’t a factor in the recruiting process of Dakorien Moore when he committed to LSU last August. At that time, Texas was thought to be the biggest threat to the Tigers, but ultimately the Duncanville (Texas) star opted for the out-of-state school.

Moore is part of the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class at LSU, but he hasn’t completely shut the door on other schools. LSU, Ohio State, Oregon and Texas are the only schools he is still strongly considering. The Buckeyes will get his next visit on March 18 as they look to make a big move into his recruitment.

And according to On3 Director of Recruiting Chad Simmons, those efforts are creating some buzz around the Buckeyes.

“LSU is the top school, and he has some strong connections in that class, but Texas and Ohio State are contenders and Oregon is right there as well,” Simmons wrote on Sunday. “When talking about competition, it starts with the Longhorns. Moore is from Texas, Steve Sarkisian’s offense appeals to him and he has relationships with players there.

… Ohio State’s production has the Buckeyes very much in this race and he will be in Columbus on March 18. They might not be talked as much as they should be.”

Moore sees Buckeyes as the standard for developing receivers

While Moore said he feels LSU is “Wide Receiver U,” he also noted that Ohio State is recruiting wideouts at an elite level and putting them into the NFL three to four years later.

“They’ve produced probably the most wide receivers in the league, and they got the best one coming out this year,” he told Simmons. “They have a whole wide receiver room of straight dogs, so it’s not a problem to go check them out. Hartline, he’s the best — straight like that. You can see with Jaxon Smith-Njigba did, Marvin Harrison Jr., some of the best players that are setting the standard.”

Other schools also trying to poach him

The biggest contender at the time of his commitment to the Tigers was Texas, who has hosted him on campus a number of times and will recruit him until the end.

“It’s family, to be honest,” he said of the atmosphere in Austin. “That’s really it. They’ve probably got the most family-oriented program that I’ve seen. Everybody is really close — one love, one family — and they showed that this year. They came together as a team and went farther than anybody expected them to.”

As for the Ducks, it’s a long way from Dallas to Eugene. But Dan Lanning, Junior Adams and the staff in the Northwest are getting him to take a long look at them.

“That’s probably one of the only teams that is far I would take a chance on,” Moore said. “Coach Adams, he’s probably one of the realest coaches I’ve talked to out of everybody. He keeps it real with me, he’s open and lets us be who we want to be. He doesn’t limit us, but at the same time he’s a coach and a mentor. Coach Lanning, I love his whole demeanor and he’s a winner and a competitor. I really want to be around that.”

They’ll all be chasing LSU though, who he said his commitment is “strong” with. Along with running back commit Harlem Berry and quarterback pledge Bryce Underwood, both of whom also rank No. 1 at their position, LSU is building what could be school’s best recruiting class in recent memory.

“I guarantee it’s going to be the best class at any school,” Moore said. “We got No. 1 in each category (QB, RB, WR), and we’re trying to build it with our O-line, D-line and everywhere else. We just have to stay on the grind and we’re going to get it.”