Miami adds a big, physical receiver with tons of potential for the future of the Canes offense

In this installment of The Recruiting Notebook, we meet a talented receiver who can stretch the field, and score at any time: Pembroke Pines (FL) West Broward 4-star WR Joshua Moore.

Bio

It is no secret that Miami has needed to rebuild the WR room for many years. To help with the future of this position, Miami turned their recruiting attention to Pembroke Pines (FL) West Broward WR Joshua Moore.

A 6’4” 205lb receiver, Moore is a big, prototypical X receiver, the likes of which Miami has seldom had on the roster for many years. But it’s not just his impressive frame that has generated loads of recruiting interest in Moore; he’s performed at an elite level in HS games, camps, and 7v7 tournaments for years.

Plying his trade at Pembroke Pines West Broward — a relatively new school that’s only been open since 2008 to combat overcrowding as more Broward County residents moved West — Moore first made an impression as a sophomore for the Bobcats. He caught 50 passes for 1,034 yards and 11 TD, and was immediately on the radar for college teams all around the country.

Moore’s recruitment started in earnest during his breakout sophomore season, with the talented receiver taking 2 unofficial visits to Miami during the season. As his career progressed through his junior season, Moore continued to take recruiting visits. Miami, FSU, Clemson, and UCF were all able to get the talented player on campus through the 2023 season and 2024 early spring.

Back on the field, Moore continued to showcase his elite talent as a junior. 50 catches for 835 yards and 9 TDs were the numbers for Moore as he helped West Broward (!!!) make the playoffs in Florida’s 4M (analogous to the old 8A) classification.

Following another strong season, Moore took advantage of the new spring Official Visit window, and made trips to several schools. Florida, Miami, Florida State, and Georgia all got Moore on campus for spring OV’s, and afterwards, the talented receiver had his mind made up; he committed to the Florida Gators a week after his final spring visit to Georgia.

Despite his commitment to Florida, Miami (and others) continued to recruit Moore. Though the receiver was saying all the right things about being fully committed to Billy Napier’s Gators, there were rumblings that his commitment may not have been as solid as it seemed.

After Miami smacked Florida in the opener with ease, things really picked up. And, over the next 8 weeks or so, Mario Cristobal and receivers coach Kevin Beard put the full court press on Moore. Those recruiting efforts paid off handsomely in early October when Moore decommitted from Florida and made the wise decision to flip to the Miami Hurricanes.

Let’s not forget the main thing here: Moore is a football player. And, he continued to show his elite talent in his senior season for West Broward. 40 catches for 769 yards and 8 TDs in 8 regular season games was the stat line for Moore as a senior. And, that continues to show his elite abilities on the field, skills that will serve Miami well in the future.

Recruiting Ranking

On the 247sports composite, Moore is a 4-star prospect, the #16 nationally, #20 in the State of Florida, and #120 player overall in this class.

Moore flipped his committed to Miami after previously being committed to Florida, and over a robust list of 33 scholarship offers from around the country, which included Florida, Florida State, Michigan and Ohio State among many others.

As A Player

At 6’4” 205lbs, Moore is a big, tall X receiver with prototypical height and wingspan. His stature is singular in Miami’s receiver room at present, and he has the kind of physical build that Miami has seldom had at receiver in the last 20 years.

While Moore’s stature and the accompanying jump ball/contested catch ability is at the forefront of his additions to the Canes’ roster, he’s very athletic and quicker than you’d think for a big bodied receiver. Check out this screen touchdown from earlier this season for proof:

As seen in the clip above, Moore’s strength while running after the catch is a big value add as well. He broke no fewer than 6 tackles on that play, and extrapolating that to the college level, Moore will likely be a monster to tackle, and run through arm tackles from smaller defenders repeatedly.

Moore has average speed for the collegiate level, and will need to be intentional with his steps while running to get to his top speed. Any wasted movement would probably render him ineffective entirely, since he’s not able to overcome that with elite straight line speed later on in routes in the same way other, smaller receivers might be.

Playing for an average West Broward team, Moore has to run every route and catch every pass. Moving forward, Moore will be tasked with back shoulder fades, digs, and other routes where he can use his frame to create space to make catches.

For another look at Moore, here’s an evaluation from 247sports Director of Scouting Andrew Ivins:

Eye-catching outside wide receiver prospect with ready-to-go size that can be a reliable winner on back-shoulder throws. Measured just under 6-foot-4, 205 pounds spring before senior season and should only continue to undergo a physical maturation. Attacks leverage with a galloping stride and will sink his hips before changing course. Charges towards the football and will use firm hands to secure the prize while boxing out defenders. More of a one-speed route runner at this stage that has to capitalize on his release as a lack of a true top-end gear can make it difficult at times for him to create separation at both the intermediate and deeper levels. Dealt with an injury as an 11th grader, but has still put up big numbers while playing for one of South Florida’s non-traditional powers: 1,869 career receiving yards and 20 touchdowns in 21 varsity games. Should be viewed as a prototypical X in a modern pro-style attack that can thrive in 50-50 situations out on the perimeter with his build and ball skills.

Strengths

• Elite size
• Strong hands
• Contested catch ability

Weaknesses

• Average speed
• Lack of elusiveness
• Developing technique

Miami Outlook

Note: changed this up from just a freshman-season outlook to a career outlook for each player a few years ago and we’re continuing that style this year as well.

Miami has been looking for a receiver of Moore’s stature for a while, and with him on board, it shouldn’t be long until he finds his way onto the field. He’ll have to work for it, to be sure, but there’s a clear role for a player of his archetype in this offense both now and in the future.

If Moore is able to raise his performance in the good areas, and close the gaps in other areas, he should at a minimum be a rotation player for Miami’s offense. Past that, it’s up to him to harness his immense talents and turn them into production, something that’s possible, but not guaranteed.

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That’s it for this installment of The Recruiting Notebook.

Go Canes