This weekend continues to get better and better for Notre Dame Football. Not only did the Irish de-pants the USC Trojans on prime-time television last night, but now they have earned their 17th verbal commitment from the Class of 2018 — this time from a kid mere miles from campus. Mishawaka, Indiana product Paul Moala has finally committed to the Fighting Irish after what seemed like his 20th visit to ND over the past few months.
Moala plays safety for nearby Penn High School. He earned his offer from the Irish back in June after performing extremely well at Irish Invasion and running a hand-timed 4.4 40. He was among the top performers for defensive backs at the event, and Elko quickly tabbed him as a guy he wanted to add to this impressive Irish recruiting class.
Recruiting Service Rankings
247 — 3 star (87 rating), #450 overall, #34 S, #7 in IN
Rivals — 2 star (5.4 rating), NR overall, NR position, NR in IN
Scout — 3 star, NR overall, #39 S
ESPN — Not Yet Rated
247 Composite — 3 star (.8515), #787 overall, #60 S, #10 in IN
As you can see, Paul has some pretty modest ratings from the recruiting services at this point in time. Rivals and ESPN in particular stand out, as Rivals only has Moala tabbed as a 2-star prospect (which is expected to change here in the coming weeks). Meanwhile, ESPN’s recruiting coverage just kind of sucks and they haven’t even evaluated Moala yet.
Cohort
Paul chose the Irish over other offers from Iowa, Nebraska, Vanderbilt, and others.
Highlights
It’s tough to take too much from Paul’s highlights considering the level of competition he plays against, but he appears to be a capable athlete with pretty good burst and speed for someone set to play strong safety at the next level. His kick return and punt return highlights probably showcase his athleticism the best, and he’s clearly the best athlete on the field by a wide margin at this level.
Oh, and he also really likes to hit people. Which is nice.
Impact
This makes things interesting for safety recruiting moving forward. Moala is the second commit for the Irish at safety behind Top-100 prospect Derrik Allen. And both of those guys are likely tabbed at the strong safety spot (although Allen could possibly even grow into a Rover if he continues to add weight). The Irish are in on quite a few guys at safety for with what many assume to be just one spot left — although I’m thinking they will find a way to make it two. Notre Dame is at or near the top for 4-star Julius Irvin and 3-stars BJ Crim, Joe Wilkins Jr, D’Angelo McKenzie, and Chris Mitchell.
Nice writeup. I don’t care how many stars he has, if Elko wants him, Elko can have him. He’s already built up plenty of good will to have this type of project player, which is crazy since he hasn’t even been around a year yet.
Anyways, since they have Allen as a top-100 guy, I don’t think this is too big a deal. Moala seems athletic and toolsy enough to be a decent enough longshot to “invest” a scholarship in and see where he is in 2-3 years. Seems like maybe a special teams contributor too.
Let’s even wait to see at the end of the period if he stays his current project status. If he’s not even ranked by espn he could shoot up the rankings to at least become a low 4 star.
His rating will definitely go up over the next month or so, but probably not to 4-star range. But that 2-star rating by Rivals is really dragging him down right now and it could use an update. I don’t think he’s been evaluated by them since his senior season started, and maybe not for a couple of months before then even.
Seems like his floor would be an Anello or Collinsworth type of player who can also be a return guy. Penn may not have much competition in the NIC, but their program has been top notch since the 80s. This kid’s ceiling is very high.
Kid saw the USC game and thought “man, I better jump on this before my slot fills up.”
Great write up Ty!
I think Moala could possibly grow into a Buck within a couple of years too. Has a good frame. That’s potentially important/helpful since Ovie could grow into a WDE.
And, like Hooks said, Elko can take whoever he damn well pleases.
I dont know anything about this kid. He isnt highly rated at all and his offer list is ok I guess. Irish Illustrated used the word “priority” in regards to how bad Elko wanted him. So if Elko likes him, I love him.
He was “just a guy” until the staff saw him work out at Irish Invasion, and then they went after him hard. One of the Scout national guys who was there, I think Allen Trieu, compared his movement in space to Shayne Simon’s. Simon’s physical tools are a notch higher across the board, but the point is, he looked really good there and the staff noticed.
His junior highlights are much more impressive than his senior so far.
Reminds me of a John Turner. Not the tape, I don’t remember Turner’s tape at all. But as lowly rated safety from Indiana who the staff offered because of his performance at Irish Invasion.