QB Moore pulls the trigger

On Tuesday, one of the worst kept secrets in recruiting became known when Louisville, Miss. three-star quarterback Clayton Moore committed to the Rebels.

"It's in-state, it's close to home and it's the SEC," Moore said Tuesday afternoon. "On top of that, the coaches are just wonderful. I'm really excited."

Moore was in the middle of informing the Rebel staff - and perhaps coaches from other schools - when he took the call from RebelSports.net, but he took time to talk about his commitment.

"I think I'll have a chance to play," he said. "The depth chart is a little thin and I just want to go in and compete. That's all I can do."

Moore, a 6-foot-1, 205 pound prospect with 4.8 speed, led his team to the state championship last fall as a junior. Moore threw for more than 3,000 yards and rushed for 850 more with a total of 40 touchdowns.

Moore, the 20th ranked pro-style quarterback by Rivals.com for the 2009 signing class, claims more than a dozen offers and generated some excitement a week ago when he received an offer from Ole Miss.

While Moore had made the rounds at several schools where he did and didn't have offers - most recently to Florida and Florida State - it apparently came down to a battle between Oklahoma State and Ole Miss for his verbal pledge.

It wasn't always a sure thing that Moore would get an Ole Miss offer. He visited with head coach Houston Nutt before signing day last February and began to guage interest by the staff. And, while the staff has apparently always been interested, coaches were also chasing some prospect targets that offer a dual-threat capability.

Moore had to go through a disappointment before getting the offer. He appeared at Ole Miss camp just two weeks ago and walked away without an offer. However, when 2008 signee Chris Wilkes signed with the Padres, creating the need for a second quarterback for next year's class, the staff wasted no time in offering Moore.

Moore is on pace to graduate from high school in December and enroll at Ole Miss next January.

The extra spring should give Moore a chance to compete, but he's got to get past sophomore Jevan Snead, junior Billy Tapp, and true freshman Nathan Stanley. However, the timing could be such that Moore redshirts for a season, backs up Snead, and then is poised to compete for the starting postion.

"I think it would be great to sit behind Jevan Snead," Moore said. "He's such a great player, a talented player, and I could learn a lot watching him and working with him."

"I can't worry about competition," he continued. "I'm just excited. There's going to be competition anywhere. I'm ready for it. If a guy beats me out - if he's better than I am - then I'll be the first one to walk over and say 'no hard feelings.'"