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Position: CB
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 160
Hometown: Buford, Ga
High School: Buford HS
Year: RS Freshman
Far and away the least highly touted of the 3 Moore prospects in UVA's 2012 recruiting class, C.J. Moore may be forgotten by most fans. Both Mike Moore and Kwontie Moore played as true freshmen, and are expected to compete for significant reps as sophomores. Meanwhile, Moore is probably 5th on the depth chart at CB, and is unlikely to see the field on defense this year, barring significant injuries. Both Mike and Kwontie were 4 star recruits, whereas C.J. was a 3 star guy. C.J. was ranked the #74CB in the nation by ESPN, and #91 by Scout (unranked by Rivals).
The depth chart thing is not really Moore's fault. The Hoos have depth problems on the DL and at LB, but are stacked at DB. So Moore did not need to play last season, and likely does not need to play this season. This does not mean that Moore wouldn't (or couldn't) be successful this year. It simply means that he isn't needed.
While his offer list includes schools such as Air Force, Wake Forest and Memphis, he was also recruited by Georgia, Arkanas, and Clemson. There is no doubt that Moore can play. Moore is seriously fast. He's been clocked in the 4.3 range for the 40. C.J.'s entire family is fast. His dad was a WR in college. His mom ran track at UCLA. His aunt is 3 time Olympic gold medalist Gail Devers.
The main thing keeping Moore off the field is his lack of size. At just 160 pounds, he simply isn't strong enough to cover ACC WRs at this point. He's been building up his upper body strength over the past year and will continue to do so. If he can get up so 180 or so pounds, and keep up his speed, he'll be much more ready to see the field.
Moore is an aggressive CB. He'll look to jump an underneath, knowing he has the makeup speed to recover. He's actually best in a zone scheme, because he's so good at reading the QB. In man coverage, Moore has some problems when turning out of his backpedal and heading upfield. He can also be beat on jump balls.
Moore is reminiscent of former Virginia CB Almondo ‘Muffin' Curry (currently DB coach for Christopher Newport University). Both were diminutive and lacked upper body strength. But both are good at reading plays, and both possess good ball skills. Curry was a bit stronger, and Moore is faster, but they have similar skills. Curry didn't have All-ACC candidates ahead of him when he came in, so he was a 4 year contributor. Moore is stuck behind Demetrious Nicholson and Co for the time being.
It must be noted that C.J. has not been participating in fall practice. The reasons for this are unknown, as he has not been discussed by Coach London. Perhaps he has some things to work out in the classroom. Perhaps he is hurt. Perhaps he has some off the field issues that he's dealing with. Until we know more about this, Moore can't be counted on to ever seen the field.