Steven Moss
Position: OT
Hometown (School): Fredericksburg, VA (Chancellor)
Height/Weight: 6'5" 290 lbs
Committed to Virginia: 03/23/13
Lead Recruiter: Scott Wachenheim
The Hoos currently have just 5 scholarship players on the roster listed at OG and two of those are seniors. To put it mildly, this was a need position. Moss is a 4 star OG, ranked 18th (ESPN), 17th (Rivals) and 10th (Scout) among OGs nationwide. He had offers from each of this year's BCS title game schools, as well as Oklahoma, Arkansas and the entire ACC. The combination of team need and player talent meant that keeping Moss close to home was almost a necessity.
In Moss, the Hoos get a big kid who is best as a run blocker. He played mostly RT in high school, but most scouts see him as an interior lineman. He has the ability to pull or trap on run plays, but his strength is simply locking onto a man and driving him into the ground. As a pass blocker, he (like many young linemen) has a tendency to get too high and can get off balance. Once he gets locked on, though, he doesn't let you by him.
Here is Moss' Junior highlight reel:
He does a good job on many plays of driving his man into the secondary. What is most impressive is how he's able to get downfield on a screen pass and make a block nearly 15 yards downfield. Also impressive is how he's able to sell pass blocking on a draw play and then lock onto the defender for an inside draw.
Moss could certainly end up at OT, depending on how the OL shapes up over the next few years. With the lack of depth at OG, that seems like a good spot for him. He's not really a mauler, but he does finish blocks, and with another 10 pounds or so of muscle, he could turn into a very good interior lineman.
Moss could redshirt, or he could see time this year. This will likely depend on the health of the Hoos' OL. With two senior OGs ahead of him, there seems little reason to burn his shirt. But the same could've been said this past year for some of our linemen who did not redshirt.
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