Running back Dylan Moses, the nation’s top recruit for the 2017 class, will transfer from University High in Baton Rouge to IMG Academy in Florida to finish his high school career. Moses announced the move on Twitter on Thursday night:
Dylan Moses, No. 1 2017 recruit, transferring to IMG Academy from high school on LSU campus
A Louisiana legend in the making is headed to Florida.
The best is yet to come @IMGAFootball pic.twitter.com/vnalVQSGgR
— King Ⓜ️oses (@TheDylan1Moses) January 14, 2016 Moses is poised to be both one of the nation’s most coveted prospects in the 2017 recruiting cycle and one of its most-discussed. Offered scholarships by both Alabama and LSU as an eighth-grader, Moses has continued to develop and make good on his hype, now ranking as the No. 1 prospect in the 247Sports Composite rankings of the 2017 class and in the rankings published by 247Sports, ESPN, and Scout. (Rivals has Moses as its No. 4 prospect for 2017.)
Given that he is from Baton Rouge and attended high school literally on LSU’s campus, it was presumed to be very likely that Moses would end up at LSU — which is where he was committed before backing off his pledge in August 2015. And while LSU certainly isn’t out of the mix for Moses, it sure seems like him being further from campus nullifies some of the Tigers’ edge.
The other intriguing aspect of Moses’s transfer is his destination: IMG Academy, which did not have a football program until 2010, has developed into a national powerhouse thanks largely to a reputation as a football-oriented, college-like school that can still help high schoolers enter college academically qualified.
It’s an attractive lure, to be sure. Two of the 247Sports Composite’s top 10 players and five of the top 100 in the 2016 class hail from IMG, both tops in the nation in that category. Moses will have a five-star teammate in 2017 defensive end Josh Kaindoh, as well.
Big-time prospects that have transferred to IMG have largely maintained their commitments, despite their new proximity to Florida's colleges. Notably, presumptive Derrick Henry successor Bo Scarbrough kept a commitment to Alabama despite pressure from Florida, and Ole Miss quarterback Shea Patterson remained solid to the Rebels throughout his senior year.
But there’s no obvious landing spot for Moses, or any other uncommitted IMG transfer, based on IMG. The program was thought by some to have some Florida State influence when Heisman winner Chris Weinke was its head coach, but he’s moved on to an NFL position, and so have the Seminoles commits who were at IMG. 2016 tight end Isaac Nauta decommitted from FSU and has since committed to Georgia, while Seminoles commit Malik Henry left the school to return to California in the spring.
The most recent elite IMG prospect to commit, meanwhile, was defensive tackle Shavar Manuel -- who committed to Florida.
And with IMG’s status and Moses’s prowess now intertwined, their individual narratives are now tangled up in a much bigger story.
