Central Catholic defensive back Larry Moon III picked up his first Power Five offer before he ever played a snap of high school football.
Playing on a Vikings’ team loaded with future collegiate talent, the freshman was still able to step right into a starting role—and stand out in that capacity—after transferring from Aliquippa over the summer.
Right From the Jump
Larry Moon said that he wasn’t surprised by how quickly college coaches started to notice him. With his father’s help, he’s always played football on an accelerated timeline, beginning to train before he’d even started Kindergarten.
“I just want to thank my dad. We’ve put in a lot of work, since I was four years old,” Moon said. “The coaches too, they’ve developed me, they’ve let my game [become] really good.”
Moon described how those early training sessions played out.
“I started working out when I was like four years old, just doing basic stuff,” Moon said. “Like three pushups, I was feeling like the man! When I got older, we started hitting the ladder, started hitting the field and perfecting my craft.”
Moon said that eventually he figured out that the work he was putting in was a cut above what one might expect from someone at such a young age.
“I realized that, so I wanted to keep taking advantage of it,” Moon said. “Always, always, you’ve always gotta have confidence. You don’t have confidence; you’re not going to make it long in the game.”
As the collegiate offers start rolling in—including Pitt, Penn State, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Maryland—Moon said he relishes the chance to help his family out one day, just as his dad helped him.
“It’s fun, it’s really exciting. I think I can help my family out, getting them out of situations,” Moon said. “Just bettering me for my future.”
“Corners Should Be Physical”
Playing against Seneca Valley on Friday, Larry Moon made a pair of plays in the first half that really stood out, especially as a cornerback—two sacks of the Raiders’ quarterback, including a forced fumble on fourth down. Rather than making plays in the defensive backfield as one might expect, Moon came up to make plays in the offensive backfield.
He said the Vikings practice making plays when the play breaks down, a drill that helped him choose when to attack.
“Read and react, we do this drill in practice. We come up, we shed the block, and we make the tackle,” Moon said. “I just feel like corners should be physical. If you’re a ball player, you make plays.”
