This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
If you're imagining a week of awkward family dinners for Ben Moos, guess again.
While Moos may have surprised http://bit.ly/2hk2t6g";>a few people by committing to the Utes on Sunday afternoon, his parents weren't among them. He gave them plenty of warning that if he felt right at Utah on his visit, he might pull the trigger and commit.
And they've been plenty encouraging in turn — even though his father is Bill Moos, the athletic director at Washington State, which was one of the runners-up for his talents.
"You know, my dad's been awesome throughout the process," he said. "I discussed it with my parents a lot. They've been supporting me the whole way."
So Utah — with the blessing of Washington State's top athletic official — was able to nab a three-star 6-foot-4, 240-pound tight end from Mike Leach's backyard, in part because Utah wanted him to play tight end.
While his father is a big name, alum and show-runner at Wazzu, Ben Moos made his own name at Pullman High as a skilled, pass-catching tight end. He helped power his team to the playoffs for the first time this year. Washington State, at least through part of the process, http://www.oregonlive.com/recruiting/index.ssf/2016/03/ben_moos_son_of_former_oregon.html";>viewed him as a defensive linemen.
"I knew I wanted to play offense," he said. "That helped Utah, obviously."
But that was far from the only criteria, and Moos, familiar with athletics and recruiting overall, was a savvy participant in the process, which he said he enjoyed.
He also strongly considered WSU and Syracuse, but in the end, Utah stuck out on a number of fronts.
"The conference was a huge part of it, the level of competition is elite," he said. "It's a program that consistently wins, they have a great facility, and I have to say the camaraderie between the staff and players, the things they preach there really made my decision."
Moos had over 200 yards receiving in each of his four years at Pullman, and had 500 yards in both his sophomore and junior years. He'll add depth to a unit losing Evan Moeai, and graduating Siale Fakailoatonga and Harrison Handley after the 2017 season.
He's also close with current Ute Scott Peck, a Spokane lineman he played travel ball with for a summer. He said the two got a chance to catch up on his official visit.
The Moos family has another longtime tie: His dad played for Erickson's father, who was a coach at WSU. His older brother Bo Moos played for Dennis Erickson at Arizona State (he was also close to Pablo Cano, now with the Utes). That relationship also helped ease Ben into the Utah culture.
While he won't carry on in his father's footsteps with the Cougars, Ben Moos said he's proud to be staying on the West, as is the family tradition.
"It's kind of cool, because my dad played in the Pac-8, Bo played in the Pac-10, and I'm going to play in the Pac-12," he said. "It's a cool thing to be a part of. It's nice knowing where I'm going to spend the next four years of my life."
Here's the other Utah commits the Tribune has reported on:
2017
• http://bit.ly/2dwMpf3";>Texas WR Jaylen Dixon
• http://bit.ly/2dJjczi";>Texas WR Tyquez Hampton
• http://bit.ly/2fqQm9P";>California DB Jaylon Johnson
• http://bit.ly/2gPgMlr";>Riverside City College CB Tareke Lewis
• http://bit.ly/1TTt5JC";>Snow College DT John Penisini
• http://bit.ly/2g2UdWv";>American Fork OL Michael Richardson
• http://bit.ly/2hybHiR";>California OL Orlando Umana
• http://bit.ly/2aqwekI";>Texas QB Jason Shelley
2018
• http://bit.ly/1V3R5qi";>Highland DT Hunter Lotulelei
kgoon@sltrib.com
Twitter: @kylegoon