BREAKING | 2026 WR David Moore Jr. Commits To UMass

The Minutemen get commitment from highly-sought after wide receiver David Moore Jr.

In an offseason where the Minutemen boosted their pass catching unit through the transfer portal, they eventually moved to recruiting future stars, one being David Moore Jr. out of West Orange High School, who just announced his commitment to UMass.

This comes after Moore took an official visit to UMass last weekend with many other Minutemen high school recruits. The Minutemen offered Moore back in February, and he attended the spring game shortly after.

“The official visit was kind of different for me,” Moore said.

“I called all the coaches on Thursday, the day before the official visit, and I told them I wanted to commit. It was exciting and lifted a bunch of weight off of my shoulders.”

The 5-foot-11, 180-pound wide receiver is known for his acceleration and shiftiness with the ball in his hands. He has shown his threat in the return game with the speed and quickness he possesses. The West Orange, NJ native has proven his versatility whether it be receiving the ball in run-first situations through jet sweeps or quick pitches, while also being a consistent threat in the slot.

“My biggest skill is my versatility,” he said.

“I am able to play any position whether it's tight end, quarterback or running back. I played outside receiver all last year and didn’t play slot receiver yet, but I got moved there for certain formations. My high school coach’s style reminds me of Coach (Mike) Bajakian and Coach (Jordan) Hogan.“

Moore received offers from Duke, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Temple and Marshall. He also received a couple offers from rivaling Mid-American Conference schools such as Toledo and Central Michigan. The three-star held official visits with multiple power-four schools, but the

Minutemen reigned supreme in securing Moore’s commitment.

“UMass has been the most consistent throughout the whole process from day one,” he said.

“I heard Coach Harasymiak just got hired and I was a little bit skeptical at first, but now it makes a lot of sense and I appreciate that. When you get offered by a new coaching staff, it means you are their guy.“

His ability to use the raw speed and elusiveness he possesses to his advantage looks similar to TY Harding coming out of high school at BB&N. Harding then developed his promising raw talent into a talent that is expected to be an x-factor going forward for the Minutemen. Harding could be the perfect role model and leader Moore uses to reach his full potential for the Minutemen because of the similar brand of football the two play.

“Two of the times I was in Amherst, Harding was there,“ Moore said.

“He brings around good vibes and is my type of guy to be around. It’s just how he carries himself around is something to pay attention to.“

Just weeks after Joe Harasymiak became the new head coach of UMass football, he appointed Jordan Hogan as the new wide receivers coach. Hogan’s background includes work with many different college and NFL teams, most recently working with the San Francisco 49ers. Since the hiring, UMass have secured commitments at the wide receiver position from Jake McConnachie, Tyree Kelly, Donnie Gray, Kai Owens and now Moore.

“I wouldn’t say Coach Hogan is strict, but he knows the standard that he needs to set when you walk in the door every day,” Moore said.

“He always talks about being around guys like Deebo Samuel, Deandre Hopkins and others. He’s been at that level, so I would say that was a part of the commitment.

“The addition displays the depth UMass has built at the position, but also the pull the program has to bring in a player like Moore, especially when Power Four schools offered him as well. A lot of that goes down to the philosophy of Harasymiak.

“Belief, ownership and sacrifice, those three things definitely played a part,” Moore said.

“The belief from day one when they brought me in and offered me the spot, the ownership part about (Harasymiak) keeping it real from the start, telling me everything I wanted to hear, but alsO everything I didn’t want to hear, I appreciated because every coach and program will just tell you what you want to hear.”

Moore now gets set for his senior season at West Orange High School, and plans to join the Minutemen in 2026 as their first wide receiver commit.

“One day, hopefully when I come to UMass and ball out, I will eventually go to the league,” he said.

“I will walk across the stage with the gold jacket on, and it comes back to these moments when I work hard every day. Obviously it isn’t easy, but I’m a dog and nobody is going to outwork me.”

Your one-stop-shop for all your sports marketing needs… Owned and Operated by UMASS Grads.

We specialize in providing top-quality marketing & printing services for coaches, athletic directors, and sports marketing professionals.

Get Fan Ready!