Conner Moore was supposed to get on a flight at 8 a.m. Saturday morning to visit Ohio State University. Instead, he was getting ready to meet once again with the Michigan State football staff, looking further into the opportunity in front of him, at a school he cheered for as a child.
Growing up in Millbury, Ohio – a one-hour, 56-minute drive from MSU’s campus (at least it was on Saturday for the Moore family) – Moore rooted for the Spartans in all sports, but specifically in football and men's basketball. His fondest memories include watching Kyler Elsworth's leaping stop on fourth-and-inches with 1:46 remaining in the Rose Bowl to seal the victory for Michigan State over Stanford on Jan. 1, 2014. He also vividly remembered Cassius Winston and the men's basketball team beating Zion Williamson and Duke to make the 2019 Final Four.
That’s why it was surreal for the 6-foot-5, 310-pound offensive tackle to be sitting in Tom Izzo’s office, chatting with the Hall of Fame basketball coach.
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“He’s a huge legend,” Moore said about Izzo Sunday afternoon from his Ohio home just southeast of Toledo, as he was making preparations to join his new school early this week, as classes begin for the spring semester. “It was small talk, learning about Michigan State, learning about (Izzo's) philosophies.”
Moore and his parents enjoyed their time in East Lansing, culminating in a cancelation of the Ohio State visit, and Saturday evening phone call to MSU head football coach Jonathan Smith to let him know he was going to be a Spartan.
“It was awesome,” Moore said of the visit. “The coaching staff was great. The support staff people I met were great. The players were awesome. I could feel there was a family vibe to the team. That was really important to me.”
Moore’s recruiting trip to East Lansing started with a visit to the Breslin Center to watch Izzo's team dismantle the visiting Washington Huskies. He sat in the lower bowl, right across the court from the Spartan bench, chatting with those around him, and enjoying an iconic Melting Moments ice cream sandwich.
It was his first ever collegiate basketball game.
“The crowd (at Breslin) was incredible,” said Moore. “Especially since there were no students there.”
The Izzone Alumni were there, though, creating a competitive advantage for the basketball team and showing Moore the passion at the university. During halftime, Moore had the opportunity to meet with Smith, offensive line coach/run game coordinator Jim Michalczik, MSU AD Alan Haller, and MSU President Kevin M. Guskiewicz.
“It was super cool,” said Moore. “I wasn’t expecting any of that stuff.”
In the end, the visit resulted in Moore’s commitment to continue his education in East Lansing.
When reached on the phone Sunday afternoon, Moore was working his way through a huge checklist of things to do before driving back up to Michigan State.
“Busy, trying to get housing, moving up there,” he said. “It’s a good problem to have.”
Getting closer to home was an important aspect of the transfer portal recruitment for Moore. The three schools he considered were Cincinnati, Michigan State, and Ohio State.
“It was a huge factor, getting closer to home,” said Moore, whose parents made it to five games last season when Moore was at Montana State.
A year ago, Moore had been looked at by larger schools looking for him to transfer – but the timing wasn’t right.
“Last year, in the spring portal time, I had a couple schools that wanted me, but I wasn’t ready to transfer,” Moore explained. “I knew we were going to have a really good team coming back at Montana State. We had a lot of seniors. I wanted to play that last year for them.”
Moore has known for a while that he would be able to move up to the next level of football.
“I wanted to stick it out for that last year, for (the Montana State seniors),” said Moore. “That was my third year out there. It was a tough decision to move away (now) – they were great to me, so I felt like I owed (that third year) to them.”
When he got to Michigan State, though, he realized it was going to be home. A big part of the reason was offensive line coach Michalczik and head coach Smith.
“Coach M is a great teacher,” Moore said. “He’s a great guy outside of being a good coach, which is something I value. Coming from Montana State, we had a super tight team. We had great relationships with the coaches. I got to meet with Coach Smith two or three times, which was sweet. I got to learn a lot about him – great guy as well.”
As Moore makes his way to East Lansing this week, he is already looking forward to getting to know his new team while he works on his own game.
“During spring football, I’m looking to start a relationship with my teammates,” Moore said. “(I’m) always getting better. That’s the huge part about spring football, it’s a time for everyone to get better, everyone to start working on technique. I’m looking to get better and start relationships with everyone on the team.
“I’m a super passionate player. I’m pumped to get out there and start working, start getting this team going in the right direction.”
Moore’s future is bright and he is excited to spend the next couple years in East Lansing.
The interview couldn’t end, though, without asking Moore about the Melting Moments he enjoyed at Breslin.
“I wasn’t expecting it (to be that good),” said Moore with a laugh. “It was awesome. It was a really good ice cream sandwich.”
