Trai Mosley
Height: 5'9
Weight: 175
Position: DB
Brainiac’s Average Grade: Football 4.1 / 5.0

Image from 247sports.com

Trai is a Nebraska commit and recently received an Oklahoma offer. We had a chance to speak to his coach a few weeks ago and wrote some initial thoughts about him here: https://thefootballbrainiacs.com/?p=713. Below is our evaluation of him.

Special athlete all around. He is a very elusive player in the return game. His athleticism is top notch. He has smooth hips and runs well. I think he could contribute right when he walks on campus. He plays with a lot of confidence and, based on how he plays, he has every right to. He’s not afraid to make physical tackles in the flat and in the run game in general. His bump and run coverage technique can be improved but he shows he can stick to a man down the field and high point balls resulting in deflections or interceptions. Again, Trai is a special athlete and if he was a little taller I would have given him an even higher grade because he appears to have league level athleticism and fluidity.

Grade: 4.4

Let me just say at the outset that if Trai was a little bigger I would confidently say he’s a more complete CB at this point in his career than any CB Oklahoma currently has on campus was at the same age. As it stands he may still be. Trai is confident in his technique. You aren’t going to see him back out too early on a WR or give up too much ground or space. He’s going to trust his technique and his athleticism and play a man tight and make that WR earn what he gets. When you play in the Big 12 WRs make a living off those curls and hitches so you need someone with the ability to play those routes tight. But you also need someone that can recover because you are inevitably going to get hit on a double move on occasion. Trai has great recovery speed and the ability to get to his highest point even at top speed. Why is that big? Because he can force a QB to make a perfect throw even if he were to get beat on a double move. He’s fluid and he can turn his hips multiple times and still break on the ball. He just has a great sense of balance and awareness of what is around him. In Big 12 you’re going to get picked a lot and you’ve got to have sense of what’s happening around you without losing your focal point. He has that very subtle trait. The other thing that is so key is his ability to close quickly and be physical against blockers or on a tackle. And while it’s obvious when you see him do exactly that on film, what I liked was that the way he’d carry players when he was returning the ball on special teams. Anymore defenses are going to play a lot of cover 4 and off-man and give up the flats against spread teams which is why there is a premium on guys who can close and be physical to stone those flat routes. The problem is you’ll find a guy like that but they won’t have the fluidity or overall athleticism to play bump and run. Trai has it all. And his footwork is just beautiful…I mean beautiful! As Coach Killian, Trai’s coach, told us, Nebraska was down at Trai’s HS originally to see Samaje Perine but they couldn’t help but notice Trai. It doesn’t surprise me at all. As his coach says, “he can flat out play!” And coach Killian has seen a lot of great players.

Grade: 4.0

First off I had initially written down that he has great ball skills, but I had to go back, scratch that out, and re-write “excellent ball skills”.  His change of direction is superior, and that can be attributed to his great footwork.  He’s very physical and a good tackler.  He plays much bigger than what his measurements indicate.  He’s more quick than fast, but he has good football speed.  In the return game, he wasn’t a burner, but when running guys down across the field or hustling to help out a teammate on a turnover, he’s flying.  He plays off of blocks well, but he has to learn to maintain leverage at the next level.  He undercuts a lot of blocks, and in college, better players will just wall him off.  He’s very smart and instinctive and has an outstanding feel for man coverage.  He’s the kind of corner you want just because of how well he makes plays on the ball.  His head is always turned looking for the ball as it comes, and that’s a vastly underrated trait to have as a corner.  He’d be a mid four star to me if he was bigger, but there is still enough to like that I couldn’t, in good conscience, drop him into the 3’s.

Grade: 4.0

Smooth and fluid athlete. Flips the hips when he sinks effortlessly to get into his break. A Mike Stoops type player, excellent in man coverage and in cover 2. Plays with a lot of moxie and is an exceptional open space tackler. Against bubble screens and quick hitches his suave agility allows him to be a nightmare to block and has impeccable aiming point on his “gator roll” tackling technique. Listed as a shorter CB but don’t be confused. He’s not a guy you can go over the top on. In fact this is where Mosley seems to excel. He is able to high point the ball on larger receivers and his long wingspan make his lack of height an afterthought. Overall, what you get from Mosley is a corner who is willing to call out any receiver in the country for a one on one. He plays with a lot grit and has a number of exceptional traits. Look for Mosley to contribute after a RS year.

Grade: 3.9

This guy can flat out cover! He allows defensive coaches to breathe a little and not worry about his side of the field. His speed seems so effortless. He makes running down offensive players look so easy. Even on the rare occasion that he allows himself to get out of position or get beat he has excellent recovery speed. And his effort and athleticism allow him to put himself back into plays. He breaks on the ball  well and has great footwork when he does it. He’s willing to get his hands dirty. Has great strength for a guy his size. With that type of speed and athleticism I can see him getting immediate playing time. Would be a great add to anyone’s recruiting class.

Grade: 4.0

9 Comments

  • Darrell says:

    What’s the chance he flips.thanks for the evaluation

    • Billy Jackson says:

      I was just going to ask the same thing. OU has been pretty good at snagging recruits trying to choose between OU and NU, and I hope their success in doing that spills into flipping a commit or two of theirs.

    • Super K says:

      We’ll see if we can find out. Last we checked the chances looked good but he did take his trip to Nebraska over the weekend so that could have changed things.

      • madbrad says:

        Any updates on him? Still listed as a solid verbal. Is he a kid who just wants some place different?

  • Cary Newman says:

    As in the case with Bond, the Nebraska program is in a state of flux and anyone visiting Lincoln now will sense that. I like our chances.

  • Super K says:

    Will hopefully have more later but talked to someone earlier today and basically OU definitely wants to Trai and is recruiting him but they are also actively looking for other CBs. Will try to find out where OU stands if I can.

    • Super K says:

      Sorry probably should have said that, what it means when they want a kid but are still looking for others is that they aren’t certain where they stand with the young man. I think Cary’s point below is well taken…Nebraska is so volatile right now that even if he is high on Nebraska that can all change. But spots are going to be filling up.

  • Indy_sooner says:

    FWIW, Trai is from the same school (Hendricks in Pflugerville) as Samaje