A player who deals fear to foes

Nick Moody is no ordinary high school football player.

Standing 6-foot-2, weighing 220 pounds, the Roman Catholic senior could pass for an imposing linebacker. But blessed with sprinter's speed and a 371/2-inch vertical leap, Moody has made a name for himself as an elite defensive back.

"Physically speaking, he is just a specimen," Cahillites coach Jim Murphy said. "He's got major big-play possibility."

In all phases of the game.

Mr. Everything for Roman, Moody also stands out at wide receiver, running back and punt returner.

But it is the 17-year-old's play at strong safety that has been turning heads.

Moody is the sixth-best football prospect in Pennsylvania, according to recruiting Web site rivals.com. The Florida State recruit will participate in the inaugural Under Armour All-American game in Orlando, Fla., on Jan. 5.

"He just puts fear in people," said Roman senior defensive tackle Jewhan Edwards, another all-American game participant. "I always knew that he was going to be special."

Apparently, so did college recruiters.

Moody has been on the college recruiting radar for three seasons.

Following a freshman year at Penn Charter, he participated in the Penn State football camp.

After transferring to Roman at the start of his sophomore year, Moody excelled at an underclassmen camp in New Jersey.

"Before my junior year, I went to [Florida State's] camp down there," Moody said. "They really liked how I performed down there. I've been to Miami. And I visited Ohio State before my junior season."

Impressed with his combination of size and speed, the Seminoles kept tabs on him and requested his junior season game film. Florida State made a scholarship offer in April.

Moody gave the school a non-binding oral commitment a week later.

"My favorite teams as a kid were always Florida State and Miami," Moody said. "I pretty much knew that I wanted to go to Florida to play. . . . I just like the way the Seminoles play. They play fast and aggressive."

He also liked how the Seminoles prepare players - especially safeties - for the NFL.

According to the NFL's annual kickoff report, the Seminoles had more former safeties (six) on opening-day rosters than any other school. Florida State was third overall with 41 former players in the NFL.

Time will tell if Moody will become a pro.

For now, he is focused on aggressively pursuing high school ballcarriers. He finished with 65 tackles, five sacks and five pass breakups last season. Murphy doesn't know this year's totals, but. . . .

"I would say that it is a huge number," the coach said.

Not having an accurate count won't take away from his legend.

There are players in Southeastern Pennsylvania who will finish with more career tackles.

But few defenders possess Moody's ability to change the outcome of a game with one hit.

"The Roxborough hit is one that stands out the most," Edwards said of last season's Thanksgiving Day game. "It was like a train hit the quarterback. . . . It sounded like a car accident.

"I didn't see the quarterback play any more after that."

Delivering bone-jarring hits is just a fraction of Moody's worth.

Lining up at wideout, Moody has eight catches for 185 yards.

His most impressive reception came in last week's 21-10 Catholic League Red Division victory over North Catholic. He hauled in a 72-yard touchdown strike from quarterback Chris Johnson. Moody also rushed for a 2-yard score in that game.

Also a special-teams threat, Moody returned a punt 75 yards for a score against La Salle on Oct. 26. He takes his multitude of talents into tomorrow's Catholic League semifinal against Father Judge.

"He is a special talent," Murphy said. "We could pretty much line him up anywhere."