Getting to know Arizona Football commit Maurice Gaines Jr.
Arizona Football commit Maurice Gaines Jr. cannot wait to get to Tucson to start his NCAA Football career, and we cannot wait to get to know him!
It’s the time of year when Arizona Football brings recruits to campus for official visits, gives out offers and gets commitments. But there is always more to these young men than just the stars assigned to their ESPN profile by “experts” in the field. The more that fans get to know a player, the more they are invested in their success. To give a recent commit a voice, we were fortunate to get some time to sit down with Arizona Wildcats commit Maurice Gaines Jr.
Gaines is a 6-foot-2 195-pound cornerback out of Northern California, specifically Capital Christian in Sacramento. Next season he will attend a prep school program at St. Thomas More in Oakdale (Connecticut). In January, he will enroll at Arizona early and be ready for Spring Camp much like his future quarterback Khalil Tate did. The Oregon Ducks will not be getting this DB who was told by Arizona coaches that they had him ranked as a prime target, he was sold early on being a Wildcat.
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Gaines had a lot of offers. We asked him to describe the moment when he just knew Arizona was the school he wanted to commit to:
"I’ve had a relationship with coach Meat for a number of years now and he played an important role in my commitment. Tucson is just a special place in general the people are extremely nice and the campus is beautiful I love the direction the program is going in. I can tell the staff is on to becoming a football powerhouse."
"I used to live in Goodyear so Arizona is in my heart seeing the school just put the icing on the cake."
The senior comes from a family of athletes two of which played on teams which are now in the PAC-12, “My dad played at the University of Utah and my cousin DJ Calhoun played at ASU and another cousin went to Redlands University for football”
Since the Arizona staff already calls him Moe, and he confirmed that Moe indeed was his nickname, that’s what we will call him.
Moe lives by the motto: Play through god and anything is possible. He is a family first, young man. When I asked him who his best friend was, his answer melted my heart. “My best friend is my mom because she brought me into this world and no matter what she’s always there for me.”
There is no concern about Moe being focused and honed into being a great football player, “I’m a workaholic I’m either at my actual job or working out.” He is happy about the new redshirt rule which allows freshman to play in four games and still redshirt. “Yes I do like it because it gives the coaches that outlook on who is ready to be on the field and who shouldn’t,” said Gaines, “It’s all ‘what’s best’ for the team.”
The Arizona Football coaching staff wants Gaines to start at the Corner position, “They want me to early contribute at the corner, but they know I’m versatile so I could get moved all around the field.”
Gaines tells ZZ about his other talents and favorite dish, “I can dance and do character impersonations. My favorite food is fettuccine Alfredo with shrimp and chicken.” Well he will love Bear Down Kitchen then, where he can get as much of that dish as he wants.
Here are some of Moe’s highlights:
We just love getting to know Arizona commits more, it brings fans closer to the young men that dedicate themselves to bring wins to the University of Arizona. We totally appreciate Maurice and thank him for sharing himself with us. Bear Down!