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A text message from the Duke football program caught Terry Moore’s eye back in March.

Three months later, it turned into a scholarship offer he didn’t refuse.

Moore committed to the Blue Devils this week, but has to wait until the December signing day to make it official.

“I had been talking to several schools at that point, but none were Duke’s caliber,” Moore said. “I stayed in touch during and after our season, went to their prospect camp in early June and had my campus visit a couple of weeks ago. I am very excited to accept their offer.”

The 6’1 185-pounder says the Blue Devils plan to use him at safety and to return punts and kickoffs, despite his 1,472 yards rushing during the shortened nine-game spring season.

“I’ve always played on both sides of the ball, so defense is fine,” Moore said. “Wherever they put me to make plays and help the team win is great with me.”

Moore has the stats to make major programs notice, but his academic record was just as important to Duke’s coaches.

“That was the first thing they asked me in our first phone conversation,” coach Perry Owens said. “Terry has a 4.3 GPA, runs the forty (yard dash) in 4.4 seconds and has a 40 inch vertical leap. It is rare to find a kid with all three and that combination got Duke’s attention in a hurry.”

Moore had East Carolina and Old Dominion in his top three as well, but his visit to the Durham campus sealed the deal.

“I was there with other guys from bigger schools, but all the coaches knew my name and where I was from when I walked in,” he said. “Coach (David) Cutcliffe is very passionate about Duke football and he got me pumped up.”

Moore went through a workout so coaches could confirm what they had seen on film, sat in on running back and defensive backfield meetings, had lunch during his campus tour and visited with several coaches.

“It’s always been my goal to play Division I football at a school with great academics,” Moore said. “Duke definitely meets all those criteria and I’m excited to make it official.”

Moore is not sure of a major, but is interested in business or psychology and plans to graduate from WHS in December, foregoing his senior track and field season and at least part of his final basketball season.

“It will be tough leaving guys I’ve played with for a long time, but it’s the right move,” Moore said. “It will give me time to get used to college classes and the routine of college football spring practice. The coaches told me there will be starting spots open in the secondary, so I want to have every opportunity to claim one.”

A normal fall high school football season comes first and Moore has already started training along with the rest of his teammates. He knows a Duke blue target will be on his back every Friday night with plenty of opponents looking to raise their own stock by stopping him.

“That’s kinda the way it’s always been, so I’m not worried about it,” Moore said with a shrug. “I am motivated to prove that Duke made the right decision on me and I want to help our team go deeper in the playoffs. I am going to work as hard as I can to make sure we have a successful season first and focus on Duke after that.”