For the second consecutive day, a Malvern Preparatory School senior-to-be has issued an oral declaration to continue playing football for a Division-1 program.
Michael Mooney, a 6’5, 260-pound offensive guard for the Friars, issued an oral declaration to Virginia today, according to national recruiting services Scout.com and Rivals.com. Including the Cavaliers, Mooney received a total of 11 FBS and FCS offers through his recruiting process from Buffalo, Delaware, Duke, East Carolina, Northwestern, Purdue, Syracuse, Towson, Tulane and Villanova. Mooney also received interest from programs like Boston College, Connecticut, Penn State, Pitt, South Florida and Texas Christian.
Scout.com ranked Mooney as the #58 offensive guard in the 2012 recruiting class. The three-star prospect was joined by teammate Connor Mahoney in the offensive guard rankings. Mahoney issued a declaration to Northwestern Wednesday.
Mooney is the sixth offensive lineman to make a pre-season college choice, joining the aforementioned Mahoney as well as Pennsbury’s J.J. Denman (Penn State), Upper St. Clair’s Ian Park (Northwestern), Archbishop Wood’s Frank Taylor (Boston College) and Downingtown East’s Jack Willenbrock (Virginia Tech). He is also the second Keystone State athlete to declare to Virginia, joining Central Bucks South quarterback Matt Johns.
Mooney, a 2010 1st-team Coaches All Inter-AC selection on the offensive line, helped to pave the way for a Malvern Prep offensive unit which averaged 263.5 yards (177.4 rush, 86.1 pass) and 17.9 points per game. The Friars produced two backs with at least 510 rushing yards and a 940-yard passer, scoring 28 total touchdowns (23 rush, 5 pass).
Malvern Prep finished 6-4 last season, placing second in the Inter-AC to Haverford School.