Looking back, Moss’s final decision wasn’t really a decision at all. From the moment that first questionnaire arrived, Moss was intrigued by Notre Dame.
It might be hard for a younger generation of fans to imagine now, but Notre Dame was the “cool” school at the time and home to the coolest players, with guys like Rocket Ismail, Jerome Bettis and Tim Brown wearing those gold helmets.
Add in the fact the Irish were on TV every weekend, stressed academics more than other schools and were coached by an icon in Holtz, and it was a no-brainer to listen when Notre Dame called.
That was certainly the case for Moss. Even before Holtz ever made an appearance at Moss’ home in West Virginia, the receiver longed for playing in South Bend, Ind.
“I had a dream that Lou Holtz called me,” Moss recalled. “I woke up with a smile on my face from ear-to-ear. [But] I’m sitting there like, ‘Oh man, that was just a dream!’”
Less than a week later, Holtz did indeed make that call before arriving for an in-home visit shortly thereafter.
“He came up to my house in Rand, West Virginia,” Moss said. “That was a big deal. I remember my mom was like, ‘Don’t you go telling your friends’ [he’s coming].”
