{"id":4199,"date":"2023-05-03T22:26:27","date_gmt":"2023-05-04T03:26:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/?p=4199"},"modified":"2023-05-03T22:26:27","modified_gmt":"2023-05-04T03:26:27","slug":"former-gator-ron-moten-describes-emotional-return-to-florida-as-son-rj-commits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/former-gator-ron-moten-describes-emotional-return-to-florida-as-son-rj-commits\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Gator Ron Moten describes \u2018emotional\u2019 return to Florida as son RJ commits"},"content":{"rendered":"

GAINESVILLE, Fla. \u2014 A week removed from entering the transfer portal, former Michigan safety RJ Moten<\/a><\/strong> committed to the Gators on Monday night<\/a> during his official visit to Florida. It marked Moten\u2019s first time in Gainesville. <\/p>\n

For Moten, a UF legacy, the highlight of his trip was watching his father, former Florida linebacker Ron Moten (1982-86), back in his element. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe highlight was just seeing him,\u201d Moten told Gators Online<\/em>, pointing to his dad. \u201cJust him talk about, \u2018Oh, this was here when I was there. That was here when I was there.\u2019 That was the best part.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moten played for the Gators in the mid-80s and was a member of back-to-back 9-1-1 teams, including the 1984 squad that won the school\u2019s first SEC championship (later vacated). <\/p>\n

\u00a0In 1987, Moten was selected in the sixth round of the NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles. He spent five years in the league before knee injuries derailed his NFL career in 1991. <\/p>\n

Joining his son on the official visit, Moten was back at UF for the first time since 1986. It was an emotional return for Moten, who was blown away by all the changes on campus. <\/p>\n

\u201cI was speechless. I really am. I\u2019m speechless, man,\u201d Moten told Gators Online<\/em>. \u201cThis was emotional, to be quite honest with you. Just to come back on campus. It\u2019s been 37 years, you know, 1986 was when I last played here. Everything obviously is different. I didn\u2019t recognize the locker room. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe campus has grown, the facilities are top notch. The academic facility, the new athletic facility is just incredible, man. Just incredible. The University has totally changed obviously over 37 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although Moten met Florida coach Billy Napier for the first time this week, he had been exposed to his program in March. Moten, who retired in 2018 as the chief of detectives\u00a0in Camden County, NJ, now works at Madison Square Garden doing team security and threat management.<\/p>\n

The GatorMade program went to New York City during spring break to make 12 corporate visits, including MSG. Moten spent time with 15 Florida football players<\/a> and spoke to the group about his life experiences and transitions.<\/p>\n

Six weeks later, Moten was in Gainesville with his son to see the full scope of Napier\u2019s football program and organization. He came away impressed. <\/p>\n

\u201cObviously Coach Napier, his reputation speaks for itself,\u201d Moten said. \u201cWhen RJ told me about this trip, I researched the coaching staff and I saw that Corey Raymond was the secondary coach. And I immediately called RJ and told him, \u2018You need to take a look at Coach Raymond\u2019s background.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cBut the biggest thing was trying to find the right fit for RJ. He\u2019s still going to have to earn his keep obviously, and that\u2019s the conversation we had with Coach Napier. But the experience to not only run out on Florida Field, but to earn his degree from this great university, it\u2019s just incredible.\u201d <\/p>\n

Moten also has a daughter who plays lacrosse at Temple<\/a>. With his son transferring to Florida, he doesn\u2019t know how much longer he\u2019ll work at Madison Square Garden. <\/p>\n

Moten eventually plans to move the Orlando area or back to his hometown of Clearwater, Florida. He looks forward to making the drive up to Gainesville on Saturdays. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been 37 years since I was at a game,\u201d Moten said. \u201cYeah, but to have your son running out of the South End Zone in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, it\u2019s gonna be emotional. Very emotional.\u201d <\/p>\n

The post Former Gator Ron Moten describes \u2018emotional\u2019 return to Florida as son RJ commits<\/a> appeared first on On3<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

GAINESVILLE, Fla. \u2014 A week removed from entering the transfer portal, former Michigan safety RJ…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4199","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4199"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4199\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}