Getting to Know SMU’s Hometown Hero Ahmaad Moses

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Steven Corder | Last updated Jun 27, 2025 3:27 PM ET

Under the Friday night lights of Texas high school football, Ahmaad Moses wasn’t just chasing the ball, he was chasing his dream. Now, as a junior safety for SMU, Moses is living it.

The 2025 season looms large for the Mustangs, and no one is more ready than the hometown hero who’s become the heart of the defense. Coming off a standout 2024 campaign, with 73 tackles, 6 pass breakups, 3 interceptions, and a forced fumble, Moses has grown from underdog to difference-maker. But his journey to SMU stardom wasn’t handed to him, it was earned.

“I’m just a ball player for real,” Moses said in SMU’s Home Grown series. “I just try to fly over the field, make plays.”

That’s not just talk. Moses plays with a rare instinct, reading quarterbacks like pages of a well-worn book. Former high school coach Courtney Pollins says he’s “playing chess while others play football,” and the film proves it.

A true hometown hero.

Home Grown Episode 2- Ahmaad Moses pic.twitter.com/P4DylnrVAM
— SMU Football (@SMUFB) June 27, 2025

The youngest of three brothers, Moses grew up in Arlington in a sports-obsessed household. Competition was constant. Whether it was backyard football or Little League baseball, winning was the standard. His parents, divided between Saints and Cowboys fandom, raised him on toughness, and persistence, traits that show every time he takes the field at Gerald J. Ford Stadium.

“Every time he’d come home, he’d slide. Nobody told him to. He just knew how to play,” his mother recalls in the Home Grown documentary.

Despite a stellar high school career at Summit, including a fifth-round playoff run, college offers were scarce. His first finally came from Marshall, and after that moment on, the offers started rolling in, but SMU was always the fit. Close to home. Close to family. Close to everything that built him.

And he’s not just making plays, he’s making noise. Moses’ now-viral “box celebration” after pass breakups is a fan favorite. But behind the swagger is a player grounded in love for his roots.

“When somebody has something going on, all of us went,” Moses mother said. “That’s just how our family works.”

Now entering his senior season, Moses isn’t just playing for tackles, he’s playing for legacy. SMU is on the rise, and Moses is ready to lead.

Mustang Nation: it’s time to ride with No. 3.

This season, Ahmaad Moses won’t just be defending passes, he’ll be defending the city that raised him. Don’t blink. You might miss another highlight.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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