Ryan Mayes Gives Miami It's 17th Commit.

Miami (Fla.) Northwestern High School CB Ryan Mayes (6'1/187) verbally committed to the University of Miami late Monday night. He received the ‘Canes offer on Sunday while attending Al Golden's summer camp.

"I was very happy, because I felt like all this work I'm putting in is paying off," Mayes said. "You know, ‘UM' is a big time school, they put a lot of people into the pros. So I was very proud and happy, but I also wasn't satisfied, because I still think I can be better."

Growing up a Hurricanes fan, he was hoping he would land an offer this past weekend. Not only did he get that offer he so dearly coveted, he was also named the most valuable player (MVP) at the defensive back position.

"At the camp, I played very aggressive, and I played very well," Mayes said. "I feel like my performance still lacked certain (things) that I feel I could have accomplished. They (UM coaches) really liked me a lot, and they told they were really interested."

Mayes' family support is one of the main reasons why he decided to go ahead and pull the trigger, just a day after landing the offer.

"My mom is very proud and she wanted me to push forward with it, and she told me to verbally commit," Mayes said. "So, I gave a verbal commit."

Miami Northwestern has been a pipeline to the University of Miami dating back to the 1980's. So, Miami already having two commits from Northwestern for their 2014 recruiting class should not come as much of a surprise. Mayes' teammate DE/LB Mike Smith committed to the ‘Canes a few days ago.

"Mike is very cool, he's my team captain," Mayes said. "I look up to him, because he's a hard worker. His idea of us going to UM is like jump on the train, and I told him I'm all for it."

As of right now, Mayes holds four other scholarship offers, including the likes of Boston College, FAU, FIU and Syracuse.

Going forward, the standout athlete expects to participate in a few more camps this summer.

"I'm supposed be going back to Alabama," Mayes said. "The Alabama coaches really like me they wanted me to come back in July. So I plan on going back to Alabama in July, and FAU also wants me to go back to their camp in July. Anything that's available I'm willing to take, because I really want to go out and show my talents and show that I love to compete."

He will also be spending a lot of time working on his game this summer, trying to prime himself for a run at the state championship.

"Right now, I'm in the weight room trying to get stronger," Mayes said. "I'm trying to get as strong as I can before the season starts. I'm also working on my technique, I would love to be a jack of all trades."