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Recruiting Radar: December 12th Official Visits

Another weekend is upon us, and with it come more official visits. With the dead period coming on Sunday, this weekend's visits are incredibly important. Let's take a look and who will be on campus.

By Cameron J. Underwood
ATH Tim Irvin is visiting this weekend. Will he return to Coral Gables in 4 weeks as an early enrollee?
ATH Tim Irvin is visiting this weekend. Will he return to Coral Gables in 4 weeks as an early enrollee?
247Sports

By now, if you're reading this, you know that Official Visits are the most important thing going on in recruiting right now. With the month long dead period beginning on Sunday this weekend's visits are incredibly important. (Don't know what "Dead Period" means? Check out this handy SBNation Beginner's Guide to Recruiting by Spencer Hall, where you'll learn about that and more).

Ok, but seriously, here's what a "Dead Period" is:

Dead Period:
The college coach cannot make in-person contact with [prospect] or  [prospect's] guardians. This prevents the coach from making any evaluations of [a prospect] whatsoever. However, the coach can make telephone calls to [a prospect] or [prospect's] legal guardians.

With a heavy slant towards defensive players coming to campus, let's look at who's visiting:

3-star ATH Tim Irvin

Irvin, nephew of UM alum and NFL Hall of Fame WR Michael Irvin, has been heavily recruited by Miami for years. He was a dynamic two-way playmaker at the High School level, but projects best at DB in college. The younger Irvin has completed his high school coursework and will be enroll at the University of his choice in January.

While the Canes are in a dogfight with West Virginia, Florida, and Texas for Irvin's services, most believe that the Canes are the team to beat for his commitment. And, with Miami getting his final Official Visit before his commitment and enrollment, I think that we're sitting in a good position here.

4-star S commit Jaquan Johnson

One of the stars of this class, Johnson's biggest value over the next 3 days may be something other than his on-field excellence. He and the previously mentioned Irvin are close friends, and are said to be interested in playing together on the collegiate level. If this is true, Johnson can aid in the recruitment of Irvin, and help the Canes land another talented defender who may be able to see the field early.

Johnson is an outstanding player and by many accounts an even better person. He will likely be named to the Miami Herald's All-Dade County 1st team for a 4th consecutive year in just a few weeks, an honor that very few can claim. Johnson has already signed a Financial Aid Agreement (non-binding) to attend Miami and, like Irvin, is on pace to enroll in January.

Nicknamed "The Franchise" since his days in youth football, Johnson is respected by his peers and raved about by his coaches. If he can help close Irvin (which is very possible), he'll have made a bigger fan out of me.

3-star ATH Javarius Davis

I thought Davis' visited was scheduled for last week, but I misread his tweet. He'll be on campus this weekend, and could very well commit.

Davis also tweeted a picture of this weekend's Official Visit Itinerary, giving us a glimpse as to what the recruits will experience during their time on campus in Coral Gables.

Here's what I wrote about him last week:

Last but not least on the visit list for this week is 3-star ATH Javarius Davis. A player who excels on both sides of the ball in high school, Davis is being recruited at CB by Miami. Davis is a bit undersized at 5'9.5", but has blazing speed, something which few of our DBs currently possess. There's talk that he is a longtime Canes fan and could commit this weekend if he enjoys his visit. Davis' HUDL highlights are below:

Some like Davis at RB. A lot.

I really don't care where you're coming from; comparing Davis to Duke Johnson is ridiculous.

Davis is being recruited as an athlete, and will surely have a conversation with coaches about how they plan to use him in the future. With 3 of the best RB prospects in this cycle currently committed, I don't see a place for Davis on offense. I find it interesting, though, that Davis' listed "position coach meeting" will be with the RBs, not the DBs. I wouldn't mind seeing him use that speed in the return game, though.

4-star RB commit Dexter Williams

This is a visit that Canes fans have been looking forward to. Williams, an Orlando resident whose family is known to be pro-UF, is one of 3 top tier RBs currently committed in the class of 2015. Williams visited Louisville with friend and HS teammate Jalen Julius last weekend. With Julius likely to commit to Louisville, some think that his friendship between these two will lead to Williams' flipping from his commitment to Miami.

Williams, who has the best big-play ability of the current RB commits, could reaffirm his commitment with a positive visit this week. And, with multiple commits joining him on campus, there is a good chance that will happen. This situation is thisclose to being my top watched storyline for this weekend. (The Johnson-Irvin thing is #1 for those wondering).

3-star LB commit Charles Perry

One of two LB commits in this class currently (Jamie Gordinier being the other), Perry is a player with good physicality who projects well on the defensive side of the ball. Like many who are skilled athletes, he played both ways in HS. He rushed for more than 1,000 yards and RB and had over 70 tackles at LB at last count that I saw.

Perry recently posted his senior year HUDL highlights, and they are NOT to be missed.

Perry has been committed since earning an offer at an Al Golden Football Camp in June of 2013, making him the longest tenured commit for the 2015 class.

3-star CB Carlton Davis (Ohio State commit)

Davis is an athletic player whose coverage skills have progressed throughout his high school career. Davis committed to Ohio State back in the summer, but that hasn't stopped Al Golden and Miami from continuing to recruit the 6'1" 182lb cornerback.

Davis being on campus with 3 commits could be positive. And, there is a clear need for cornerbacks on the roster, and there is plenty of playing time available. Davis has the ability to earn significant playing time early in his career at Miami, and that will undoubtedly be a pitch used to try and flip his commitment.

Unfortunately, I haven't heard or read anything that really makes me think that Davis is prime for a flip, but Official Visits really matter at this time of year, and stranger things have happened.

Visitor recap

There's a couple ways to look at it:

  • 3 commits (Johnson, Perry, and Williams) mixed with 2 uncommitted players (J. Davis and Irvin) and 1 player committed elsewhere (C. Davis).
  • 1 offensive prospect (RB commit Williams) and 5 defensive prospects (C. Davis, J. Davis, Irvin, Johnson, and Perry).
  • 4 South Florida players (C. Davis, Irvin, Johnson, Perry), 1 Central Florida player (Williams), and 1 North Florida player (J. Davis).
No matter how you want to slice it, the 6 players who will Officially Visit campus this weekend all matter to Miami, and hopefully the weekend will bear good news for the Canes.