Canes set to host 3 Official Visitors this weekend

Throughout the recruiting cycle, coaches from a University talk frequently with a prospective recruit. They see them at a camp. They might go to a recruit's game or 2. They talk on the phone. They txt. They tweet. And, eventually, if the relationship is strong enough, the player decides to show he's serious about the school by scheduling and taking an Official Visit.

These visits, paid for by the school to help woo the player to the institution, are widely thought of as the most important event in a recruiting interaction. Their importance cannot be overstated. If a player is already committed and has a good visit, he may shut down his recruitment to other schools (as did OL commit Bar Milo earlier this year). If a player is uncommitted, a great visit may sway him to your University over others who may have previously been ahead in his recruitment (as happened with CB Tracy Howard 3 years ago).

This weekend, the Canes are hosting 3 players who can fill needs on the roster.

JUCO TE Jerome Washington, who recently committed to Miami, will be on campus for his official. The 6'5" 250lb Washington has seen his recruiting profile raise sharply since committing to Miami. Once an unranked prospect, Washington is now a 4-star recruit who many rank as the #1 JUCO TE in this class.

Joining Washington this weekend is another JUCO player: OL Jahair Jones.  The 6'5" 315lb Jones attends ASA college in Brooklyn, NY, and could come in to give depth at multiple OL positions. And, with the rash of injuries Miami suffered at this position in the 2014 season, depth is something that could prove useful moving forward. Jones' HUDL highlights are below.

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:

Of the 3 visitors this weekend, 1 is committed, and 1 is thought to be very close to a commitment. With the stagnation in recruiting (along with poor on-field finish to the regular season), getting a little momentum going this weekend would be a good thing for the Hurricanes.

UPDATE: So, yeah. I forgot to list the most talented player visiting this weekend

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p>OH RLY?! RT <a href="https://twitter.com/joshdarrow">@joshdarrow</a>: 2015 Miami Central WR Da&#39;Vante Phillips <a href="https://twitter.com/duckedoff_v5">@duckedoff_v5</a> says he plans to take official visit to Miami this weekend.</p>&mdash; StateOfTheU.com (@TheStateOfTheU) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheStateOfTheU/status/540286377242284032">December 3, 2014</a></blockquote>

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4-star WR Da'Vante Phillips from Miami Central will be visiting this weekend as well. While this visit is huge (like I said, getting a recruit on campus is gigantic) many thing that this is just a free visit. Let me recap why (quickly):

1. Phillips attends the same HS that Dalvin Cook, Joseph Yearby, and Trevor Darling did. However, of those people, he's closest with Cook.
2. How close is Phillips with Cook? So close that Phillips LIVES WITH COOK'S MOTHER (Miami Herald - Manny Navarro).
3. Cook and Phillips played a well publicized game of "follow the leader" last year. When Cook committed to UF, so did Phillips. When Cook flipped to FSU, Phillips decommitted from UF.
4. Phillips repeatedly said that he wants to play in college with Cook
5. Almost everybody who follows/covers recruiting that I've seen thinks Phillips is surely headed to FSU to follow Cook