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Recruiting Radar 1/26 - Weekend Recap and more

This was a packed and eventful recruiting weekend. Time to get caught up on what happened, and what's to come.

By Cameron J. Underwood
5-star ATH Torrance Gibson will visit Miami. Can the Canes flip the talented U.S. Army All-American?
5-star ATH Torrance Gibson will visit Miami. Can the Canes flip the talented U.S. Army All-American?
247Sports

Another week closer to National Signing Day, and there's plenty to talk about. Let's get started, shall we?

Torrance Gibson set to visit Coral Gables

In the midst of another big recruiting weekend in Coral Gables, news broke that raised the stakes of next week's official visits even higher than they already were.

5-star ATH/4-star QB Torrance Gibson, an Ohio State commit, will be taking a final weekend OV to Miami. With the QB situation incredibly crowded at OSU, and former OC Tom Herman having left to become the Head Coach at Houston, Gibson has started to look around a bit lately. He's visited Auburn and LSU in recent weeks, and will travel to Miami for the first time since the FSU game in November.

Gibson is an electric athlete whose future has been hotly debated. Many analysts and people who follow recruiting (myself included) believe his future is at WR. Others, including Gibson himself, see the 6'4" 207lb player's future at QB.

Here's the thing: Gibson is such an incredible athlete that he can dictate what he wants to play. At least for now. He's said that "playing QB means everything" to him, and he shut down any recruiting conversation about switching positions.

For Miami, we're set at QB with Brad Kaaya already the face of this program, and high 4-star/potential 5-star QB Jack Allison committed for 2016. But, with only 3 scholarship QBs on the roster currently (Kaaya, Malik Rosier, and Gray Crow), there's a place on the depth chart for Gibson, should he want it.

I am firmly of the opinion that Torrance Gibson's future is at WR. I've long maintained that he's 3yrs and a 1st round NFL draft pick at that position. But, if he wants the chance to try QB at the next level, I'm willing to let that happen to get a player of his ability level on my team.

But, before Adidas goes and makes Orange and Green #6 Gibson jerseys for sale, let's get him on campus for next week's OV, and then see how serious this situation is getting. Trust me, there will be much more conversation about this as we head toward National Signing Day 2015.

Teams still chasing Jordan Scarlett

This weekend, Canes RB commit Jordan Scarlett visited Gainesville to see the University of Florida. He had a good trip and was in many pictures with prospective athletes, and current Gators players. Among those he was connect with this weekend were RB Brandon Powell (Deerfield Beach) and former HS teammate Quincy Wilson.

While Scarlett said that he enjoyed his visit and had fun, he maintains that he's solidly committed to the Canes. Even if Scarlett isn't engaging the school in Gainesville in his recruitment anymore, there's another team who is about to turn up the heat on him.

Florida State.

Photo: BleacherReport.net

FSU's coaches had an in-home visit with Scarlett last Thursday, and he's scheduled to visit next week. The Seminoles also just lost 4-star RB commit Johnny Frazier, who flipped to NCSU. So, with an open spot at RB, Jimbo Fisher and company will surely have the full-court press on Scarlett to try and get him to flip his commitment. Even so, that won't likely be easily done.

Every week since the end of the dead period I've said this is the recruiting storyline I'm following most closely. That will continue next week as we approach National Signing Day 2015.

Coach Cager enjoys his visit to Coral Gables

On his first official visit to Coral Gables, U.S. Army All-American WR Lawrence Cager had a great time visiting campus and interacting with players and recruits. Recruiting for canes. Here are a couple pictures from Cager's visit:

Left to Right: QB Evan Shirreffs, DE/DT Richard McIntosh, CB Michael Jackson, WR Lawrence Cager, and DT Kevin Scott.

And then, shortly after his visit ended, Rivals.com National Recruiting Coordinator Mike Ferrell tweeted the following:

If Cager is in fact 100% committed to Miami, that's a huge win for this staff. And, hopefully that momentum, and Cager's recruiting skills, will help the Canes close strongly on National Signing Day. And, that leads me to my next point....

Canes looking good for Cali DT Kevin Scott

One of the fastest risers of the latter part of this cycle, DT Kevin Scott traveled cross-country to visit Coral Gables. Scott enjoyed his visit and told insidetheu.com that "Miami was amazing" ($).  And, if you take a look at his tweets from this weekend, that story is told incredibly well.

That last tweet is the one that makes me most excited. Scott will probably be a tough get to pull away from USC, but this visit might have been just as amazingly spectacularly stupendous as I said it needed to be in order to get him to commit. We'll have to wait a little over a week to find out for sure.

More Cali Canes?

Matt Porter of the Palm Beach Post wrote this great article about how Brad Kaaya is helping Miami recruit in California. It's a hotbed of talent and is tied for the State where Miami has extended the 2nd most offers, along with Georgia. Florida, obviously, leads that list.

Following Kaaya cross-country to Coral Gables is his former HS teammate Bar Milo. The 4-star OLineman dominated the Semper Fi All-American game, and gives Miami another talented player at a position when depth is needed. Milo has canceled all future visits and is 100% solid to the Hurricanes.

Mentioned in the previous section, DT Kevin Scott, a late rising prospect, enjoyed his visit and could very well commit on or before National Signing day. Assistant Football Operations Diretor Jorge Baez tweeted this late on Friday night during Scott's visit:

Could that tweet portend things to come? Maybe. But that remains to be seen.

And that brings us to the big fish from Cali that Miami's hoping to reel in: 5-star teammates OLB John Houston and DT Rasheem Green from Serra HS (Gardena, CA).  I wish I had good news for you guys. But....

As previously stated in this and other spaces, the unanimous thought is that John Houston is 100% USC. He may even be a silent commit at this point. In short, I'd find it very hard to see him coming here.

Rasheem Green, however, is a different story. While I believe Porter's tweet to be genuine, it's been reported elsewhere that Green is equally weighing all 4 of his finalists: Miami, Oregon, Arizona State, and USC. Now, USC is generally thought to be the favorite here, but it's far from a forgone conclusion that Green ends up a Trojan in my opinion.

With Milo already on board, if Miami can pull 1 of the Green/Houston/Scott trio, that has to be considered a win. Get 2 or more? Massive massive MASSIVE recruiting victory.


Recruits excited by Adidas designs

Once again, the recruits who visited Coral Gables were treated to a look at the preliminary Adidas jersey and gear designs. And, just like last week, the reviews were positive.

While speculation is still rampant, there are not available pictures at the current time. But, if these reactions are at all indicative, I think we'll be pleased with what Adidas has in store for us come August 1st.

Canes Leading for LT Fredrick Johnson

Looking to add further depth along the Offensive Line, the Canes are heavily pursuing Royal Palm Beach LT Fredrick Johnson (6'7" 303lbs). A teammate of LB commit Charles Perry, Johnson is high on Miami. Very high, according to Nate Taylor of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

While the Canes lead for the talented lineman, Johnson is set to visit Florida next week. His main concern: the wealth of potential tackles in this recruiting class (Bar Milo, Tyree St. Louis, Brendan Loftus, Hayden Mahoney, Tyler Gauthier, and JUCO Jahair Jones). Even still, it would take an incredible visit to Florida for Johnson not to sign with Miami. As stated last week, it's likely that Johnson will be a member of this class.

#Swag16 Junior Day

The annual Junior Day for the class of 2016 was a huge success. Not only were there a TON of top local players on campus this Sunday, Al Golden and the Hurricanes got 4 more commitments to next year's recruiting class.

Joining the #Swag16 class: DT Keyshon Camp (Lake Gibson, FL), RB Amir Rasul (Coral Gables, FL), and teammates from Gulliver Prep (the late Sean Taylor's Alma Mater) DB Cedric Wright and DE Joseph Jackson (Miami, FL).

For a more thorough write up including highlights for all of the newly committed players, check out this piece from SOTU blog manager Jerry Steinberg.

The #Swag16 class now has 11 commits, and at this point is the #1 class in America for 2016 by far. And, all 11 committed players are from Florida. So, for those looking for more of a focus here in the local area, there you have it.

Welcome to the U Keyshon, Amir, Cedric, and Joseph.

Other Blips on the Radar

  • 2015 commit LB Charles Perry is set to enroll at Miami this week. His enrollment to The U was delayed by an online class that had to be completed, but that requirement has now been met. Perry, who has been committed since the spring of his SOPHOMORE YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL, was the first commit for this class. It will be a happy day for both he and the Canes when he's officially on campus.
  • Former RB commit Dexter Williams, who abruptly decommitted a few weeks ago, is virtually assured to commit to Notre Dame on National Signing Day. Consider him off the board.
  • DE target Shareef Miller committed to Penn State. He'd previously canceled his January 30th visit to Miami in favor of going to Gainesville to visit UF. Consider him off the board.
  • DE target Shelton Johnson (6'5" 220lbs) is the top target at edge rusher right now. According to this report from the Palm Beach Post, Johnson is undecided and considering all recruiting options. He had a positive visit this weekend and is strongly considering the Canes. Despite all that, the overwhelming general consensus is that Johnson will sign with Florida State.
  • LB target Saleem Brightwell committed to Pitt. Consider him off the board.
  • With Brightwell off the board, the pursuit of of Kansas State commit Mohamed Barry and Quart'e Sapp is even more important. Sources tell me that Sapp won't visit Miami, however, so that's not looking good for the Canes.
  • Set to visit Coral Gables next week, 4-star WR Daylon Charlot may be taking one of those "free vacation visits" we hear about so often. The last 11 predictions on 247Sports' Crystal Ball have him recommitting to Alabama. But hey, if he comes to campus and enjoys himself, maybe things change. But, I doubt it.
  • Speaking of Charlot, next week's visits could well tell the story of this 2015 recruiting class for Miami. I'll get into that later this week, but just know that the staff is going all-out to close with a bang.
  • With 19 commits, Miami has between 6-8 open spots left in this class. Expect they are all filled at some point. And remember, this staff has a history of bringing in players after National Signing Day. Even if the number is only 22 on February 4th, expect a full class by the time summer hits.
That's is for now. Be sure to vote in the poll, and check back often as coverage kicks up as we approach National Signing Day 2015.

GO CANES!!!