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Plenty of updates. Let's get right to it
Canes commits and Targets in the Under Armour All-American Game
There are several committed and targeted players playing in the first HSFB All-American game of the year: the Under Armour All-American game. Practices opened yesterday in Orlando, and will continue all week. The UA game will be played on January 2nd at 2PM on ESPN2.
Here are the players to watch throughout this week and on Saturday:
Canes commits
QB Jack Allison. The future signal caller for Mark Richt's Canes was said to be one of the top QBs at this event on the first day of practice. Allison will wear #14 for Team Highlight in the UA game.
#Miami #Canes QB commit @Jackof2016 warming up before #UAAllAmerica Game practice day 1. pic.twitter.com/3MBuvQTToC
— Gerry Hamilton (@HamiltonESPN) December 29, 2015
WR Sam Bruce. The electric playmaker will look to find space to operate on Saturday. He's both fast and quick and a nightmare for opposing DBs. Bruce, who has said he committed to Miami not a specific coach (referencing longtime friend/mentor Kevin Beard, who appears to be released by Mark Richt) will wear #3 for Team Highlight.
Sam Bruce is so quick. #Canes #UAAllAmerica https://t.co/1cfRrMf0tT
— Derek Tyson (@DerekTysonESPN) December 29, 2015
WR Dionte Mullins. After missing his senior season due to academic ineligibilty, Mullins made his first return to the football field since 2014. And, he didn't miss a beat. Mullins was routinely seen beating opposing defenders and reminding the recruiting world why he was named to this game during his junior year. Mullins will wear #4 for Team Highlight.
#Miami #Canes WR commit Dionte Mullins against Carlos Becker - Team Highlight. #UAAllAmerica pic.twitter.com/VzeqDUY14z
— Gerry Hamilton (@HamiltonESPN) December 29, 2015
Miami commit Dionte Mullins is on a bit of a roll here in team drills. Another catch here. https://t.co/YhJOTf97d9
— Rob Cassidy (@Cassidy_Rob) December 29, 2015
DE Patrick Bethel. One of the most recent Canes commits, Bethel is a player with a great frame and high motor. He struggled during the first day of UA game practice, but he should be able to turn that around as the week progresses. Bethel will wear #93 for Team Highlight.
Canes targets
CB Carlos Becker. Big time player from central FL. Canes pushing to get Becker to visit after the dead period ends. But, here's the bad news: Becker has 4 visits scheduled and Miami isn't one of them. So, we're not just trying to get him to come here, we're trying to get him to flip one of his scheduled visits (Florida State, Kentucky, Ohio State, and Ole Miss) and instead visit Miami. No easy task, but we're still trying.
CB Shyheim Carter. The prep QB will undoubtedly ply his trade in the defensive secondary in College. He's starting that transition now at the UA game. Like the aforementioned Becker, Miami is pushing to get Carter to visit after the dead period and heave heavy competition from several SEC teams.
CB Kristian Fulton. Yet another CB prospect, Fulton has been getting plenty of attention from Miami after Mark Richt's hiring. And, yet again, the Canes are pushing to get him to visit after the dead period ends. Fulton has visits set to Arkansas on the 22nd and Florida on the 29th, and is between Miami and LSU for his final visit on the 15th. Here's hoping...
DT Rashan Gary. There are conflicting reports here. One report on Gary from Rivals says that the #1 player in this class is heavily considering Miami now that CMR is the coach. Another report from 247Sports says Gary is being diplomatic and isn't actually considering Miami. Personally, from all I've seen and read, I agree with the latter. But, if Gary wants to prove me and 247Sports wrong, by all means, sir.....
CB Nigel Knott. A very talented 4-star player from Mississippi, Knott said repeatedly at the beginning of UA practices that he's wide open in his recruitment. How wide open is Knott? He has 28 offers, has only taken 1 official visit, and presumably wants to take 4 visits in 3 weeks before NSD. Obviously, SEC schools are heavily involved, but Miami is pushing for a visit as well (thanks, Mark Richt!). Knott said during UA week that he "loves palm trees." Well, Nigel, I know one of the most beautiful campuses in America that is well-renowned for its palm trees....(it's Miami, guys. It's Miami).
WR Eli Stove. The longtime Auburn commit has set an official visit to Miami: January 29th, the last visit weekend before National Signing day. This will be a VERY tough pull, but, like I've said before, once a player takes an official visit, then things can get interesting. We'll see.
RB Devwah Whaley. You should know the story on Whaley by now, but in case you don't, here it is: He was committed to Georgia when Richt was the coach, decommitted after he was fired, and has been linked to several schools, including Miami, since then. Whaley will announce a commitment during the game, but Miami isn't listed in his final group. He could, however, visit after the dead period. So, even if he commits elsewhere on Saturday, don't necessarily rule him out....yet.
U.S. Army All-Americans
While this game is next week, since we're on the topic of All-Americans, there are Miami commits and some prospective targets who will be participating in the U.S. Army All-American game. A full breakdown will come later, but here's a list for you:
Canes Commits
Canes Targets
Other blips on the radar
Since getting to Miami, Mark Richt has given out many, MANY offers to defensive players, particularly at DT and CB.
One of the latest players to be predicted to pick Miami on 247Sports' Crystal Ball is DT Amir Watts (6'3" 270lbs) from Chicago (IL) Phillips Academy. Watts is a 3-star recruit, but don't let that ranking fool you; he can play.As of today, Watts has not yet scheduled a visit to Miami.
Miami needs players on the DL, and could do much worse than bringing in Watts. You'll see what I mean when you watch his HUDL highlights:
Another player who has recently been offered is DT Marcel Southall (6'2 280lbs) from Duncanville, TX. Currently predicted to pick Oklahoma for his collegiate home, Southall is another player with high energy and a projectable frame. Miami will get a visit from Southall on January 22nd.
A one-time Miami commit, RB Amir Rasul has set a mid-week official visit to Coral Gables after the dead period. He's currently committed to Florida State, but is super local as he attends Coral Gables Senior High, mere minutes from the UM campus. With 2 RBs committed (Travis Homer and Jawon Hamilton) and pursuing a player formerly committed to Richt (Whaley), I'm not sure how serious this visit should be taken. But, it's an official visit from a talented player, so stay tuned.
Opinion on Recruiting
I'm going to end today's article with a short opinion section on recruiting.
Ever since Mark Richt has come on as head coach, Miami has been linked with many players, most of them 4-star and 5-star caliber players. That isn't by mistake.
From the moment he was hired as coach, Mark Richt has given the Miami Hurricanes program validity. He's a proven coach, a proven recruiter, and someone who has been successful in the world of College Football for more than a quarter century. Pairing a name-brand coach with the Canes name-brand program is something that has been sorely, SORELY needed in Coral Gables.
And, now that we have that name-brand pairing, Miami's profile in recruiting has undoubtedly been raised. National recruits at many positions (named both in this article and previous posts on our site) who previously had no interest in Miami are now, at the very least, listening when Canes coaches call.
While Richt was able to pull in Bethel when he visited just before the dead period started, Miami is still waiting for that first BIG SPLASH in recruiting with CMR at the helm. Whether that's a local flip (Jamel Cook?) or an out-of-state player (Donnie Corley? Shyheim Carter? Devwah Whaley? Kristian Fulton?), it'll happen, most likely in this class. And, once it does, that just adds more validity to Miami's recruiting power with this generation of recruit, a good thing, to be sure.
With this class already ranked 17th in America, a strong close could easily put the Canes up in the top 12. With a short cycle (in terms of when we hired CMR), that's phenomenal.
And, the best part: we're just getting started.
Yeah, this is going to be fun.
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That's it for today. Leave a comment and vote in the poll.